We have travelled to Cornwall alot over the years and have never bothered stopping overnight. If you stop for a nice lunch halfway, that gives you plenty of time to break the journey up. I would try and leave in the morning if you can. Traffic can always be a nightmare on a Friday afternoon. I think a four hour journey would be a very good run - without any hold ups or traffic - it has always taken us longer than that! 

We’re looking for 1 night stay. On way to cornwell from Essex. 2 adults 19 year old and 16 year old. Any recommendation please

How did your trip went? Well, bringing along kids during travel is quite a challenge that's why I really do understand that you cut your trip and and stay somewhere overnight before proceeding. Quite hassle but better for everybody and most specially for the kids. When we took our trip to Cornwall, we also took a stop at Exeter. I think it's the most ideal place. We stayed at Bluechip's 2 The Square accommodation (check their cottages here: http://www.bluechipholidays.co.uk/devon-holiday-cottage). Quite affordable and near the road and the beach. We didn't have to rush when we got there. The scenery in Exeter is really amazing. It's nice to take walks there. If anyone comes to take a stop in Exeter next time, I here are some walking trails that you can take before moving on to your trip. http://www.mapmywalk.com/gb/exeter-eng/

We stayed at the Beckford Arms in Tisbury on our way to Cornwall last summer. It was very nice - great food!
http://www.beckfordarms.com

Hi,

We usually try to leave early and drive the full way to get it over and done with. We always stop for lunch at this amazing pub near Exeter called Jack in the Green. See www.jackinthegreen.uk.com/‎

Natalie

I would def go A303, we always go that way when we go down to the SW, if you wanted to stop mid way, I'd recommend this side of Exeter.

Good luck

I do this journey all the time and I have to agree with the previous posters than an overnight stop is way more hassle than it's worth. Exeter is only an hour from Bodmin so in my opinon you might as well keep going.

I never find Fridays a hassle to drive on as long as you leave before mid afternoon. Personally I'm a fan of the a303 but that's because I usually travel by myself with my three kids in the back and all those roundabouts keep me awake!!

Good luck. It's not as far as you think (four hours without a stop) and it's soooo worth it when you get there.

Wow, thanks SO much for all the responses!

We check in on a Friday, so was thinking of going Thursday and staying over-but now wonder if it's worth it...

I just don't know if travelling on a Friday is going to be a nightmare!

I was envisaging a much longer journey than 4 hrs-so that's good to know...

As someone mentioned, check in is at 4pm and you're not allowed to arrive earlier. Would leaving at 12.30 pm on a Friday be terrible traffic wise?

Other option I'm considering is leaving at bedtime (kids!) on Thursday night, and staying somewhere v near Glynn Barton on Thursday night....

Anyway, thanks for all the tips-lots to think about.

Will definitely PM you Mrs_Pavlova-thanks!

We do this journey with our 3 a couple of times a year. At first we thought we needed to break it with an overnight stay, however we actually found this to be more hastle than it was worth.
Our tactic now is to get up so that we are on the road for 5am with no breakfast, then drive down the quiet m4/m5. The journey only takes 3.5 hours and its easy to stop at a service station once you are past Taunton area leaving only an hour after a stop.
The children actually enjoy the early start, but you do need to be packed the night before.

We have stayed at Glynn Barton a couple of times with our three small Children and it has always taken us 4 hours to do the journey. We stop at a pub for lunch called the Red Lion which is about 2 hours away so half way (http://www.redlionbabcary.co.uk/). Child friendly, yummy food and it has a garden. It's great for a run around before the next part of the journey. They also have rooms.

Have a good trip

Hi-
We stayed at a lovely boutique hotel called in Yeoville called The Keep Hotel on our way to Cornwall over Christmas. They have big rooms and are all set up for babies -- they provided a travel cot and breakfast for our child, who was 16 months at the time. Check them out online!

When we go to Devon from London we nearly always use A303 which should be fine unless travelling on Friday or Saturday. It is much more pleasant than M4/M5 and 20 or 30 miles shorter. It normally takes us 3 to 3 and a half hours, so if you want to stop overnight en route it should be between Yeovil and Honiton. Honiton has the benefit of being a nice market town and adjacent to A30 motorway which starts there and goes all the way to Bodmin.

My parents live near Bodmin so I often do the journey with my 9month old. It's actually a 4 hour journey but that would be with no stops. M4/5 is quicker but slightly more miles. I nearly always do that route as every time I do a303 I seem to have an awful journey. If you do a303 there is a nice village called Hinton which has a good pub (not sure if they have accommodation). Not sure where to suggest stopping if you go m5 - personally I wouldn't bother stopping somewhere overnight and i wouldn't bother with Exeter because once you're that far you're pretty much there, the a30 part of the journey from Exeter to Bodmin is exactly an hour (and never any traffic, unless an accident etc). It does matter what time of day you leave London/what day. I would think Thursday at midday you should have a reasonable journey.

A303 is a much nicer more interesting route but if traffic is ok motorway is usually quicker. If you're going A303, Sherborne area is about half way between London and north Cornwall and is a lovely little market town with quite a few hotels and b&b's.

Hello

You will love Glynn Barton Cottages. We've been twice and are going back in June. Can't wait!

I just thought that I would share (for what it's worth) that we had the same plan the first time we visited. Admittedly, we only had one 18 month old back then, but we set off at toddler bedtime and drove all the way down hoping that he would nod off and give us a peaceful journey. No luck! He was just going to sleep as we arrived at Bodmin Premier Inn!

The other thing to bear in mind, is that you can't check in until 4pm (they are quiet strict) so we had a rather long day trying to manage without all our stuff which was packed in the boot. (I'm sure you'll be better prepared than me!)

Last time we drove down, stopping for a leisurely lunch at a nice Alastair Sawday pub and generally taking our time and it worked well.

Anyway, have a super time and pm if you want to ask anything!