A1 Road (Great Britain)
The A1 is the longest numbered road in the UK, at 410 miles (660 km). It connects London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom, with Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It passes through and near North London, Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage, Letchworth, Huntingdon, Peterborough, Grantham, Newark-upon-Trent, Retford, Doncaster, Leeds, York, Ripon, Darlington, Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne and Berwick-upon-Tweed.
It was designated by the Ministry of Transport in 1921, and for much of its route it followed various branches of the Great North Road, the main deviation being between Boroughbridge and Darlington. The course of the A1 has changed where towns or villages have been bypassed, or where new alignments take a slightly different route. Several sections of the route have been upgraded to motorway standard and designated A1(M). Between the M25 (near London) and A696 (near Newcastle upon Tyne) the road is part of the unsigned Euroroute E15.
Read more about A1 Road (Great Britain): History, Inns, Route, Overview and Post-First World War Developments, A1(M), Cultural References
Famous quotes containing the word road:
“A route differs from a road not only because it is solely intended for vehicles, but also because it is merely a line that connects one point with another. A route has no meaning in itself; its meaning derives entirely from the two points that it connects. A road is a tribute to space. Every stretch of road has meaning in itself and invites us to stop. A route is the triumphant devaluation of space, which thanks to it has been reduced to a mere obstacle to human movement and a waste of time.”
—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)