A22 road
The
A22 is one of the two-digit major
roads in the south east of
England. It carries traffic from
London to
Eastbourne on the
East Sussex coast. For part of its route the A22 utilises the
turnpikes opened in the 18th century:
* 1718: London to
East Grinstead opened
* 1720: road extended through East Grinstead to
Highgate Forest Row, the entrance to
Ashdown ForestBy 1820 the road ran for 34 miles (54 km) from Stones End Street,
Borough, London to
Wych Cross.
The route
Traffic for Eastbourne begins along the A203 through
Vauxhall to reach its junction with the
A23 road: it travels southwards through
Brixton and
Streatham until, at
Purley Cross Junction, south of
Purley, the A22 is reached. It now runs over the
North Downs into
Surrey through
Caterham; over the stretch between here and
Godstone the road in part travels over an erstwhile
Roman road. At
East Grinstead the road is temporarily in
West Sussex, although most of the road is in
East Sussex: the town centre is
bypassed, in part by using what was once a railway cutting.
Ashdown Forest lies between Forest Row and
Nutley: 40 mph (64 km/h) speed limits exist within the Forest, although not on the A22. Wych Cross is the junction for the A275 road south to
Lewes. Between Nutley and Uckfield two important cross country roads cross the path of the A22: the
A272 at
Maresfield, and the
A26: the latter road merges with the A22 for the section round Uckfield.
East Hoathly, once on the A22, but now with its own
bypass, and
Hailsham - also having its own lengthy bypass - leads the road to
Polegate. Here the newly-opened junctions with the
A27 and further new road building takes the A22 into Eastbourne.
See also
Great Britain road numbering scheme*
Road description*
Section of A22
