Balsall Common to Harwich International is 169.4 miles and takes between 186 and 204 minutes by road. Timing matters on this one: there is 18 minutes between the quickest and slowest hour. Hampton Travel covers it as pre-booked private hire with a named driver confirmed the night before and a fixed price agreed in writing before you travel.
Measured for each departure time rather than quoted as a single average, because they are not the same journey.
| Leave Balsall Common at | Drive time | Route |
|---|---|---|
| 04:00 | 189 min | Clear roads |
| 07:00 | 201 min | A452 / M42 J6 |
| 10:00 | 194 min | A452 / M42 J6 |
| 16:00 | 204 min | A452 / M42 J6 |
| 19:00 | 186 min | A452 / M42 J6 |
That 18 minute spread is the difference between comfortable and tight, and on this route it is the 16:00 hour that costs you the extra 18 minutes.
For a 07:00 departure from Harwich International we would collect you from Balsall Common at about 01:49 for a short-haul flight, or 00:49 for long haul. That allows the measured drive plus the standard advice to arrive two hours before short haul and three before long haul.
| If your flight leaves | Type | At the ferry port by | We collect you |
|---|---|---|---|
| 07:00 | Short haul | 05:00 | 01:49 |
| 07:00 | Long haul | 04:00 | 00:49 |
| 11:00 | Short haul | 09:00 | 05:49 |
Worked examples for a 07:00 departure. Give us the real flight time and the whole table shifts with it.
At 169.4 miles this is a long drive at the end of a flight, so the landing hour changes the arrival home considerably.
| You land at | Drive back to Balsall Common | Home by roughly |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00, a morning landing | 194 min | 13:59 |
| 16:00, an afternoon landing | 204 min | 20:09 |
| 19:00, an evening landing | 186 min | 22:51 |
Times allow 45 minutes from landing to being in the car. On a run this length an evening arrival means most of the drive is on empty motorway, which is why the late figures are not the worst ones.
If the inbound is delayed we track it and send the driver to the actual landing time, not the one you booked. No waiting charge either way.
We leave Balsall Common on the A452 and join at M42 J6. At 169.4 miles it is a long-distance journey. The slowest hour we have measured on it is 16:00 at 204 minutes, against 186 at 19:00. That is the window to plan around.
We work the pickup time back from it and confirm your driver the night before.
Request a fixed price