Famous road · 14 mi off the route
← All routes
Road trip route · United Kingdom
London to Bristol drive time, distance, costs & the best stops
- Drive time
- 2 hr 26 min
- Distance
- 118 mi
- Fuel (est.)
- £20
- Tolls (est.)
- None
The London to Bristol drive
The drive from London to Bristol covers 118 miles (190 km) and takes about 2 hr 26 min without stops. That makes it a comfortable one-day drive. Leave in the morning and you'll arrive with the day ahead of you.
Most of it is one road: the M4 carries 90% of the distance. On the way you go past Slough, Reading and Swindon, and you'll be near Newbury roughly 1 h 11 min in.
Expect gentle hills rather than climbs. The high point is around 224 m near Swindon. The Cheddar Gorge Road (B3135) is 14 mi off the route if you have time for a detour.
Expect fuel for a typical petrol car (~40 mpg) to cost around £20 one-way with no significant motorway tolls on the way. Prices shift monthly, so treat these as ballpark figures.
At 118 miles this is longer than 20% of the 144 routes covered here, short enough to fold into a bigger itinerary without losing a day.
The road, mile by mile
Towns within a few miles of the fastest route, with the time it takes to reach them without stopping.
- StartLondon
- 22 miSlough27 min in
- 42 miReading52 min in
- 57 miNewbury1 h 11 min in
- 79 miSwindon1 h 38 min in
- 96 miChippenham1 h 59 min in
- 118 miBristol
How high it goes
Roads you'll be on
- M4106 mi · 90%
- A47 mi · 6%
Famous roads on or near the drive
From the 500-plus passes and driving roads drivers collect in the Plan Your Road Trips app. None are on the fastest route, but these are close enough for a detour.
Famous road · 14 mi off the route
A466 Wye Valley (Chepstow to Monmouth)
Best stops between London and Bristol
Within ~30 km of the driving route, worth the detour.
Ancient Ruins
Avebury Stone Circle
Largest prehistoric stone circle in the world, enclosing an entire village and considered by many to be more atmospheric than Stonehenge.
Racetracks
Castle Combe Circuit
A charming Wiltshire circuit in a picturesque Cotswolds village, one of England's oldest operational racing venues.
Museums
Brooklands Museum
The birthplace of British motorsport and aviation, featuring the world's first purpose-built motor racing circuit from 1907.
Landmarks
Thorpe Park
Thrill-focused theme park near London catering to older children and adults with intense roller coasters.
Landmarks
Castle Combe
A film-set medieval village of honey cottages with no visible modern intrusions, often called England's prettiest village.
Racetracks
Brooklands
The world's first purpose-built motor racing circuit, opened 1907, where surviving sections of the towering concrete Members' Banking rear up out of the Surrey woodland. The museum holds racing cars and aircraft on the original site.
Filming Locations
Lacock Abbey (Hogwarts corridors and classrooms)
The medieval cloisters of Lacock Abbey served as Hogwarts corridors, and its rooms as Professor Snape's Potions classroom and Professor Quirrell's Defence Against the Dark Arts room.
Filming Locations
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - Making of Harry Potter
The Leavesden studios where all eight films were shot; the tour preserves the original Great Hall, Diagon Alley and Hogwarts Express sets.
Filming Locations
Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey)
The Jacobethan country house in Hampshire that is Downton Abbey itself; the estate opens to visitors for parts of the year.
What you need for this drive
Rules for each country on the route, in the order you meet them.
United Kingdom
- Motorway
- 112 km/h · 48 in town
- Tolls
- Individual tolled crossings (Dart Charge, M6 Toll)
- Drives on
- the left
Low-emission zones: London ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone).
Checked against national road authorities and the ECB reference rates. Rules change — confirm before you travel.
Famous drives in United Kingdom
Legendary routes you could bolt onto this trip, with real distances and stop counts.
Snake Pass + Peak District
Cobblestone villages, Bronte-novel moors, and the moodiest 14 miles of road in England
104 km · 2h driving · 7 stops · 3 days
Atlantic Highway A39: North Cornwall
Cornish surf beaches, smuggler's coves, and the Westcountry pasty trail
139 km · 2.5h driving · 7 stops · 4 days
Causeway Coastal Route
Belfast to Derry along Northern Ireland's cliff-edge coast, via Game of Thrones country
200 km · 3.3h driving · 7 stops · 3 days
NC500: North Coast 500
Scotland's answer to Route 66: 516 miles of mountains, single-track roads, and empty beaches
755 km · 11.4h driving · 9 stops · 7 days
London to Bristol FAQs
How long is the drive from London to Bristol?
Driving from London to Bristol takes about 2 hr 26 min nonstop, covering 118 miles (190 km). Add time for breaks: most drivers stop every 2 hours.
How much does it cost to drive from London to Bristol?
Fuel for a typical petrol car (~40 mpg) costs roughly £20 one-way. There are no significant motorway tolls on this route. Estimates are indicative: prices change monthly.
Can I drive from London to Bristol in one day?
Yes, at about 2 hr 26 min of driving, London to Bristol is a comfortable one-day drive with a couple of breaks.
Which roads do you take from London to Bristol?
The fastest route uses the M4 (about 106 mi), the A4 (about 7 mi). It passes Slough, Reading, Newbury, Swindon.
What other drives can I plan on Plan Your Road Trips?
We publish drive times, distances and fuel estimates for 144 routes across Europe and beyond, including 57 other drives in the same country. Browse them all on the routes index.
What are the best stops between London and Bristol?
Top-rated stops in the drive corridor include Avebury Stone Circle, Castle Combe Circuit, Brooklands Museum: see the full list of 9 stops on this page.
More drives from London & Bristol
Birmingham → BristolBristol → CardiffBristol → PlymouthBristol → St IvesLondon → AberdeenLondon → AmsterdamLondon → BarcelonaLondon → BathLondon → BirminghamLondon → Brighton
Planning a bigger trip? Try the free United Kingdom road trip planner, browse every destination we cover, take it with you on the road, or read the driving in United Kingdom guide.