Manchester to London is one of the busiest long journeys in the country. The train is quick between city centres, but door to door, with luggage or a group, the road often wins.
Two of the biggest cities in England are linked by some of the first motorways ever built in Britain. The M6 began with the Preston bypass in 1958, the country’s first stretch of motorway, and the first section of the M1 opened the following year. Since then, millions of people have made the journey between Manchester and London by road, for work, for family, for football and for fun.
The train from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston takes a little over two hours, and it is a good choice for one person travelling light between the two city centres. But few journeys start and end at the station. Add the journey to Piccadilly, the walk across Euston and the Tube or a taxi at the other end, and the door to door time grows, especially with bags, children or a group. Here is what to expect if you go by road.
1. The distance
Roughly 200 miles from central Manchester to central London. The exact distance depends on where you start and finish, and which route you take. From the south of Greater Manchester, it is a little shorter, and from the north, a little longer.
That is one of the longest regular journeys most people make in England. It crosses the North West, the Midlands and the Home Counties. On the way, you pass close to Stoke-on-Trent, Birmingham, Coventry, Northampton and Milton Keynes.
For comparison, Manchester to Birmingham is around ninety miles, and Birmingham to London around a hundred and twenty. The journey is often thought of in two halves, with Birmingham roughly in the middle. It is a natural place to break the journey.
Because the distance is long, the price of a car for the whole journey is fixed before you book, like any other ZeroLanes journey. It covers the whole route, door to door. It does not change for traffic or a longer route on the day.
2. The time
Around four to four and a half hours in clear traffic. Allow more on Friday afternoons and around bank holidays. Traffic can add an hour or more at the worst times.
The busiest times on the M6 and the M1 are weekday rush hours, Friday afternoons and the start and end of the school holidays. Roadworks are common on both routes, and they can slow traffic for miles. An accident can close a motorway for hours.
The quietest times to travel are usually early in the morning, late in the evening and in the middle of the day on weekdays. Leaving Manchester at around six in the morning often means reaching London before the worst of its traffic. Sunday mornings can be quiet too.
For an important meeting or a flight from a London airport, allow plenty of extra time. It is better to arrive early and have a coffee than to spend the journey worrying. Your journey time is not something to cut fine.
3. The route
Usually the M6 and M1, or the M6, M42 and M40 into west London, depending on where you are going and the traffic on the day. Both are well-used routes, with plenty of services. Each suits different parts of London.
The most common route leaves Greater Manchester by the M56 or the M62 and joins the M6 heading south, past Stoke-on-Trent. Around Birmingham, the M6 Toll offers a bypass of the busiest stretch, for a fee. The M6 then meets the M1 near Rugby, and the M1 runs south to north London.
The M1 route suits north and central London, the City and Canary Wharf, and it ends near Brent Cross. It passes Northampton, Milton Keynes and Luton, and the M25 crosses it near Watford. For east London and Stansted Airport, the M11 can be reached by the M25.
The M40 route suits west London and Heathrow. It leaves the M6 near Birmingham by the M42, and runs south past Warwick, Banbury, Bicester, Oxford and High Wycombe, through the Chiltern Hills. It ends at the A40, which runs into west London past Northolt and Park Royal.
Your driver will choose the best route on the day, depending on where you are going and the traffic. The price is fixed when you book, so a diversion costs you nothing extra. Charges beyond the fare, such as a toll, are included in the quoted price unless we tell you otherwise before you book.
4. Stopping
There are service stations every half hour or so on both routes. Plan a break halfway. On a four hour journey, a stop to stretch your legs, use the toilets and buy a coffee makes a big difference.
On the M6, the services include Knutsford, Sandbach, Keele, Stafford and Hilton Park, before Birmingham. On the M1, Watford Gap is one of the oldest motorway services in Britain, opened with the motorway in 1959, and it is famous in its own right. Northampton, Newport Pagnell and Toddington come later.
On the M40, the services include Warwick, Cherwell Valley, Oxford and Beaconsfield. Most service stations have cafés, shops, toilets and fuel. Some have hotels.
If you are travelling with children, plan a stop for them to run around and have something to eat. With older relatives, stop more often. The journey is part of the trip.
5. Arriving in London
Central London has its own charges for vehicles in some zones, and traffic slows the last few miles. Aim for arrival outside the rush hours if you can. The last few miles into the centre can take as long as fifty miles on the motorway.
The Congestion Charge covers central London at set times, and the Ultra Low Emission Zone covers the whole of Greater London. The rules and times change from time to time, so check before you go if you are driving yourself. With a booked car, any charges are included in the quoted price unless we tell you otherwise before you book.
London’s traffic is slow at the best of times, and it is slowest in the morning and evening rush hours. Roads around the big stations, the West End and the City are often very busy. Your driver will know the best way in.
If you are heading to a London airport, a station or a hotel, tell us when you book, and the car will take you to the door. For Heathrow, see our Heathrow terminals guide. For things to see and do, see our top 10 things to do in London.
Why go by car
Door to door with no changes, no carrying bags across stations, and four hours in the back to work, sleep or talk. For three or four people travelling together, one car can compare well with several train tickets.
Longer journeys are quoted the same way as short ones: one price, agreed before you book, covering the whole route. See also the best city to city journeys from Manchester.
A car makes most sense when you have luggage, when you are travelling as a group, when your start or end point is a long way from a station, or when you want to work in private on the way. It also makes sense late at night or early in the morning, when trains are few. For a family moving a student to university, or a business team heading to a meeting, it can be the simplest way.
Choose a car that fits your party and your luggage when you book, from a saloon to a people carrier or a minibus. Your driver’s name and the car’s details are on your journey page before pickup. Then sit back, and let someone else do the driving.
The other way
The same journey works just as well in the other direction, from London to Manchester. Many people come north for football at Old Trafford or the Etihad, for concerts and for business. See our Manchester guide.
For a round trip, book the journey home at the same time. Each leg has its own fixed price. Then the whole trip is sorted before you set off.
Ride with ZeroLanes. A car booked ahead, at a price fixed before you confirm, with the driver and the car on your journey page before pickup. Get a fixed price for the journey.