please empty your brain below
It is counterintuitive to think that the A40 is shorter than the A5, as in my mind's eye, London - Fishguard- Holyhead form a reasonable facsimile of a right-angled triangle, with the A5 being the hypotenuse and the A40 the base, albeit with a kink as it crosses the River Severn.

In thinking about it further, Fishguard must be a lot further west than Holyhead to make up this distance and some, but it would otherwise be a pub quiz question that I would have lost money on before today.

Ken | 12.08.21 - 7:57 a.m. | #

Just as well that you haven’t included Northern Ireland in this survey as it has its own A1, A2 etc.!

Southern Heights (Light Railway) | 12.08.21 - 8:07 a.m. | #

Ken, the A40 isn't shorter than the A5 but 11 miles longer. This includes the final 15 miles from Haverfordwest in which the A40 counterintuitively goes northwards.

Ian | 12.08.21 - 8:28 a.m. | #

If I lived near either Falmouth or Cleethorpes, I'd be tempted to drive to the other using just two roads.

Ian | 12.08.21 - 9:00 a.m. | #

I am going to make 'counterintuitive' my word of the day, awkward on the tongue though it is

MO | 12.08.21 - 9:03 a.m. | #

I would never have guessed the A46 was so long. While many sections of it are important roads, it wasn't an obvious decision to connect them all together into one route!

Mikey C | 12.08.21 - 9:11 a.m. | #

A27 104 miles

Adrian | 12.08.21 - 9:27 a.m. | #

It would be interesting to discover which was the longest A-road where using it from start to end actually is the quickest way of doing that journey e.g. London to Edinburgh is quicker to do via the M1 than using the A1 all the way.

Paul | 12.08.21 - 9:31 a.m. | #

A42, A74 and A2 exemplify what a muddle the distinction between motorways and other roads creates. Axxx(M) just deepens the confusion. Often Ax and Mx interwork, and share the same corridor, but sometimes they are very different (A5/M5 for instance).

Malcolm of Kent | 12.08.21 - 9:33 a.m. | #

It is challenging finding the residual A74 approaching Glasgow - you have to keep your wits about you in the jumble of options.

Nearing the end (for me) of a 400 mile drive from SW London it makes a huge difference. The "scenic" tour north of the Clyde is cut out and it takes me to the Southside M74 and the "delights" of Jct 1a.

RosemaryT | 12.08.21 - 10:05 a.m. | #

'Back on some quiet afternoon in the 1980s ... I amused myself by trying to find all the two-digit A roads in a UK road atlas.' So it wasn't just me, then. That's comforting to know.

Jonathan Wadman | 12.08.21 - 10:09 a.m. | #

I was shocked that the A4 is as (relatively) short as it is! Not even glimpsing the top 10.

R2 | 12.08.21 - 10:28 a.m. | #

a real A road thats very short is of course our local one in Bow the famous [notorious?] A102 Blackwall Tunnel Northern Approach.

Andrew Jarman | 12.08.21 - 11:59 a.m. | #

As you have discounted the part of the A74 which is now A74(M), shouldn't the A1 be disqualified, as chunks of it are A1(M)?

dg repeats: Don't trust this list too blindly, I bet you'd have ordered it differently.

miker | 12.08.21 - 11:59 a.m. | #

A88: Traffic directed to the Forth Bridge would be disappointed to find that it is a railway bridge - the famous cantilevered one. You might have meant the Forth Road Bridge, opened in 1964, but more obviously the (now) A88 leads to the Kincardine Bridge over the Forth, which is now duplicated by the Clackmannanshire Bridge which somewhat adds to the confusion by being the new A876.

dg writes: updated.

Peter | 12.08.21 - 4:38 p.m. | #

I would find it interesting to repeat the exercise with the UK portions of all the European E road numbers (assuming you can find an authoritative map as these are rarely shown and unsigned)

MilesT | 12.08.21 - 7:35 p.m. | #

Makes me wonder what is the longest 3 digit A road, given that 3 digit roads are rarely primary routes.

A303 perhaps?

Peter Moore | 12.08.21 - 7:50 p.m. | #

The A303 is a mere lightweight compared to the mighty A361, which wends a circuitous (but no longer continuous) pathnearly 200 miles long from Ilfracombe in North Devon to a junction with the A5 at Kilsby in Northants. Interrupted by the M5 between Tiverton and Taunton, and the A4361 in Swindon.

Timbo | 12.08.21 - 8:26 p.m. | #

Ian: Falmouth to Cleethorpes on the A39 / A46 would be a fascinating journey, but it would need more than two roads.
The A39 is broken by the A30 in Cornwall and the A46 is broken from Cheltenham to Tewkesbury (M5 jn 9) and from Coventry (start of M69) to Leicester (M1 jn 21A).

Peter Moore: The A303 is a mere 95 miles. A487 (Haverfordwest to Bangor, with a gap) is 173 miles. A470 (Cardiff to Llandudno) is 185 miles. I feel sure there must be a longer 3-digit A-road in Scotland, but I shall leave that to others to find.

Robin Hood | 12.08.21 - 8:35 p.m. | #

The Blackwall Tunnel Northern Approach through Bow has been part of the A12 since 1999. What's left of the A102 is a three mile stretch from Blackheath to Blackwall, through the tunnel, and a short isolated stretch in Hackney.

timbo explains | 14.08.21 - 9:18 a.m. | #

I think you'll find the A487 stops around a mile west of Bangor, at the southern end of Telford's Menai Bridge.

cau1khead | 14.08.21 - 9:51 a.m. | #

Intriguingly, Streetmap and Streetview disagree as to whether the A962 is designated as West Castle Street, or simply Castle Street. Streetmap gives the longer name, whereas Streetview gives the storter version, with West Castle Street reserved for the section on beyond the A963, running alongside the bus station (this section not a classified road). This seems more logical, as it would be to the west of "Castle Street" under the Streetview designation. The tourist bureau situated at the bus station is excellent, by the way.

cau1khead | 15.08.21 - 2:31 p.m. | #

I think there may be some difference of opinion in Kirkwall as to whether the A962 should be styled "West Castle Street" or simply "Castle Street".

cau1khead | 15.08.21 - 3:39 p.m. | #

Castle Street in Kirkwall has an interesting history. It was created in the nineteenth century and in the process the last vestages of Kirkwall Castle were buried under it. Excavations took place in 2016 and 2019. It is Castle Street which is celebrated as the shortest A road - West Castle Street is an unclassified extension which runs alongside the bus station beyond the A963.

cau1khead | 16.08.21 - 10:54 a.m. | #











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