I normally travel home by M65 towards Manchester and then M62 towards Leeds. Unexpectedly, the road was closed near Sowerby Bridge.

Hundreds (probably thousands) of trucks, coaches and cars diverted into the middle of nowhere. 4 1/2 hours to get home!!!

The Police had closed the motorway to investigate a crash the day before. Surely that could have been done in the early hours of the morning not on a Saturday evening?

Anyone else get caught up in this mess?

That’s horrendous.

Worst one I can recall was coming home from Birmingham in 2014. The M6 had been closed to allow some filming to be done and then the fog came down. Our driver MDWAT, having dropped everyone off got home in W Yorks at around 5 am.

Motorway closures is a reason I don’t come up in my car for midweek matches anymore. It’s just too tiring. They close motorways earlier now also. It used to be 10pm but now 8pm seems to be the norm, hence the massive delay/diversion the OP experienced.
Forget saving the planet by reducing vehicle emissions, let’s just close em earlier for the convenience of the police, highways agency and any other spurious reason and stuff the poor motorists.

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 17, 2023 1:08 pm

That’s horrendous.

Worst one I can recall was coming home from Birmingham in 2014. The M6 had been closed to allow some filming to be done and then the fog came down. Our driver MDWAT, having dropped everyone off got home in W Yorks at around 5 am.

That was the 3-3 game wasn’t it? We got home around 02:45am. Struggled to see 20 yards in front most of the way home.

StayingDown4Ever wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 17, 2023 1:21 pm

That was the 3-3 game wasn’t it? We got home around 02:45am. Struggled to see 20 yards in front most of the way home.

That’s the one. The fog that night was horrendous but had the motorway not been closed we’d have been home before it hit. Worst conditions for driving in.

I’ve had the a couple of times driving up from on the past couple of years Exeter, leaving at tea time.

A couple of years ago the m5 was closed and we ended up diverted at Bristol and drove up through wales, then earlier this year the m6 was closed so we ended up diverted through Cheshire along with an endless line of wagons.

One of them we arrived home at 3am the other at 5am, although when we got back onto the motorway I did have to pull in to the service to have a sleep both times.

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 17, 2023 1:24 pm

That’s the one. The fog that night was horrendous but had the motorway not been closed we’d have been home before it hit. Worst conditions for driving in.

My memory is a bit foggy(!) - I remember the road closure and the fog but didn’t realise the fog came much later in the evening.

What was it they were filming? I seem to recall someone at the time saying it was for some zombie film but I can’t think which one it would have been.

StayingDown4Ever wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 17, 2023 1:30 pm

My memory is a bit foggy(!) - I remember the road closure and the fog but didn’t realise the fog came much later in the evening.

What was it they were filming? I seem to recall someone at the time saying it was for some zombie film but I can’t think which one it would have been.

I think you got the right info on the film

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 17, 2023 1:32 pm

I think you got the right info on the film

World War Z perhaps.

Having not moved for 20 minutes on the detour to Wolverhampton, we luckily did a u turn and went to cannock and up that side of the M6 after that Brum game.
Just glad we had an experienced driver for them foggy conditions.

StayingDown4Ever wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 17, 2023 1:30 pm

My memory is a bit foggy(!) - I remember the road closure and the fog but didn’t realise the fog came much later in the evening.

What was it they were filming? I seem to recall someone at the time saying it was for some zombie film but I can’t think which one it would have been.

The Zombies are now running the catering at the ground by the sound of it!

Taffy on the wing wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 17, 2023 3:32 pm

The Zombies are now running the catering at the ground by the sound of it!

Or running the training sessions at Gawthorpe encouraging the players to aimlessly wander about with gormless expressions.

Got caught in that, came off through ripponden but added nearly an hour.

Taffy on the wing wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 17, 2023 3:32 pm

The Zombies are now running the catering at the ground by the sound of it!

Well nobody told me about her !

OOF!

Always a pain.... Waze is always your friend in this situation though.. I always put my destination on for Long trips, even if I know my preferred way.

Lip wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 17, 2023 4:18 pm

Well nobody told me about her !

Lock them up in Cell 44!

Similar issues for us going back to Manc after the game with the 8:37 and 9:37 trains both being cancelled while we were on the turf