The
Great Britain road numbering scheme is a numbering system used to
classifyCategorization is the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood. Categorization implies that objects are grouped into categories, usually for some specific purpose. Ideally, a category illuminates a relationship between the subjects and objects of knowledge...
and identify all roads in
Great BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
. Each road is given a single letter, which represents the road's category, and a subsequent number, with a length of between 1 and 4 digits. Originally introduced to arrange funding allocations, the numbers soon became used on maps and as a method of navigation. Two schemes exist; one for
motorwayThe OECD has defined a motorway as:Motorways are identical to freeways as a road type, and comparable to the United States's Interstate Highways as a classification....
s and another for non-motorway roads.
The scheme applies only to
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
. Alternative systems are used in
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
(see Roads in Northern Ireland), the
Isle of ManThe Isle of Man , or Mann , is a self-governing British Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Britain and Ireland. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Crown is represented by a Lieutenant Governor...
(see Roads in the Isle of Man) and
JerseyThe Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes the nearly uninhabited islands of the Minquiers, Écréhous, the Pierres de Lecq and other rocks and reefs. Together with the bailiwick of Guernsey...
,
Channel IslandsThe Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
. All of these
numbering schemeThere are many different numbering schemes for assigning nominal numbers to entities. These generally require an agreed set of rules, or a central coordinator. The schemes can be considered to be examples of a primary key of a database management system table, whose table definitions require a...
s use identical basic conventions and road-sign designs.
History
Initial work on
classificationClassification may refer to:* Library classification and classification in general* Taxonomic classification* Biological classification of organisms* Medical classification* Scientific classification * Classification...
was begun in 1913 by the
governmentHer Majesty's Government is the government of the United Kingdom. Under the Constitution of the United Kingdom, executive authority notionally lies with the monarch but is exercised in practice by her ministers...
's Roads Board to determine the quality and usage of British roads. This work was interrupted by the First World War and did not resume until the
Ministry of TransportIn the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
was formed in 1919 and given authority to classify highways, to allocate funding for road maintenance, authority for which was granted by section 17 (2) of the Ministry of Transport Act 1919. It created a classification system for the important routes connecting large population centres or for through traffic, which were designated as Class I. The definitive list of these roads published in 1922/3 following consultations with local authorities. In 1926/7 the list was updated to include Class II roads, which were of lesser importance. Government funding towards the repairs of these roads were set at 60% for the former and 50% for the latter.
Shortly after this, the numbers started to appear in road atlases and on signs on the roads themselves, converting them into a tool for motorists in addition to their use for determining funding. The numbers of the roads changed quite frequently during the early years of the system as it was a period of heavy expansion of the network and some numbered routes did not follow the most usual routes taken. The Trunk Roads Act 1936 gave the Ministry direct control of the major routes and a new classification system was created to identify these routes. Originally these numbers beginning in T were to be made public, however this was eventually deemed unnecessary.
With the introduction of motorways in the late 1950s, a new classification M was introduced. In many cases the motorways duplicated existing stretches of A-road, which therefore lost much of their significance and were in some cases renumbered. There was no consistent approach to this renumbering - some retained their existing number as non-primary A roads (e.g. the
A40The A40 is a major trunk road connecting London to Fishguard, Wales. It is 256 miles long.It is one of the few remaining of the "old" trunk routes not to have been superseded by a direct motorway link, though some parts, such as the southern section from London to Oxford are now better served by...
running alongside the
M40The M40 motorway is a motorway in the British transport network that connects London to Birmingham. Part of this road forms a section of the unsigned European route E05....
), others were given 'less significant' numbers (e.g. the A34 in Warwickshire became the A3400 after the M40 was built) and the remainder were downgraded to B or unclassified roads (e.g. the
A38The A38 is a major A-class trunk road in England.Though formally known as the Exeter - Leeds Trunk Road, it actually runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is 292 miles long...
, which has been replaced by the
M5The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
between Tiverton and
ExeterExeter is a city and district in Devon, England; it is the county town of Devon. Exeter is located approximately northeast of Plymouth, and southwest of Bristol, on the River Exe. The city has a population of 111,076 according to the 2001 Census....
). Occasionally the new motorway would take the name of the old A-road rather than having its own number. The most notable example of this is the A1(M).
The Local Government Act 1966 repealed all previous legislation pertaining to road numbering and introduced the concept of a principal road with all roads being reclassified and renumbered. The principal roads were all Class I routes and were allocated numbers commencing with A, whilst the remaining Class I and II roads were given numbers beginning with a B. In practice, many roads were given the same number under the new scheme.
Non motorway
In England and Wales the road numbering system for all-purpose (i.e. non-motorway) roads is based on a radial pattern centred on
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
. In Scotland the same scheme is centred on
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
. In both cases the main single-digit roads normally define the zone boundaries, with the exception of Zones 1 and 2.
- Zone 1: North of the Thames
The River Thames is a major river flowing through southern England. While best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows through several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading and Windsor....
, east of the A1 covering Greater LondonGreater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. The administrative area was officially created in 1965 and covers the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and thirty two London boroughs...
, EssexEssex is a county in the East of England region of the United Kingdom. The county town of Essex is Chelmsford.-History:In pre-Roman Britain the territories of Suffolk and Essex were home to the Trinovantes tribe, which had grown wealthy through intensive trade with the Roman Empire, contemporary...
, CambridgeshireCambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, East AngliaEast Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
, LincolnshireLincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Rutland, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, and the East Riding of Yorkshire. It also borders Northamptonshire for just 19 metres, England's shortest county boundary...
, parts of YorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the British Isles. Because of its great size, functions were increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have been subject to periodic reform. Throughout these changes, Yorkshire has continued to be recognised as...
, ClevelandCleveland is an area in the north east of England. Its name means literally "cliff-land", referring to its hilly southern areas, which rise to nearly...
, Tyne and WearTyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in North East England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
, NorthumberlandNorthumberland is a ceremonial county and unitary district in the North East of England. It borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham to the south and Tyne and Wear to the south east, as well as having a border with the Scottish Borders council area to the north, and nearly eighty miles of North...
, parts of the Scottish BordersThe Scottish Borders or simply the Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan...
, East LothianEast Lothian is one of 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, UK, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....
and on up to EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
- Zone 2: South of the Thames, east of the A3 covering Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire, and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford...
, SussexSussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
and KentKent , originally Cantia, is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent...
- Zone 3: North/West of the A3, south of the A4 covering Hampshire
Hampshire , sometimes historically Southamptonshire, Hamptonshire, , or the County of Southampton, is a county on the south coast of England. The county borders , Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
, the Isle of WightThe Isle of Wight is an English island and a county, located 3-5 miles from the south coast of the mainland, in the English Channel. It is separated from mainland England by the Solent and is situated south of the county of Hampshire...
, DorsetDorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town has been Dorchester since at least 1305, situated in the south of the county at . Between its extreme points Dorset measures from east to west and north to south, and has an area of...
and South West EnglandSouth West England is one of the regions of England. It is the largest such region in terms of area, covering including Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. It has a population of almost five million, and includes the area often known as...
- Zone 4: North of the A4, south/west of the A5 covering the south
The South Midlands is an area of England. It is the southern portion of the English Midlands, and just as there is no agreed definition for that area, various organisations use the name South Midlands to refer to an area that is specific to their own way of dividing up the country. The term is...
and West MidlandsThe West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
, OxfordshireOxfordshire is a county in the South East England region, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire....
, GloucestershireGloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury and the largest town in ceremonial Buckinghamshire is Milton Keynes....
and southSouth Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, westWest Wales is the western area of Wales.Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, an area called "South West Wales" in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics. Other definitions include Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, but exclude...
and Mid WalesMid Wales is the name given to the area of Wales lying between North and South Wales. Like the other regions of Wales, it has no official status as a region and therefore has no precise boundaries. It borders England via the Welsh Marches to the east and the Irish Sea via Cardigan Bay to the west...
.
- Zone 5: North/East of the A5, west of the A6, south of the Solway Firth
The Solway Firth is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in Cumbria, to the Mull of Galloway, on the western end of Dumfries and Galloway. The Isle of Man is also very...
/Eden Estuary covering North WalesNorth Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales, bordered to the south by Mid Wales and to the east by England.It comprises the island of Anglesey, the Llŷn peninsula and the Snowdonia mountain range, together with the catchments of the Rivers Conwy, Clwyd and Dee with the River Dyfi...
, North MidlandsThe English Midlands, or the Midlands is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
, CheshireCheshire ; also known, archaically, as the County of Chester) is a ceremonial county in North West England. The traditional county town is the city of Chester, although Cheshire's largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Widnes, Runcorn, Macclesfield,...
, CumbriaCumbria is a shire county in the North West of England. Cumbria came into existence as a county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
and LancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Lancashire County Council is based in Preston. However, Lancaster is still considered to be the county town...
- Zone 6: East of the A6 and A7, west of the A1 covering North East England
North-East England is one of the nine official regions of England and comprises the combined area of Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Tees Valley. The historic name for North-East England is Northumbria and whilst a few regional bodies still use this name, it is rarely used in...
, YorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the British Isles. Because of its great size, functions were increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have been subject to periodic reform. Throughout these changes, Yorkshire has continued to be recognised as...
, Scottish BordersThe Scottish Borders or simply the Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan...
and the Lothians
- Zone 7: North of the Solway Firth/Eden Estuary, west of the A7, south of the A8 covering Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. To the north, it borders onto South Ayrshire, East Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire; in the east the Borders; and to the south the county of Cumbria in England. It lies to the north of the Solway Firth and to the east of the Irish Sea...
, AyrshireAyrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the last seven...
and Central ScotlandThe Central Belt of Scotland is a common term used to describe the area of highest population density within Scotland. Despite the name, it is not geographically "central", but in fact in the south of the country....
- Zone 8: North of the A8, west of the A9 covering Highland, Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles
- Zone 9: North of the A8, east of the A9 covering North East Scotland, Orkney and Shetland
The first digit in the number of any road should be the number of the furthest-anticlockwise zone entered by that road. For example, the
A38 roadThe A38 is a major A-class trunk road in England.Though formally known as the Exeter - Leeds Trunk Road, it actually runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is 292 miles long...
, a
trunk roadA trunk road, trunk highway, or strategic road is a major road—usually connecting two or more cities, ports, airports, etc.—which is the recommended route for long-distance and freight traffic...
running from
BodminBodmin is a town in Cornwall, United Kingdom, with a population of 12,778 . It was the county town of Cornwall, until the Crown Courts moved to Truro, which is also the administrative centre. It was in Triggshire and the district of North Cornwall. Its mayor is Cllr Robert "Bob" Micek...
to
MansfieldMansfield is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the county, lying on the River Maun, from which the name of the town is derived. It is the main town in the Mansfield local government district...
starts in Zone 3, and is therefore numbered with an A3x number, even though it passes through Zones 4 and 5 to end in Zone 6. Additionally, the A1 in
Newcastle upon TyneNewcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England...
has moved twice. Originally along the Great North Road, it then moved to the
Tyne TunnelThe Tyne Tunnel is a two-lane toll vehicular tunnel under the River Tyne in North East England. Completed in 1967, it connects the town of Jarrow on the south bank of the river with North Shields and Howdon on the north. The tunnel is one of three forming the Tyne Tunnel project; the others are the...
, causing some of the roads in Zone 1 to now be in Zone 6, and some were renumbered. It was later moved to the western bypass around the city, and roads between the two found themselves back in Zone 1, and were renumbered wholesale. This did not always happen, however, and when single-digit roads were bypassed, roads were often re-numbered in keeping with the original zone boundaries.
In a limited number of cases road numbering doesn't necessarily follow the rules with some
anomalously numberedIn the Great Britain road numbering scheme, Great Britain is divided into numbered zones, the boundaries of which are usually defined by single-digit roads. The first digit of a road's number should be the number of the zone it occupies...
.
Motorways
Motorways first came to Britain over three decades after the advent of the A-road numbering event, and as a result required a new numbering system. They were given an M prefix, and in England and Wales a numbering system of their own not conterminous with that of the A-road network, though based on the same principle of zones. Running clockwise from the
M1The M1 is a major north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
the zones were defined for Zones 1 to 4 based on the proposed M2,
M3The M3 motorway is approximately long and runs in England from Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, to Southampton, Hampshire. The motorway was built to relieve traffic on the A30 and A33, the congested single carriageway trunk roads that previously carried the traffic. Part of this motorway forms a section...
and
M4 motorwayThe M4 motorway is a motorway in Great Britain linking London with West Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea....
s. The
M5The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
and
M6The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It runs from junction 19 of the M1 in Catthorpe near Rugby in central England, passes between Coventry and Nuneaton, through Birmingham, Walsall and Stafford and near the major cities of Wolverhampton and Stoke-on-Trent...
numbers were reserved for the other two planned long distance motorways. The recently opened Preston Bypass, the UK's first motorway, should have been numbered A6(M) under the scheme decided upon, but it was decided to keep the number M6 as had already been applied.
Shorter motorways typically take their numbers from a parent motorway in violation of the zone system, explaining the apparently anomalous numbers of the
M48The M48 is a motorway in Great Britain joining Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire over the original Severn Bridge. The M48 is anomalously numbered, as it is entirely to the west of the M5 motorway and its number should really therefore begin with 5.-Route:...
and
M49The M49 motorway is a small motorway west of Bristol, England, that forms a shortcut between the M5 motorway and the Second Severn Bridge on the M4 motorway. The motorway was constructed in 1996, at the same time as the bridge. It is unique on the British network for being the only motorway...
motorways as
spursA spur route is a short road forming a branch from a longer, more important route . A bypass or beltway is never considered a true spur route as it typically reconnects with the major road...
of the M4, and
M271The M271 is a motorway near Southampton in Hampshire, England. It is 3 miles long. Construction began in 1973 and it opened in 1975. It provides part of the route to Southampton Docks from the M27.-Route:...
and
M275The M275 is a two-mile long, dual three-lane motorway in the county of Hampshire, southern England. It is the principal route for entering and leaving Portsmouth. It continues as the A3 into Portsmouth, and meets the M27 at its northern terminus...
motorways as those of the
M27The M27 is a motorway in Hampshire, England. It is 25 miles long and runs west-east from Cadnam to Portsmouth. It was opened in stages between 1975 and 1983, and there were plans to extend the motorway as far as Penzance to the west and Ramsgate to the east, with a number of smaller motorways...
. The latter two might be explained by the original plan for the
M3 motorwayThe M3 motorway is approximately long and runs in England from Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, to Southampton, Hampshire. The motorway was built to relieve traffic on the A30 and A33, the congested single carriageway trunk roads that previously carried the traffic. Part of this motorway forms a section...
, which was due to head towards
ExeterExeter is a city and district in Devon, England; it is the county town of Devon. Exeter is located approximately northeast of Plymouth, and southwest of Bristol, on the River Exe. The city has a population of 111,076 according to the 2001 Census....
, rather than
SouthamptonSouthampton is the largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
as it does now. The original committee which set up the motorway zones chose the boundary of zones 2 and 3 to be the projected line of the M3 towards Exeter, although it's not currently known whether this is still the case.
This numbering system was devised in 1958-9 by the then
Ministry of Transport and Civil AviationIn the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
, and applied only in England and Wales. It was decided to reserve the numbers 7, 8 & 9 for Scotland. In Scotland, where roads were the responsibility of the
Scottish OfficeThe Scottish Office was a department of the United Kingdom Government from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland...
, the decision was taken to adopt a scheme whereby motorways took the numbers of the all-purpose routes they replaced. As a result, there is no M7 (as no motorway follows the A7), and when the
A90The A90 road is a major north to south road in eastern Scotland, running from Edinburgh to Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire.From Edinburgh, it travels west and over the Forth Road Bridge, before turning into the M90 motorway. At Perth, the M90 again becomes the A90, now running north east to Dundee...
was re-routed to replace the
A85The A85 is a major road in Scotland. It runs east from Oban along the south bank of Loch Etive, through Lochawe and Tyndrum, Crianlarich, Lochearnhead, St Fillans and Crieff before terminating at Perth, where it crosses the River Tay via Perth Bridge. Its name between the latter two locations is...
south of
PerthPerth is a former royal burgh in central Scotland. Sitting on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative headquarters of Perth and Kinross council area. According to the 2001 census, its population is 43,450...
, the short M85 became part of the
M90The M90 is a motorway in Scotland. It runs from Inverkeithing, at the north end of the Forth Road Bridge, to Perth, passing Dunfermline, Cowdenbeath and Kinross on the way...
.
Single digit A roads
In England and Wales the main roads radiating from London have single digit numbers, starting with the A1 which heads due north. The numbering continues sequentially in a clockwise direction, thus:
- A1 London
[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
to EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
, (previously known as the Great North Road)
- A2
The A2 is a major road in southern England, connecting London with the English Channel port of Dover in Kent. This route has always been of importance as a connection between the British capital of London and sea trade routes to Continental Europe...
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
to DoverDover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; west of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
- A3 London
[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
to PortsmouthPortsmouth is a city located in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is the United Kingdom's only island city and is located on Portsea Island. The City of Portsmouth and Portsmouth Football Club are both nicknamed Pompey...
- A4 London
[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
to BristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff.With an estimated population of 416,400 for the unitary authority in mid-2007, and a surrounding urban area with an estimated 561,500 residents, it is England's sixth, and...
- A5 London
[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
to HolyheadHolyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the north west of Wales.Although it is the largest town in the county, with a population of 11,237 , it is neither the county town nor actually on the island of Anglesey...
- A6 Luton
Luton is a town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 32 miles north of London. Luton, along with its near neighbours of Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of over 230,000.Luton is home to non-league Luton Town Football Club, whose...
to Carlisle (The A6 originally started in Barnet on the old A1. When the A1 was moved in the late 1970s, the A6 was cut back to the A1/M25 junction. Further renumbering in the St Albans area means that it now starts in Luton town centre. The old route is numbered as A1081).
Similarly, in Scotland, important roads radiating from Edinburgh have single digit numbers, thus:
- A7 Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
to Carlisle
- A8 Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
to GreenockGreenock is a town and former burgh of barony in the Inverclyde council area of western Scotland. It forms part of a contiguous urban area with Gourock to the west and Port Glasgow to the east. Greenock lies within the Central Lowlands geographic area of Scotland.Greenock's population was...
, this effectively links Edinburgh to GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
- A9 Falkirk
Falkirk Falkirk Falkirk is a town in central Scotland lying to the north west and north east of the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, respectively. According to a 2007...
to ThursoThurso is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland...
(Originally Edinburgh to InvernessInverness is a city in northern Scotland. The city is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is promoted as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
, it was extended to John o' GroatsJohn o' Groats is a village in the Highland council area of Scotland. Once a part of the county of Caithness, John o' Groats is popular with tourists because it is usually regarded as the most northerly settlement of mainland Great Britain, although the actual most northerly point is nearby...
via Wick-People:* Denis Wick , British orchestral trombonist* Douglas Wick , American movie producer* Gian-Carlo Wick , Italian theoretical physicist* Helmut Wick , German Luftwaffe fighter pilot...
in the 1930s, and later cut back at the southern end because of the construction of the main runway at Edinburgh AirportEdinburgh Airport is located at Turnhouse in the City of Edinburgh, Scotland, and was the busiest airport in Scotland in 2008, handling 9,006,702 passengers. It was also the seventh busiest airport in the UK by passengers and the fifth busiest by aircraft movements...
on top of it. More recently, it was diverted to Thurso at the northern end).
While the road numbering system in Scotland centres on Edinburgh, arguably the true "hub" for its road network itself is
Broxden JunctionBroxden Junction is one of the busiest and most important road junctions in Scotland. It is located on the outskirts of Perth. The roundabout is an important hub of the Scottish road network, a major stop on the A9 north-south route, and the UK's northernmost motorway junction...
in
PerthPerth is a former royal burgh in central Scotland. Sitting on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative headquarters of Perth and Kinross council area. According to the 2001 census, its population is 43,450...
.
Other A roads
These radials are supplemented by two-digit codes which are routes that are slightly less important (but may still be classified as trunk routes), although many of these routes have lost a lot of their significance due to motorway bypasses, or the upgrading of other A-roads. These routes are not all centred on London, but as far as possible follow the general principle that their number locates them radially clockwise from the associated single digit route. For example, the A10 (London to King's Lynn) is the first main route clockwise from the A1, the A11 is the next, and so on. These roads have been numbered either outwards from or clockwise around their respective hubs, depending on their alignment.
The system continues to three and four digit numbers which further split and criss-cross the radials. Lower numbers originate closer to London than higher numbered ones. As roads have been improved since the scheme commenced, some roads with 3 or 4 digit numbers have increased in significance, for example the
A127The A127, also known as the Southend Arterial Road, is one of the trunk roads in England linking London with Southend-on-Sea, The other being the A13. It is a dual carriageway for its entire length, rare on a trunk road since the only others are the A14 and the A282, and is known as the Southend...
,
A1079The A1079 is a major road in northern England. It links the cities of York and Kingston upon Hull, both in Yorkshire.-Route:The road begins in central York, heading east initially as Lawrence Street and then Hull Road. After it meets the A64 at a grade separated roundabout and gains primary status...
and
A414The A414 is a major road in England. It runs from the A41 at a junction west of Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, through the town to junction 8 of the M1 motorway at Buncefield, and running parallel to the M1 until junction 7, heading south of St Albans, east through Hatfield, Hertford, then...
. New routes have also been allocated 3 or 4 digit numbers, for example the Edinburgh City Bypass is the A720.
Trunk roads and primary routes
Some A roads are designated trunk roads, which determines whether central or local government has responsibility for them. A more recent classification is that of primary routes, the category of recommended routes for long distance traffic. Primary routes include both trunk and non-trunk roads.
Motorway sections
Some sections of A roads have been improved to the same standard as motorways, but do not completely replace the existing road; they form a higher standard part of the route. These sections retain the same number but are suffixed with (M), for example the A1(M) and
A404(M)The A404 is a motorway in Berkshire, England and can be referred to as the Maidenhead West Bypass. It joins the M4 with the A404 dual carriageway to High Wycombe, Marlow and the M40...
. There have been occasions where this designation has been used to indicate motorway bypasses of an existing road, but the original retains the A road designation, for example A3(M),
A329(M)The A329 is a motorway in Berkshire, England. It is 4 miles long and runs from the north of Bracknell to the south east of Reading.-Route:...
, A38(M) and
A48(M)The A48 is a motorway in Wales between Cardiff and Newport. It is a spur off the M4 into eastern Cardiff. It is long and is a 2-lane motorway throughout its length. At St Mellons it runs continuously into a further 6 miles of the dual-carriageway A48, which also features hard shoulders.It opened...
.
Other classifications
B roads are numbered local routes, which have lower traffic densities than the main trunk roads, or A roads. They are typically short, not usually more than 15 miles. The classification has nothing to do with the width or quality of the physical road, and B roads can range from dual carriageways to single track roads with passing places. B roads follow the same numbering scheme as A roads, but almost always have 3- and 4-digit designations. Many 3-digit B roads outside the
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
area are former A roads which have been downgraded owing to new road construction; others may link smaller settlements to A roads.
Roads and lanes with yet lower traffic densities are designated
C,
D and
U (Unclassified) roads, but while these are numbered, in general this is done purely for the benefit of the local authorities who are responsible for maintaining them, and the numbering is arbitrary and does not, or should not, appear on any public signage. Some exceptions to this are known, however. These other classified roads, however, are taken into account when
planning officersTown and Country Planning is the land use planning system governments use to balance economic development and environmental quality. Each country of the United Kingdom has its own planning system that is responsible for town and country planning devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the...
deal with certain
planning applicationsPlanning permission or planning consent is the permission required in the United Kingdom in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or buildings. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title to that land or building , but will also need "planning...
, including the creation of a new vehicular access onto a highway.
Fictional roads
Fictional numbers are assigned for use on TV and
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
; such a number that is involved with a serious fictional
accidentA traffic collision is when a road vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, or geographical or architectural obstacle. Traffic collisions can result in injury, property damage, and death.- Terminology :...
is reject-listed for five years from actual use.
Ancient roads
Some ancient routes, such as Roman roads, travel for great distances and have a single modern number for the majority of their length (e.g. the A5 for the Roman road
Watling StreetWatling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
). Others, such as the pre-Roman
Icknield WayThe Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern England. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills.-Background:...
and the Roman
Fosse WayThe Fosse Way was a Roman road in England that linked Exeter in South West England to Lincoln in the East Midlands, via Ilchester , Bath , Cirencester and Leicester .It joined Akeman Street and Ermin Way at Cirencester, crossed Watling Street at Venonis...
are nowadays rather patchy and where a modern road exists, are numbered according to the local scheme. Much of the A1 follows
Dere StreetDere Street or Deere Street, was a Roman road between Eboracum and what we now call Scotland. It still exists in the form of the route of many major roads, including the A1 and A68 just north of Corbridge....
.
External links