Old A roads
Old A roads
Following on from Mick F's Old A30 thread in the Touring section, I said I would start a thread generally to discuss old main roads which now make excellent cycle routes, as most of their traffic has moved onto adjacent motorways or 'improved' roads nearby.
I've cycled on a few of these but am sure there are many others that are now relatively quiet. These roads tend to be well engineered, thus removing the steepest gradients, are often wide enough for vehicles to easily pass cyclists without coming too close, quite often still have some of the facilities like cafes and shops that grew up along them when they were trunk routes, and are often very scenic. This is because in many cases they were the original roads, which followed natural alignments such as ridges or valleys, and thus give fantastic views. The road I know best is the A38 in Gloucestershire, which runs parallel to the M5, and usually has little more than some local traffic on it.
Do please post any recommendations of similar roads (or warnings of roads that may not be as quiet as we might suppose). As I said in the other thread, I have it in the back of my head to write a short book on these one day, but it will probably never progress further than most of the other books I think of writing!
I've cycled on a few of these but am sure there are many others that are now relatively quiet. These roads tend to be well engineered, thus removing the steepest gradients, are often wide enough for vehicles to easily pass cyclists without coming too close, quite often still have some of the facilities like cafes and shops that grew up along them when they were trunk routes, and are often very scenic. This is because in many cases they were the original roads, which followed natural alignments such as ridges or valleys, and thus give fantastic views. The road I know best is the A38 in Gloucestershire, which runs parallel to the M5, and usually has little more than some local traffic on it.
Do please post any recommendations of similar roads (or warnings of roads that may not be as quiet as we might suppose). As I said in the other thread, I have it in the back of my head to write a short book on these one day, but it will probably never progress further than most of the other books I think of writing!
Re: Old A roads
+1 for the A38.
(Bodmin to Derby)
Quite few lengths of it from Exeter all the way to Worcester are quite cycle-able.
Bodmin to Plymouth, it's horrible (except for the by-passed village of Dobwalls), but short bits in and out of South Devon east of Plymouth are ok. B3213 Ivybridge, Bittaford - B3372 South Brent - B3352 Buckfastleigh, Ashburton - unclassified Bickington, Coldeast - B3344 Chudleigh, then unclassified into Exeter.
It's the B3181 out of Exeter to J27 M5. From there it is a bit busy in places, but ok generally. The old road went through Wellington and Taunton, then through Bridgwater. As you get towards Bristol it gets a bit mad, but I wonder if the old coaching road went via Congresbury A370 Long Ashton to cross the Avon.
A38 leaves Bristol city centre and heads north though Filton, Alveston, and to Gloucester. Bit mad in the outskirts of Gloucester, but the old road goes straight through the city via Quedgely (Bristol Rd) and Hempstead and out on Tewksbury Rd .......... and to Tewksbury on Gloucester Rd.
It stays east of the Severn and carries on north into Worcester. From there, it gets lost in the southern reaches of Birmingham, and eventually pops out through Burton-on-Trent. No doubt the Old Road went through smaller villages before finishing in Derby.
(Bodmin to Derby)
Quite few lengths of it from Exeter all the way to Worcester are quite cycle-able.
Bodmin to Plymouth, it's horrible (except for the by-passed village of Dobwalls), but short bits in and out of South Devon east of Plymouth are ok. B3213 Ivybridge, Bittaford - B3372 South Brent - B3352 Buckfastleigh, Ashburton - unclassified Bickington, Coldeast - B3344 Chudleigh, then unclassified into Exeter.
It's the B3181 out of Exeter to J27 M5. From there it is a bit busy in places, but ok generally. The old road went through Wellington and Taunton, then through Bridgwater. As you get towards Bristol it gets a bit mad, but I wonder if the old coaching road went via Congresbury A370 Long Ashton to cross the Avon.
A38 leaves Bristol city centre and heads north though Filton, Alveston, and to Gloucester. Bit mad in the outskirts of Gloucester, but the old road goes straight through the city via Quedgely (Bristol Rd) and Hempstead and out on Tewksbury Rd .......... and to Tewksbury on Gloucester Rd.
It stays east of the Severn and carries on north into Worcester. From there, it gets lost in the southern reaches of Birmingham, and eventually pops out through Burton-on-Trent. No doubt the Old Road went through smaller villages before finishing in Derby.
Mick F. Cornwall
Re: Old A roads
The newly dualled A46 between Widmerpool on Notts and Newark on the Notts/Lincs border, has left the old Fosse Way more or less intact. Used to be a nightmare to ride on or even cross, but now it's a delight. Still smooth Tarmac in most places and hardly any traffic.
Also the old Great North Road north of Newark to Tuxford and Markham Moor.
Also the old Great North Road north of Newark to Tuxford and Markham Moor.
Sherwood CC and Notts CTC.
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Re: Old A roads
The old A303 between Ilminster and South Petherton in Somerset. And an excellent village store and cafe at Seavington St Michael (Birth Place of Arthur Linton - first British World cycling champion). It even has a cycle route sign on it.
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Re: Old A roads
The old A120 (now B1256) from Bishop's Stortford to Braintree is OK. There must be loads of these roads.
Re: Old A roads
Well, I can vouch for the old A23 (now re-numbered B2118) between Sayers Common and Muddleswood, north of Brighton. It used to be a trunk single carriageway and although it's been narrowed in places, it still retains most of its original width elsewhere. Fairly quiet most of the time, but beware of motorists using it as a rat-run!
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Re: Old A roads
The A6, Kendal to Shap. Quiet and spectacular
Re: Old A roads
I live just off the old A11 (now B1383) in North Essex. It's not too bad to cycle on. There's a nice old video here showing what it was like in the 70 s before the M11 opened.
Re: Old A roads
The A361 from Taunton to South Molton, now the B3227. Brilliant road to cycle, and very little traffic. Also the unclassified bit between south Molton and Barnstaple is lovely
Re: Old A roads
drossall wrote:The old A120 (now B1256) from Bishop's Stortford to Braintree is OK. There must be loads of these roads.
+1 though it would be even better if they reduced the speed limit. I've asked ECC to do this, but was told that it is still considered a 'commuting' route and therefore [we cannot inconvenience the holy motorist].
The old A130 (now Southend Road / Main Road) from Howe Green to Rettendon hasn't been substantially improved by losing traffic to the new road. There are a couple of nasty junctions on the road, and the reduced traffic means that the remaining traffic goes far too fast (typically exceeding the already high speed limits). I'd rather do extra distance and go via the Hanningfield Reservoir or Bicknacre and Danbury.
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Re: Old A roads
Only a short bit but the old a5 near hints/weeford near Tamworth. Lovely bit of rolling road cutting through a bare sandstone escarpment, you can just imagine the Romans marching up a down there almost 2000years ago.
Re: Old A roads
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Re: Old A roads
Flite wrote:The A6, Kendal to Shap. Quiet and spectacular
That's good to hear. It's a road I've long wanted to ride along, but haven't yet. I try to go up to the Lakes once a year, but haven't yet explored the area between the Lakes and Dales, which is now becoming part of the national park. Must do so soon.
Re: Old A roads
Si wrote:Only a short bit but the old a5 near hints/weeford near Tamworth. Lovely bit of rolling road cutting through a bare sandstone escarpment, you can just imagine the Romans marching up a down there almost 2000years ago.
Ah yes, Watling Street. I love the way it drives a straight course right across the Midlands, blithely ignoring most modern communities (which of course weren't there when it was originally built). Does anyone know if any other lengths of it are now relatively quiet, or are most sections part of the modern highway?
This summer I cycled a short length of the A5 from Llangollen to Chirk, which was a wonderful ride, along the escarpment overlooking the Dee valley. Most traffic accessing Llangollen seems to use the A539 to the north of the river, leaving the A5 relatively quiet. It's a narrow winding road, perfect for cycling.
Re: Old A roads
Not sure about Watling street, but the Fosse way is quiet B road or lane for most of the way from Bath up to Coventry ish. It gets a bit difficult to follow it though Leicester. I think trying to cycle the length of the Fosse would be quite interesting