A6 road

This article is about the A6 road in England. For other roads of the same name, and all other uses, go to the A6 (disambiguation page).The A6 is a major road in England. It currently runs from Luton in Bedfordshire to Carlisle in Cumbria. As set out below (see Former route south of Luton), previously it started in Barnet in Hertfordshire and ran northwest through London Colney to St Albans and then due north via Harpenden to Luton.

Running northwest from Luton, the road travels through Bedford, bypasses both Kettering and Market Harborough, continues through Leicester, Loughborough, Derby and Matlock before going through the Peak District to Bakewell, Buxton, Stockport, Manchester, Chorley, Preston, Lancaster, Kendal and Penrith before reaching Carlisle.

South of Nottingham, the road is parallelled by the M1 motorway, and north of Manchester the M6 motorway approximates its course.

Luton - Kettering

On the outskirts of Luton, it passes a BP petrol station on the Grasmere Road roundabout where it meets the Icknield Way Path. At the next roundabout, there is a Sainsburys at the Bramingham Park Centre, which is near Bramingham Business Park and the Cardinal Newman High School. Leaving Luton, it enters Bedfordshire and the district of South Bedfordshire as Barton Road after a roundabout with Quantock Rise. There is a roundabout at Streatley, where the road becomes the dual-carriageway Luton Road. The one-mile £9.4m dual-carriageway Barton in the Clay Bypass was opened in December 1990. The former route is now the B655 (for Hitchin). It passes through the Bartonhill Cutting. It becomes single carriageway at the roundabout with the B655 at the other end of the bypass. It enters South Bedfordshire as Bedford Road, passing the Speed Plough Service Station. The one-mile £2m Silsoe Bypass opened in February 1981. It meets the A507 (for Shefford and Ampthill) at a roundabout at Clophill, crossing the River Flit, and passing the New County Service Station. It passes through Maulden Wood as the dual-carriage Deadman's Hill, then passes through Haynes West End, becoming Wilstead Road, which passes the Four Winds Service Station. It enters the district of Bedford and bypasses Wilstead and goes past the large Wilstead Industrial Estate. The one-mile £3m Elstow Bypass opened in early 1983. It meets the A421 at the Elstow Interchange GSJ near a large BP service station and Asda distribution centre, then meets the A5134 at a roundabout. From here, the Bedford Western Bypass will be built. The road crosses the Marston Vale Line, then enters Bedford as Ampthill Road. There is a roundabout with the A5141, then it crosses the railway again near Bedford St Johns station. It meets the A600 and A5140 at a roundabout, then passes Bedford College and crosses the River Great Ouse. It takes two routes through the town centre, which meet at a roundbout. It meets the A5141 at a roundabout near Bedford Modern School and becomes the dual-carriageway Clapham Road near a large Sainburys. North of Bedford, the three-mile £26m dual-carriageway Clapham Bypass opened on December 12th 2002, named the Paula Radcliffe Way, after the marathon runner who went to school at nearby Sharnbrook. It crosses the River Great Ouse twice, and is crossed by the John Bunyan Trail, near a GSJ for Clapham and Oakley. There is another GSJ for Highfield Parc industrial estate. At the end of the bypass, the road suddenly loses the broad expanse of tarmac and looks like a minor B road and becomes Bedford Road. There are speed cameras here. It passes through Milton Ernest, passing Milton Ernest Lower School, the passes close to Bletsoe. It meets a roundabout for Sharnbrook, then passes near Souldrop. It is crossed by the Three Shires Way on the border of Northamptonshire and the district of East Northamptonshire, then there is a turn for Wymington. The three-mile £10m part-dual-carriageway Rushden & Higham Ferrers Bypass opened on August 14th 2003, where the road meets the A45. The road still goes through Finedon. There is a Shell garage just north of the village. The two-mile £2.6m Burton Latimer Bypass opened in October 1991. Weetabix is accessible from the roundabout with the A14.

Kettering - Leicester

Kettering was bypassed when sections of the east-west corridor A14 were built. Between the A6 junction and A509 junction, there are BP garages, Little Chef and Burger King restaurants on each side of the road. Near the Rothwell junction, there is an Esso garage and McDonalds restaurant on the east-bound carriageway. The five-mile three-lane £11.4m Rothwell-Desborough Bypass opened on August 14th 2003. The road enters Leicestershire at the start of the five-mile £9.5m Market Harborough Bypass, which was opened in June 1992. There is the Malthurst A6 Texaco garage and McDonalds restaurant at the junction with the B6047 (for Melton Mowbray) at the north end of the bypass. The A6 still passes through the village centre of Kibworth Harcourt. The three-mile dual-carriageway Great Glen Bypass opened on February 19th 2003, though operated as a dual-carriageway only after April 4th 2003.

Leicester - Peak District

On the outskirts of Leicester, the road passes a Sainsbury's supermarket at Oadby. Further in, it passes an Asda supermarket, then the P.E Hockenhull BP garage, before reaching the outer ring-road (A563), next to Leicester Racecourse. There is a Shell garage just after the roundabout where A563 and A6 join. The road becomes London Road. It passes close to Leicester University, and crosses the Midland Main Line near Leicester railway station. In the centre of Leicester, it is subsumed into Leicester's inner ring-road, the A594. Before this, it went via Charles Street, and before then, down Granby Street and Gallowtree Gate. Then around the Clock Tower, and along Belgrave Gate. The current route via the Inner Ring Road and Abbey Lane is also altered from the old route, which from Belgrave Gate went via Belgrave Road (along the Fosse Way) as did the old course of the A46 turning left at Melton Turn onto Loughborough Road and then into Birstall Village, where it meets with the current route at the start of the dual carraigeway just before the A46 Leicester Western Bypass

On the northern outskirts of Leicester, the road passes the National Space Centre in Belgrave then meets at a roundabout with the A563 outer ring-road. Leicestershire Constabulary have a training college near here in Birstall. North of Leicester, the road meets the A46 Leicester Western Bypass just south of Rothley and the start of the four-mile £43.3m dual-carriageway Quorn-Mountsorrel Bypass, which opened in October 1991. From here the road goes through Loughborough. In Loughborough there is a BP garage at the Elms Park Service Station, and close-by a Sainsbury's supermarket; close to the internationally renowned local university. Just north of Hathern, where the A6006 and B532 meet the road, there is an Esso garage at the Hathern Turn Service Station. It joins the M1 at the extremely busy roundabout of junction 24, which is where the A50 Derby-Stoke Link begins. The road follows one of the former A6 dual-carriageway sections before meeting traffic from the south-bound M1 at junction 24a. South-bound traffic on the A6 here has to negotiate a roundabout and a set of traffic lights, which has numerous and lengthy hold-ups at peak times. The three-laned A6 multiplexes with the A50 for a couple of miles and crosses the Trent and Mersey Canal. The A50/A6 passes a Welcome Break service station, with a Burger King and Shell garage on both sides of the road near Shardlow. The next section, the A6 Spur, was opened with the A50 in September 1997. The £10.6m dual-carriageway Alvaston Bypass/Improvement opened on 17th December 2003.

The road goes through Derby initially along London Road, then Pride Parkway, which is related to the adjacent Pride Park business park and Pride Park Stadium, home of Derby County F.C.. The road passes close to the centre of Derby, with a large roundabout beside the Eagle Centre. The road multiplexes with the A601, Derby's inner ring-road. North of Derby, there is a roundabout junction with the A38. In leafy Allestree, it passes the Shell Allestree garage. The road follows the Derwent Valley through Duffield and Belper, passing a large Morrisons store. The road goes past a large mill, formerly owned by Richard Arkwright, and now a museum. Further north it passes an Esso garage at the Riverside Station just before the A610 junction. At Cromford, the is an Esso garage at Ridgewood Motors. Matlock Bath is a mecca for motorbikers, and many use the A6 for pleasure and speed. Entering Matlock, the road passes under the railway and over the River Derwent, meeting the A615 at a roundabout. The road passes through the middle of the town and further north is Darley Dale, where the road passes the hospital and there are crossroads with the B5057, and a Texaco garage at the Two Dales service station.

Peak District - Manchester

From Matlock the road makes a somewhat unwelcome intrusion into the Peak District National Park, though this makes for scenic driving. From Rowsley, it follows the River Wye, meeting the B5056 near the endpoint of the River Lathkill. It passes Haddon Hall and enters Bakewell, meeting the B5055 and A619 at a roundabout. At Ashford-in-the-Water, there is a junction with the A6020 (for Baslow). The road passes through Taddington Dale. Taddington has a dual-carriageway bypass. There are junctions with the B6049 and A5270 and the road enters Buxton at a roundabout with the B5059. From Buxton, the road heads towards Stockport slightly north-east to Dove Holes and to a roundabout with the A623

The four-mile £38m part-dual-carriageway Chapel-en-le-Frith & Whaley Bridge Bypass opened in August 1987. The bypass ends with a roundabout with the A5004 for Chapel. It crosses the Peak Forest Canal and the B6062 leads to Chinley, then goes under the Buxton Line. At Furnace Vale it passes the train station and the primary school. It meets the A6015 (for New Mills) at Newtown, near the train station and primary school, where the road enters Cheshire. At Disley on Market Street, there is a Total garage, and the road passes the primary school, the Crescent Inn, police station and the Dandy Cock then crosses the Buxton Line near the train station near the Rams Head Vintage Inn. At High Lane, the road enters the borough of Stockport in Greater Manchester.

There were plans in the 1970s for a bypass around Stockport, by a motorway initially known as the A6(M), which never was given the go-ahead, although many construction schemes were designed. It was kicked into touch in July 1998, in the distant early years of the Labour government. Due to build up of traffic in the Stockport area, the same scheme is now going to be built as the A555, to link up east of Stockport with the M60. In July 2006, it finally received the full funding to proceed. In Hazel Grove there is an Esso garage at the London Rd service station. Towards Stockport, there is a Shell garage near the Woodsmoor railway station and an Esso garage at the Great Moor service station relatively near the Davenport railway station. In the middle of Stockport there is a Texaco garage at the Grosvenor service station.

Manchester - Carnforth

North of Manchester, the road continues through Manchester and Salford, and passes through the various mill towns of central Lancashire, notably through Preston and Lancaster. Its route remains paralleled by the M6 Motorway here, including the oldest motorway stretches in the UK.

On leaving Walkden, the road enters the borough of Bolton. At Farnworth, the road meets the M61, at junction 4, which closely follows parallel with the A6 up to Preston. The road is now Salford Road and meets the A579 at crossroads at Hulton Lane Ends, becoming Manchester Road. It meets the A58 at a roundabout at Chequerbent, close to M61 junction 5, then enters Westhoughton, passing the Mercury Filling Station on the left. There is the B5235, then it crosses the railway line, and it meets the B5236 at Wingates, near the St John's primary school. On leaving Westhoughton, the road becomes Chorley Road. At Four Gates, there is the B5239 for Aspull at the Royal Oak pub. It meets the A6027 roundabout close to the M61 junction 6 for Horwich. It passes through Hilton House, at at Scot Lane End, it meets the B5408 (the former route) for Blackrod), becoming the Blackrod By-Pass Road. It meets the B5238, for Horwich, at crossroads near Blackrod train station and the Ridgeway Arms Hotel. Close by on the M61 is the Bolton West (formerly Rivington) service area. It rejoins the old route where it meets the B5408, near the Thatch & Thistle pub. It enters Adlington and Lancashire where it crosses the River Douglas, becoming Market Street and passing the Texaco Les Walkden garage on the left. In the centre of Adlington it meets the B6227 near Adlington train station, and the police station, becoming Church Street. It crosses the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and meets the A673 from Bolton.

From Chorley, it meets the B6229 and B5248 at Whittle-le-Woods, crossing the River Lostock. It meets the B5256 (for Leyland) at a roundabout. It passes through Clayton Brook and crosses the M65 near its western terminus, and there are two roundabouts for the Walton Summit industrial estate, either of which lead to the Walton Summit Motorway. Next is a roundabout with the M6 at junction 29, which is now shared with the M65. This was the start of Britain's first motorway, built in 1958. The road becomes dual-carriageway as it enters Bamber Bridge. There are crossroads with the northern terminus of the A49 and the B6258, then a roundabout with the A582 - where the road heads north to the right. The start of the M65 is accessible only from this roundabout at junction 1a. It crosses the railway and meets the B5257 at a roundabout. It meets the B6230 at a roundabout, crosses the River Darwen and meets the A675, then crosses the River Ribble and the Ribble Way. The road enters Preston as a single carriageway, meeting the A59 (for Blackburn), B6243 (for Ribbleton), and A6063. It passes through the centre of Preston, meets the A5071 (Moor Lane), passes the BP Key Filling Station on the right and Moor Park, and crosses the A5085, passing the Shell Fulwood garage on the left. At Fulwood, it meets the B6242 at crossroads, then passes Fulwood Leisure Centre and Sharoe Green Hospital and Sharoe Green. It meets the B6241 Preston ring road near junction 1 of the M55, the other end of Britain's first motorway.

It crosses Woodplumpton Brook and meets the B5269 at crossroads at Broughton. It passes through Barton and begins to run parallel to the West Coast Main Line, which it crosses. It passes through Bilsborrow and crosses the River Brock and the Lancaster Canal. At Catterall, it meets the B6430 and crosses the River Wyre, and meets the A586 (for Churchtown). It passes the Churchtown Service Station on the right and enters Garstang and crosses the Lancaster Canal again. It meets the B5272 and B6430, passes the Houghtons Filling Station and Redline Garage on the left, and enters Cabus, then Forton where it passes the Pennine Filling Station on the left, close to the Forton service station. Near Galgate it meets the M6 at junction 33 and goes under the West Coast Main Line, which it then runs adjacent to. The University of Lancaster lies the in one kilometre separation between the A6 and the M6. There is a right turn for Bailrigg. The road enters Lancaster, passing the Texaco Toll Bar Service Station on the left and BP Bowling Green Service Station on the right.

It meets the A588 for Preesall at a roundabout, goes past the Royal Lancaster Infirmary on the left, then crosses the Lancaster Canal. It splits up in two as it passes through the centre of Lancaster. It rejoins and splits again to cross the River Lune. The A589 leaves to left for Morecambe and the A683 to the right for Caton and M6 junction 34.. The road rejoins and there is the B5231 to the right for Morecambe, and road to the right for Halton. It crosses the Lancaster Canal and heads through Hest Bank and Bolton Town. It crosses the Lancaster Canal and meets the A5105 (from Morecambe) to the left at Bolton Sands. Here the road is at its closest point to Morecambe Bay. It follows the Lancaster Canal and enters Carnforth, where there it meets the B6254 to the right which leads to M6 junction 35.

Carnforth - Carlisle

There is a BP garage at the Carnforth service station. Leaving Carnforth, famous for its connections with Brief Encounter, the road crosses the River Keer. It meets the A601(M) at junction 35a of the M6. There is a roundabout with the A6070, and the road crosses the West Coast Main Line then enters Cumbria near the Oasis Wildlife Centre. There is an Esso garage at the Mossdale service station. At Beetham, it crosses the River Bela then passes through Milnthorpe and crosses the River Kent. It goes through Heversham, then meets the A590 and multiplexes with the A591, the dual-carriageway Kendal bypass passing a BP garage at the Prizet filling station, before leaving at a GSJ. It passes another nearby BP garage at the Helsington service station and passes through Kendal, where it meets the northern end of the A65.

In Kendal, it passes Kendal College and the Queen Katherine School next to a Morrisons superstore. It crosses the River Kent then the River Mint, before meeting the A685 (to Kirkby Stephen) and heads over the Shap Fells. It meets the B6261, which joins the M6, then enters Shap where it is crossed by the Coast to Coast Walk, and over the West Coast Line. It passes under then over the M6, then passes close to Hackthorpe Hall. It passes over the M6 near Lowther, which is near the Lakeland Bird of Prey Centre. It passes over the railway and River Lowther then the River Eamont then meets the A66 at Kemplay Roundabout next to Penrith Hospital.

It takes a central route through Penrith, and leaving the town it passes a BP garage at the Townhead Garage, then a Shell garage at Davidsons Garage. North of Penrith, it meets the B5305 (which heads to Wigton) at a roundabout, then crosses the beginnings of the River Petterill. This section of the A6 is one of the most dangerous roads in the county, having seen several deaths in the past few years [1] [2]. This section essentially follows a parallel path to the M6, and passes through High Hesket and meets the M6 (and the B6263) eventually at junction 42: the start of the Carlisle bypass. Entering Carlisle, it passes a BP garage at the Carleton service station, an Esso garage at the Harraby Green service station then crosses the River Petteril then the Tyne Valley railway line. The A6 travels through south-eastern Carlisle as London Road, before finishing at Botchergate in the centre of Carlisle where it transforms seamlessly into the A7.

Former route south of Luton

The route of the old A6 south of Luton is now the A1081 for most of its length. In the initial road numbering scheme, the A6 started in Barnet where it joined what was then the A1 Great North Road. From Barnet the road went to London Colney, St Albans, Harpenden to join the current start of the road at Luton. At St Albans, the road met the then A5 at a crossroads: going north on both roads, the A5 arriving from the southwest, and leaving the crossroads northwest, and the A6 arriving from the southeast and leaving to the northeast. Nowadays that stretch of the A5 has also been renumbered so that the crossroads in St Albans is now A5183 and A1081.

External links

*Society for All British Road Enthusiasts entry for the A6
* Badgers on the Rothwell-Desborough Bypass
* Road Protest Alvaston Improvement Site.
* Highways Agency Alvaston Improvement.
* CBRD Alvaston Bypass.
* Alvaston Bypass opens.
* CBRD A555 (former A6(M)).
* Stockport bypass.

A6 road: Encyclopedia BETA

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