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A361 road
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The A361 is a major road in England and at 195 miles is the longest 3 digit A road in the UK. It runs south from Ilfracombe on the north Devon coast to Barnstaple, turning south-east to Tiverton then, after a break (the M5 connects the two sections), north east from Taunton in Somerset through Street and Glastonbury, past Frome and then into Wiltshire through Trowbridge, Devizes, Avebury and Swindon. It then runs through the eastern Cotswolds, via Lechlade, Burford and Chipping Norton and on through Banbury and Daventry before terminating at its junction with the A5 road at the village of Kilsby on the Northamptonshire-Warwickshire border near Rugby.
first designated in 1922 the A361 ran only from Taunton to Banbury.
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Encyclopedia
The A361 is a major road in England and at 195 miles is the longest 3 digit A road in the UK. It runs south from Ilfracombe on the north Devon coast to Barnstaple, turning south-east to Tiverton then, after a break (the M5 connects the two sections), north east from Taunton in Somerset through Street and Glastonbury, past Frome and then into Wiltshire through Trowbridge, Devizes, Avebury and Swindon. It then runs through the eastern Cotswolds, via Lechlade, Burford and Chipping Norton and on through Banbury and Daventry before terminating at its junction with the A5 road at the village of Kilsby on the Northamptonshire-Warwickshire border near Rugby.
History
When first designated in 1922 the A361 ran only from Taunton to Banbury. It was later extended west though Bampton to South Molton, on the route of the former A398, and from South Molton to Barnstaple and Ilfracombe, previously part of the route of the A373. In 1988, when the North Devon Link Road was opened, the A361 was switched to its present route. The old route from Taunton through Bampton to South Molton was downgraded to become the B3227.
In the 1970s the route was extended north from Banbury to Daventry when part of the B4038 was upgraded, and to Kilsby replacing the former B4039, providing an A road link from Swindon to the M1 motorway.
Route
Devon
The road starts in Ilfracombe as part of the town's High Street, and is mostly single carriageway. The road passes through the villages of Knowle and Braunton, before becoming dual carriageway standard at Ashford, which continues for the short distance to Barnstaple. From there it passes the towns train station then merges with the A39 for a short while before splitting back off near Portmore Golf Park. The section from Barnstaple to the M5 near Tiverton has been designated the North Devon Link Road, and enables relatively fast access to the Atlantic Highway, relieving pressure on the northern section of the A39 and A358. This section is a modern, wide single carriageway trunk road (which was de-trunked in 2002), apart from the 5-mile stretch between Tiverton and the M5, which is dual carriageway. Tiverton Parkway railway station is situated close to the junction with the motorway in order to give easy rail connections for people driving from north Devon.
Somerset/Wiltshire
The road is merged with the A38 from Junction 27 of the M5 Until Taunton. The rest of the road, from there to Swindon, is largely county-road class, It passes by the towns of Langport and Glastonbury and briefly merges with the A39 again. From there it continues northeast and becomes part of Frome bypass, it then passes through Swindon town centre before emerging near Stratton street market.
Oxforshire/Northamptonshire
From there it continues through Lechlade, Burford and Chipping Norton passing many Oxfordshire villages on its way. It then enters Banbury form the southwest as an arterial road passing the Banbury Cross, for Hennef Way it becomes Dual carriageway until it passes over the M40. From there it continues to Daventry as a single carriageway through an area with high incidence of accidents. It then becomes part of the Daventry bypass bfore going to Kilsby to meet with the A5 at its northern end.
A4361
The road has been re-numbered A4361 from its junction with the A4 immediately south of Avebury northwards, becoming the A361 again at the junction with the A419 which passes north-east of Swindon.
External links
- – A travelog following a section of the A361
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