The festive season is upon us, and with it, the annual Christmas travel chaos. The RAC predicts a record-breaking 37.5 million journeys will be made in the UK before Christmas Day, with Christmas Eve alone seeing 4.2 million trips. The M5, M4, and A303 are expected to be particularly congested, with specific areas like Stonehenge, the Almondsbury Interchange, and the M5/M6 interchange in Birmingham to be avoided. The RAC advises that the best times to travel by road are before 12:00 GMT on Saturday, 20 December, before 10:00 on Sunday, 21 December, after 17:00 on Monday, 22 December, before 11:00 on Tuesday, 23 December, and before 11:00 on Wednesday, 24 December.
Train travel is also busy, with most services ending at around 21:00 on Christmas Eve and resuming on 27 December. The Great Western Railway (GWR) will suspend the Night Riviera Sleeper service from 20-27 December, with potential disruptions to late-night services between Swindon and Cheltenham on 22 and 23 December. GWR recommends booking in advance and traveling during quieter times, with the busiest days expected to be 22, 23, 27, and 28 December. Cross Country Trains in the West may also experience delays in Birmingham, Cambridgeshire, and West Yorkshire.
Buses will operate on a reduced schedule from Christmas Eve onwards. In Wiltshire, Swindon's Bus Company and Salisbury Red's will run a Saturday service until 20:50 on Christmas Eve. Gloucestershire's bus services will also switch to a Saturday schedule across Gloucester, Stroud, and Cheltenham until around 19:00 on Christmas Eve. Bristol's First Bus network, including journeys to Bath and Wells, will cease operations in the evening of 24 December and resume on 27 December. Similarly, Buses of Somerset, First, and the Falcon service will stop on Christmas Eve until 27 December. National Express buses often run on Christmas Day, with services from London to Taunton, Bristol, Bridgwater, Gloucester, Swindon, Cheltenham, and Cirencester available.
