|
Sign at Junction 1 of the A1(M) at South Mimms in Hertfordshire
The A1 is the longest numbered British road. Joining London to Edinburgh, it is also known as the
Great North Road.
The original A1 route was designated by the Ministry of Transport in 1921, following the
medieval Great North Road from Central London through Barnet, Potters Bar, Hatfield, Welwyn, Stevenage, Baldock, Biggleswade, Sandy, St Neots and Alconbury, then joining the route of a Roman road, Ermine
Street, as far as Colsterworth. The route was modified in 1927 when bypasses were built
around Barnet and Hatfield.
Continuing north, the A1 runs on modern bypasses around Grantham, Newark-on-Trent, Retford,
Bawtry, Doncaster, Scotch Corner, Chester-le-Street, past the Angel of the North sculpture in Gateshead, around
Newcastle upon Tyne, Morpeth, Alnwick, Berwick-upon-Tweed, into Scotland, past Dunbar and Haddington before finally arriving
in Edinburgh.
Some sections of the A1 have been upgraded to motorway standard. These are known
as the A1(M). These
include a long stretch coming north from London from the M25 to just north
of Baldock, the new Peterborough section from the Alconbury junction near Huntingdon, a short stretch either side
of the M18 junction, and another long stretch south of Newcastle upon
Tyne.
See also
External link
|