I HAVE recently been on holiday in Scotland and while returning home to London I decided to turn off the motorway to take a look around the historic city of Lancaster.

I have heard about Lancaster and was curious to see what the city was like having passed a number of times and seen the delightful building which overlooks the motorway.

I wish I hadn't bothered! Coming from London I am more than familiar with traffic congestion but Lancaster is worse than the capital. After turning off the M6 I soon joined a queue of traffic which was heading into the city centre.

After a 20 minute wait I then had the pleasure of joining the worst traffic flow system I've ever experienced. I wanted to get to the Castle or Quayside but after being bumper to bumper for a further 10 minutes my desire to see Lancaster's landmarks had disappeared completely. My only concern was to get the hell out of there.

This was midday, not even rush hour, and as I shot off glad to be away from the madness I wondered how many other people had been put off by the awful traffic congestion. It's chocking the city to death and is doing the city's tourism trade no good whatsoever.

I very rarely write to newspapers but this whole episode was so infuriating, especially as I was so keen to see Lancaster's attractions and spend some money!

Mrs Mary Phillips,

Swiss Cottage,

London.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.