Long day at work? Meet the man with a 362-mile round trip to the office
HIS alarm goes off at 3.30am, then it’s just a matter of the 181-mile drive to work. Gary egan is at his desk by 6.30am each morning, works up to 12 hours a day – then faces the three-hour evening trek home in his Renault Clio.
His commute, one of the longest in Britain, sees him travel nearly 100,000 miles a year, equivalent to going four times around the earth.
the round trip between home in Porthcawl, South Wales, and his office in Watford costs about £15,000 a year.
this includes £900 a month on diesel and £6.40 a day in toll fees to cross the Severn Bridge.
the father of two admits the journey, which he does five days a week as head of production for a graphics company, is gruelling.
But Mr egan insists it is worth it because he and his partner Sarah can enjoy a better quality of life in Porthcawl than if they lived nearer to Watford.
yesterday the 46-year- old, who would only give his salary as ‘more than £35,000 a year’, said: ‘ the industry I work in is quite narrow and there just aren’t the same job opportunities in Wales for me.
‘I can’t say it wouldn’t be nice to get a job that was closer to home, but at the moment that is just not possible and I am very happy where I am.’
His partner Sarah has a ‘ very important and stressful job with South Wales Police’, he added.
‘We have discussed the options for a move, but we feel that our quality of life is much better here than it would be closer to my work- place,’ he said. ‘I like to run and on a weekend within five minutes of leaving my front door, I’m running along the beach. everyone is so friendly here, there’s a real community spirit where neighbours genuinely want to help.’
Before moving to Porthcawl 18 months ago, Mr egan lived in Colchester and faced a 75-mile drive to work via the M25 that took an hour and 40 minutes.
‘We decided for the extra hour or so on top we might as well move somewhere further away which was a nicer place,’ he said.
Since moving to Wales, he sometimes stays near Watford – in rented
‘Our quality of life is better’
accommodation or a hotel – if he is working late, but generally prefers to go home.
‘I use the journey home to sort my day out in my head and to make a plan for the following day,’ he said. ‘I use the time to take important conference calls – hands-free, of course – and my car is quite tech-savvy so I can listen to my text messages.
‘But there are times when I have to get Sarah to call me to make sure I don’t fall asleep at the wheel.’ Last night an aa spokesman described Mr egan’s commute as a sign of the ‘enormous pressure on people to stay in employment and keep the family stable and happy’. He added: ‘ But people driving these sort of distances every day do get used to it. It is a sign of the times and the pressure of modern life.
‘the aa recommends all drivers should take a driving break every two hours for ten or 20 minutes. Where this gentleman is particularly vulnerable is when the weather gets really awful and he could end up being held up or having his journey disrupted by snow.’