I’ve noticed my TalkTalk bills rising every month , since the end of my contract, so I’m thinking about moving to Tesco Mobile..
I moved to a new home back in 2020 and hoped that I could transfer my contract but that wasn’t an option. I would have to start a new TalkTalk contract.
Once I’d moved, I contacted TalkTalk again and started an 18 month contract for Fibre 35. There is no chance of having Fibre To The Premises (FTTP) in the building where I live as they haven’t installed it yet, but we do have Fibre To The Cabinet (FTTC).
I started my new Broadband contract and everything seems to be running nicely and my bill was around £35 a month. This seemed reasonable and was was quite affordable.
Whilst I was in contact, the bill seemed to be fairly steady and I was quite happy. It was only after my Broadband contract ended in January 2022 that I had a problem with my bills rising.
TalkTalk Bills Rising – Tesco Mobile ?
I’ve spent some time looking at other Broadband deals and Tesco Mobile seems to offer a great solution to my problem.
I’ve been with Tesco for many years but I’ve always had a simple PAYG and never really thought about using them as my Broadband provider.
I’m fairly close to my local O2 phone mast and get a very strong signal, could mobile internet be the solution for me.
As I no longer run a business, I don’t need a home phone so I’d be quite happy with a Broadband contract that didn’t include a landline
I’ve discovered that I can switch over to a Pay Monthly contract with Tesco and get 100GB of data with unlimited minutes and texts.
I can get this £14 per month on a 24 month contract and the price is fixed. With TalkTalk bills rising every month, there’s not much to decide..
We have some low bridges in Salisbury that HGV and lorry drivers heading to Churchfields Industrial Estate should know about, especially the 14′-3″ (4.34 Meters) bridge in Fisherton Street and the 10″-3″ (3.12 Meters) bridge in Cherry Orchard Lane.
If you’re heading to Churchfields Ind Est for the first time, you might like to know the two common routes from outside of the City. One involves going under that bridge in Fisherton Street and the other avoids the low bridges in Salisbury.
Low Bridges In Salisbury – Fisherton Street
This is the route in from St Paul’s Roundabout (A36) and I would think that it’s a popular route down from the A303. If you can comfortably drive under the bridge with its 14′-3″ (4.34 Meters) height restriction then you’re well on your way to getting to Churchfields.
Straight after the bridge is a tight right turn into South Western Rd, which has a Zebra crossing, before getting to Mill Road on the left and on to the Industrial estate.
If you’re unlucky enough to strike the bridge then Rail Track will likely get involved and you’ll make the local news.. please be careful
Exeter Street HGV Route
The only safe HGV route into Churchfields Ind Est, Salisbury that avoids any low bridges is from Exeter Street Roundabout. The roundabout is on the A338 where Churchill Way South and New Bridge Road meet.
The route is Exeter St, New Street (on the left), Crane Street, Cranebridge Road, Mill Road and then left into Churchfields Road.
The route back is slightly different. Right into Mill Road, Cranebridge Road, Crane Street, New Street, Straight ahead to Ivy Street, Right into Brown Street, follow on round into St Ann Street and left into Exeter Street.
The two HGV and lorry routes above are the only ones that you should take in or out of the estate…please.
Cherry Orchard Lane – Bad Route For HGVs
If you’ve driven past the Brunel Road turning in Lower Road, and the Audi and VW showrooms, then you’ll probably have to turn around. The road ahead, at the junction with Cherry Orchard Lane, has a 7.5 Tonne limit and some tight bends.
Back in 2016, an HGV got stuck by St Andrew’s Church in Lower Bemerton for about 4 hours, according to an article in the Salisbury Journal. The lorry driver was there for four hours and issued with fixed penalty notice for ignoring the very visible signs. The road is totally unsuitable to goods vehicles although I appreciate that they sometimes have to make deliveries.
If you turn right at the junction into Cherry Orchard Lane then you’ll certainly have to turn around. There is a low bridge with a 10′-3″ (3.12 Meters) height restriction. Luton vans hit this bridge occasionally and it makes a real mess.
Sadly, Sat-Navs designed for cars don’t display the low bridges in Salisbury.
It might be tempting to use the entrance to Hedley Davis Court for turning around but the elderly residents who live there won’t thank you for it. A VW Golf was damaged recently when a coach reversed in and failed to stop, luckily, a couple of residents took photos as evidence. If you drive your HGV in there, they will probably take your photo as well.
A lack Of Road Signs For HGVs
One of the reasons that lorries and HGVs end up at this end of Churchfields Ind Est maybe the lack of road signage warning of the restrictions in Lower Bemerton.
If an HGV drives up Brunel Road then there’s a clear sign telling them to turn right. If a lorry is a litttle lost, maybe having missed the turning into Stephenson Rd or driving past a destination, there is little to warn them until it’s too late. There is a faded sign outside the Audi showroom to warn of the low bridge in Cherry Orchard Lane but, again, it’s too late.
One final bridge to mention is a little way out of the City. The Wilton low bridge in on the other side of the town, along Warminster Road, just before Kingsway Trading Estate.
It has a height limit of 14′-0″ (4.2 Meters) at the centre but just 11′-0″ (3.3 Meters) on one side when you look at it from the Wilton Side. When you look at it from the other side the lower height limit is 12′-3″ (3.73 Meters). The bridge is quite often in the local news when a lorry hits it.
According to Network Rail, during 2020/21 it was the 7th most struck railway bridge in Britain with 11 strikes.
I hope you find my guide to Low Bridges in Salisbury useful.
The possibility Primark coming to Salisbury gets mentioned on social media every week. It now seems that it’s actually happening.
Whenever the Salisbury Journal post anything about a new shop opening , you can guarantee that someone will mention the need for a Primark in Salisbury. They even published an article to inform their readers that the store really was coming to the city, however it was posted on April 1st.
I imagine that the reason that some people are so keen to have a Primark in Salisbury is that the discount chain sells cheap clothing. In these tough economics times it would be great to be able to buy the latest fashion or children’s clothing at a reasonable price.
The Nearest Primark To Salisbury
The nearest store is in 22 – 28 Above Bar Street, Southampton (SO14 7DQ) and is only 25 miles away. It’s less than an hour by car or a short train journey. It’s also a good chance to visit the Westquay Shopping Centre.
There is also a Primark in Winchester at The Brooks Shopping Centre (SO23 8QY) and is 25 miles away.
and here is the Winchester Primark website so that you have check the address and opening time at that particular branch
Opening Hours
The opening hours for most of the stores is likely to be from 09:00 – 18:00 although some may stay open for longer. Sunday opening hours are reduced because of trading laws but they may open 30 minutes earlier to allow browsing only.
Buying Primark Clothes Online
It would be tempting to think that you could order goods from the Primark website and have them delivered. Sadly this is not the case as the do not offer online shopping. I think the reason that they don’t offer delivery is that it would bump up the cost of cheap clothing. They would far rather you visited one of their stores..
Will We Have A Primark In Salisbury
The problem is that, although Salisbury is a city as it has a cathedral, the population is fairly small compared to other cities. Rumour has it that Primark would only open a new store in a city with a population of over 100,000 people although Salisbury only has around 45,000. I just don’t think that it would be financially viable for them to open a shop here..
So there you have it.. I’m afraid that I don’t think we will have a Primark in Salisbury anytime soon.
The A303 Stonehenge traffic delays cause misery for motorists,especially west bound beyond Amesbury.
There have even been reports of motorists stopping and getting out of their cars to take photos. This lack of driving care just increases the chances of an accident.
The traffic is bad enough during rush hour but it can get extremely busy during holiday periods with a lot of tourists heading to the west country to counties such as Devon and Cornwall.
A303 Stonehenge Traffic solution – A Tunnel?
Road planners have been looking at resolving the A303 Stonehenge traffic problems and plan to improve the road between Amesbury and Berwick Down with a tunnel and a new dual carriageway.
I had a leaflet through my door recently from National Highways with information and a map which look pretty interesting. You can read all about the work here:
The map shows the new dual carriageway from the Countess roundabout at Amesbury and its route to the Eastern tunnel entrance, followed by the route to the Western entrance and onto the surface before it reaches the A360.
A new Longbarrow Junction on the A303 would then link back to the A360 heading South to Salisbury and North towards the Stonehenge visitor centre and Shrewton. The dual carriageway would then go across the proposed River Till viaduct to the north of the existing route and bypass Winterbourne Stoke.
A360 Electricity works
In the summer of 2021, there were plans for Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) to install two electricity cables and a fibre optic cable.
They were to be installed along the A360 from the Longbarrow roundabout.
They then follow the route south to the round about at the top of The Avenue which runs from Wilton.
The plan was to divert traffic along the A345 between Salisbury and Amesbury.
If the A303 Stonehenge tunnel goes ahead then the electricity cable work will also be carried out.
Until it does, the A303 Stonehenge traffic delays will continue and bring misery to motorists.
