How to beat the Bank Holiday jams between King’s Lynn and Hunstanton

Traffic backed up on the A149 coast road at Hunstanton. Picture:Chris Bishop (Image: Archant)

For as thousands flock to the coast for the Bank Holiday break, there'll be jams at all the usual bottlenecks.

Some of the worst black spots are in West Norfolk. All roads lead to King's Lynn from a sizeable chunk of the north, Midlands and south.

The A17, A47 and A10 meet up on the town's southern outskirts - where queues soon start backing up from the Hardwick and Pullover roundabouts.

So how do you beat the gridlock?

Set off early. Aim to arrive before the rest of the herd set off for the seaside and you'll sail through and be on the coast road before you can say sandcastle.

Alternatively, switch off that SatNav and go analogue. Dig out a decent map and you'll find some of the little-known alternative routes the locals use to avoid the jams.

You'll get to sample some of our lovely countryside too, but take care as some of our country roads are a little rustic, with farm traffic and cyclists.

How about coming home?

Whether you're up for a day trip or on the last day of a short break, avoid the Hunny trap. That's when everyone seems to decide to go home from Wells, Brancaster Beach, Hunstanton, Heacham or Snettisham at the same time.

Locals call it the Five O'Clock Madness, when traffic on the A149 between Hunstanton and King's Lynn grinds to a 10mph crawl. Great way to end your day out, not.

Set off at 4pm and you might miss the worst of it. Might, being the operative word. So how about staying an hour or two longer? Try dinner in a seafront cafe or pub, stay on to watch the sunset.

Leave the return journey until early evening and the traffic will have thinned out noticeably.

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