Roads and Paths

Roads

UK: A Roads

London to Portsmouth (shares its name with a popular small family car, introduced in 1996)		A3
Scotland's longest road: Falkirk (council area) to Thurso, via Stirling, Bridge of Allan, Perth and Inverness (237 miles, 439 km)		A9
London to Land's End (with a few gaps due to renumbering, bypasses, etc.)		A30
Manchester to Winchester		A34
The UK's second longest road (after the A1), and the longest double–digit road: runs from Bodmin (Cornwall) to Mansfield (Nottinghamshire)		A38
Leeds to Scarborough		A64
Basingstoke (Hampshire) to Honiton (Devon); passes within about 1 kilometre of Stonehenge		A303
A406 (London)		North Circular Road
Trans–Pennine road from Glossop to Ladybower Reservoir – part of the A57		Snake Pass

A5016 (Ridley, Tarporley, Cheshire)

The shortest road on the British mainland

UK: Motorways

Official name of the M25			London Orbital (Motorway)
London to Southampton – via Fanrborough, Basingstoke and Winchester			M3
Britain's longest motorway (232.2 miles, 373.7 km)			M6
Edinburgh to Glasgow			M8
From the M8 (near Edinburgh Airport) to Stirling			M9
London to Cambridge; serves Stansted Airport			M11
Runs from the M1 near Sheffield / Rotherham to the M62 near Goole			M18
Motorway that serves Gatwick airport (ends approx. 6 miles further south at Pease Pottage, south of Crawley and east of Horsham			M23
Cadnam (near Southampton) to Portsmouth			M27
Runs from the M25 near Denham, Buckinghamshire, to the M42 near Earlswood, Warwickshire			M40
Current designation of the motorway that crosses the original Severn Bridge (previously the M4)			M48
Links the Second Severn Crossing (which is part of the M4) to the M5 at Avonmouth			M49
Runs from the M5 near Tewkesbury (Gloucestershire), merging with the A40 near Ross–on–Wye (Herefordshire); a.k.a. the Ross Spur			M50
Runs from the A55 at Chester, to provide a route to the Kingsway tunnel, under the Mersey from Wallasey; opened in 1972			M53
Runs from the M6 in Staffordshire, to Telford in Shropshire – roughly following the path of the Roman road known as Watling Street			M54
Runs from the M6 near Preston, to Blackpool			M55
Completely replaced in 1999, becoming part of the M60			M63
Links Leicester and Coventry			M69
From the Northern end of the M6, to Glasgow			M74
Runs from the M62 into the outskirts of Bradford			M606
Runs from the M62 into the centre of Leeds			M621
Britain's most northerly motorway: runs from the M9 (West of Edinburgh Airport) to Perth (via the Forth Road Bridge, which is an A road with the same number)			M90
Official name of Spaghetti Junction (Junction 6 on the M6, where it intersects with the A38 – in Birmingham)			Gravelly Hill Interchange
Town by–passed by Britain's first motorway (now part of the M6), 1958			Preston
Northern Ireland M1: Belfast to			Dungannon
Northern Ireland M2: Belfast to			Ballymena

America

In the USA, Federal highways are prefixed by		I (Interstate)
Pioneer route across the USA, 1841–60, running 2,000 miles from Independence, Missouri through the Rockies to the Columbia River		Oregon Trail
Runs down the Florida Keys to Key West		Overseas Highway
Runs approximately 15,000 miles from Chile to Alaska		Pan–American Highway
Runs up the east coast of the USA, from Key West, Florida to Fort Kent, Maine		Route 1
Santa Monica (Los Angeles) to Chicago; unofficially known as the Will Rogers Highway		Route 66

Other

High level road from Nice to Menton, along the French Riviera, famous for its views		Grand Corniche
Popular name for the North–South supply route in support of the Viet Cong, during the Vietnam war		Ho Chi Minh Trail
The Wild Atlantic Way is a 2,500–kilometre "tourist trail" (for motorists) in (country)		Ireland
Interconnected series of trade routes from India to Asia Minor and the Mediterranean; goes from Aleppo to Samarkand		Silk Road (or Route)

Paths

The non–departmental public body (quango) responsible for England's national trails: formed in 2006 by the merger of the Countryside Agency, English Nature, and the Rural Development service; responsible to ("sponsored by") DEFRA		Natural England
Symbol used "in the field" to mark national trails		Acorn

The 'Triple Crown' of long–distance hiking in the USA

Follows the highest portion of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges, 100–150 miles (160–240 km) inland from the US west coast: 2,659 miles (4,279 km)		Pacific Crest Trail
Follows the principal watershed of the Americas from Mexico to Canada, along the Rocky Mountains and through five US states (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico) – 3,100 miles (5,000 km)		Continental Divide Trail
From Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine: 2,200 miles (3,500 km)		Appalachian Trail

Other

110 miles, from Helmsley to the Brigg (a peninsula just north of Filey, on the North Yorkshire coast) – skirting the North York Moors			Cleveland Way
National Trail from Chipping Camden (Gloucestershire) to Bath (Somerset)			Cotswold Way
Will be the world's longest managed and waymarked coastal path, when complete (scheduled for 2024/5)			England Coast Path
125 km (78 mile) long–distance footpath from Fort William to Inverness, opened in 2002			Great Glen Way
Long–distance footpath running for 35 miles through the Peak District, from Disley (on the outskirts of Stockport, Greater Manchester) to Kidsgrove (near Stoke–on–Trent)			Gritstone Trail
55–mile path from Ollantaytambo, in the valley of the Urubamba River, to Machu Picchu (all in Peru): ends at Inti Punku (the Sun Gate – the ancient entrance to Machu Picchu)			Inca Trail
40–mile 'challenge walk' across the North York Moors, from Osmotherley to Ravenscar			Lyke Wake Walk
230–mile path for walkers, cyclists and horse riders, from Bledlow, Buckinghamshire to Stockport, Greater Manchester – opened in 1994			Midshires Way
National Trail, opened in 1978: runs from Farnham (Surrey) to Dover (Kent), through the Surrey Hills and Kent Downs AONBs			North Downs Way
Runs from Sedbury Cliffs, on the Severn Estuary near Chepstow, to Prestatyn			Offa's Dyke Path
Runs from Edale in Derbyshire to Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish Borders			Pennine Way
Followed (with slight deviations) by the Spine Race 'ultramarathon', held annually since 2012 – competitors are allowed seven days to complete
Said to be Britain's oldest road: adapted and extended as a National Trail, opened in 1972 and running for 87 miles from Overton Hill (near Avebury, Wiltshire) to Ivinghoe Beacon in the Chilterns (Buckinghamshire)			The Ridgeway
34 miles from Frodsham (Cheshire) to Whitchurch (Shropshire)			Sandstone Trail
Long distance footpath from Winchester to Eastbourne (via Beachy Head); highlights include Wilmington Long Man and Chanctonbury Ring			South Downs Way
Britain's longest waymarked footpath (630 miles, Minehead to Poole) – but see England Coast Path			South West Coast Path
Unofficial and largely unsignposted long distance footpath from St. Bees Head (Cumbria) to Robin Hood's Bay (North Yorkshire)			(Wainwright's) Coast to Coast Walk
Opened in 2012: an 870–mile (1,400 km) walking route from Chepstow (Monmouthshire) to Queensferry (Flintshire)			Wales Coast Path
96 miles, from Milngavie (on the outskirts of Glasgow) to Fort William			West Highland Way
35 miles, from Norwich to Great Yarmouth, following the River Yare wherever possible; name refers to (the operators of) the traditional trading boats that operated in Norfolk and Suffolk from the early 17th century			Wherryman's Way
31 miles, from Bewdley to Great Malvern			Worcestershire Way

© Haydn Thompson 2017–24