V-Flyer

I've been watching the VS077 flight path for a couple of months and it's always followed pretty much the same track out across the Irish Sea then across the Atlantic.
This week however it's going straight down England, across the Channel, brushing France then over Spain and a little bit of Portugal. Is there a very large weather front in the Atlantic? Or are they just taking a more scenic route?

They've just turned right at Cardiff, so not such a large deviation now.

Sounds like the pilot just wanted avoid Wales.

I think I read that avoiding the toll for the Severn Bridge is part VA's cost cutting measures... ii)

Yes. Could be - the toll for a 4 engine vehicle would be huge.

Although I do wonder about why the deviations happen, sometimes it goes well north of Chester on its way out west, and I've also seen it crossing this far south. I suppose it must just be a combination of local traffic and weather

It usually deviates to avoid the strong jetstreams.

Flightradar24.com

Also planefinder.net