Fastest route from ringwood to clapham

For a start, when are you doing the journey? (or has it already happened?)

For starters, unless you're going at a particularly quiet time, you'll be wanting to avoid dodgy routes on the way there - which means ideally avoiding the 2-lane M3 from Winchester to Basingstoke, obviously not going M27-A3 and up through Hindhead, so I reckon the most hbuttle-free route is to come off the M27 onto the A31 - it's a lovely drive, and the traffic is very light compared to the M3, and you *will* make good progress virtually all the way along it. I don't know what the Farnham bypbutt is like these days (I know they were planning some major improvement at the big traffic-lit junction there) but they have improved it in recent years anyway, and it's not really a problem out of peak hours.

So basically M3, off at J10, A31 all the way to the A3 just outside Guildford (I used to regularly do Giuldford to Southampton in 45 minutes), then simply A3 all the way in. Where abouts in Clapham are you heading for - if it's to the North side of Clapham, you might find it's easier to head up the Wandsworth Road instead of following the A3 around Clapham Common, but if it's nearer the common, instead of following the main signs to the A3, which lead you to queue after queue before even getting onto the bit, right onto Strath Terrace, then left onto Boutflower Road, and then left onto the A3 (called Battersea Rise at this point) - this cuts off a couple of sets of lights and should save you a good few minutes.

Another handy way to go coming in, if you're heading in from the M3, is instead of going onto the South Circular (A205), go straight on at those lights and head right towards Mortlake-Barnes - bear left at the first roundabout (most are more like mini-roundabouts) you come to (goes to a level crossing), left at the next one (goes to another level crossing, which is a particularly big PITA), right at the next one, up the High Street, then bear right at the end of the High Street where the main road bends left, down there for a bit and left at the next mini roundabout (this one's quite obvious as you'll see where most of the traffic's coming from-going to). Then up to the lights, straight across***, and turn right straight away *after* the lights (basically once you've turned right, you won't need to remember the route - just follow someone else, they're almost certain to be cutting up to the A205), up to the end of that road (speed bumps, but the fact that it avoids a lot of queues makes it worthwhile), then right (mini-rbt to help you get out), then left after going over the bridge, then left at the end onto the South Circular. This picks up the South Circular just after all the PITA lights around Sheen. Then head straight across the lights at Putney High Street, and first left onto Oxford Road (before the railway bridge goes over you), and right onto Disraeli Road - follow that all the way to the end, and right onto Putney Bridge Road, bringing you into Wandsworth gyratory.

*** - Depending on the time of day, you might as well just carry on on this road, which takes you all the way up to Putney Brige, getting in the right lane approaching Putney Bridge, then going right, then left down Putney Bridge Road, all the way into Wandsworth - I can't remember what the queues are like turning right just before the bridge, but IIRC it's a fairly reliable route in the late afternoon-early evening rush hour (which it will be if you're leaving Ringwood around 2pm) as the main traffic flow's in the other direction.

And as far as getting back out of London - what sort of time will you be leaving? If late-ish in the evening, I'd go the Putney Bridge Road-Barnes route to head out to the A316 (+onto M3) as off-peak I'd say it's definitely quicker than going through all the lights on the South Circ - certainly *feels* quicker anyhoo.

So um, yeah, if you've made it to the end - I'd say M3 J10-A31-A3 is a whole lot less tedious and less chance of getting held up than M3-M25-A3, but M3-A316 all the way to the South Circular junction, then straight on, right to Mortlake, left at the first two roundabouts, right at the next, next right (by the village green type area), up there, left at mini roundabout, through the lights, right just after, follow other cars up to the South Circ, through the lights by the high street, first left then first right, right at the end, and bingo, you're in Wandsworth. Might not fully comply with your lack of remembering directions, but write down a series of lefts and rights and seriously, you can't go too far wrong.

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