A6 road (England)

Route map:
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the A6 road in England. For other roads of the same name, see List of A6 roads.

A6 shield
A6
A421

A45

A14

A46

A50

A38

A53

A57

A58

A49

A59

A65

A66

A69

A7
North endCarlisle
54°53′43″N 2°55′52″W / 54.8954°N 2.9311°W / 54.8954; -2.9311 (A6 road (northern end))
Location
Country
Primary
destinations

Bedford
Kettering
Market Harborough
Leicester
Loughborough
Derby
Matlock
Buxton
Stockport
Manchester
Preston
Lancaster
Kendal
Penrith
Road network
← A5→ A7

The A6 is one of the main north–south roads in England. It runs from Luton in Bedfordshire to Carlisle in Cumbria, although it formerly started at a junction with the A1 at Barnet. It is the fourth longest numbered road in Britain; only the A1, A38 and A30 are longer.

Running north-west from Luton, the road passes through

Salford, Pendleton, Irlams o' th' Height, Pendlebury, Swinton, Wardley, Linnyshaw, Walkden, Little Hulton, Westhoughton, Chorley, Preston, Lancaster, Kendal and Penrith before reaching Carlisle
.

South of Derby, the road is paralleled by the M1 motorway; between Manchester and Preston, the M6 and M61 motorways approximate its course; and from Preston to its northern terminus in Carlisle, it is paralleled by the M6 only. Between Derby and Manchester, the A6 follows a different route to the motorway network, crossing the Peak District rather than going around it. The A6 is considered to be less important than it was formerly because of these duplications.

Route

Luton–Kettering

The A6 begins as a short stretch of Crawley Green Road at an elongated roundabout with the A505 road – part of the Luton inner ring road. The A6 follows Crescent Road past Luton railway station into New Bedford Road. It meets the A5228 outer ring road at a roundabout. On the outskirts of Luton, now Barton Road, it meets the Icknield Way Path. Leaving Luton, it enters Central Bedfordshire after a roundabout with Quantock Rise.

Barton-le-Clay bypass near Streatley

A roundabout at

A5134
at a large signal-controlled junction.

The road crosses the

A5140 at a roundabout, then passes Bedford College and crosses the River Great Ouse as King Street. It takes two one-way routes (Tavistock Street–High Street and Horne Lane–Union Street) through the town centre, which meet at a roundabout, then continues for around 700 yards. It meets the A5141 again at a roundabout near Bedford Modern School and a large Sainsbury's
supermarket and becomes the dual-carriageway Paula Radcliffe Way; it formerly passed through Clapham itself before the construction of the Paula Radcliffe Way Bypass in 2001.

Clapham bypass near Oakley
Irthlingborough Viaduct built over the Nene in 1936

The A6 crosses the

A510 at a roundabout. Leaving Finedon, the road passes the Burton Wold Wind Farm and bypasses Burton Latimer and arrives at Junction 10 of the A14 at Barton Seagrave
.

Kettering–Leicester

Kettering was bypassed when sections of the east–west corridor

A14 were built. The A6 reappears at Junction 3 of the A14, from there it continues north bypassing Rothwell and Desborough until it meets a roundabout with the B576 (the pre-bypass former A6 route through Desborough and Rothwell). The road enters Leicestershire and the district of Harborough as Harborough Road at the start of the five-mile (8 km) Market Harborough Bypass. It briefly re-enters Northamptonshire where there is a roundabout with the A427 (for Stoke Albany) and A4304 (former A427), and an exit for Great Bowden
.

Southern end of the Great Glen bypass looking south

The road is crossed by the Leicestershire Round. There is a turn for Foxton and Foxton Locks. It is crossed by the Midland Main Line. The A6 passes through Kibworth. The road becomes Leicester Road. It crosses the River Sence and there is a roundabout. The bypass ends with a roundabout, just before the road enters the district of Oadby and Wigston.

Leicester–Peak District

On the outskirts of Leicester the road becomes London Road. There is a roundabout with Florence Wragg Way, where the road becomes Glen Road. It then becomes Leicester Road before reaching the outer ring-road (A563), next to Leicester Racecourse. It becomes London Road, where the dual-carriageway ends, and it enters the city of Leicester, passing Leicester High School for Girls. There is a crossroads, for Stoughton Road (A6030) at Stoneygate, and a roundabout with the Victoria Park Road (B568). It passes close to Leicester University and many take-away shops. It 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.

Quorn-Mountsorrel bypass north of Leicester

The A6 crosses the

Quorn-Mountsorrel Bypass. The road at this point follows the Soar Valley, and is mostly on embankment or viaduct, crossing the river four times. From here the road passes through Loughborough. North of Hathern is a dual-carriageway section that skirts the Leicestershire–Nottinghamshire border (the River Soar). The road becomes London Road and enters the district of North West Leicestershire. To the south of Kegworth the road heads west along a bypass avoiding the village. It joins the A453 at the East Midlands Gateway industrial park. The A453 then joins the M1 at the roundabout at junction 24, which is where the A50 Derby to Stoke-on-Trent Link begins. The road follows one of the former A6 dual-carriageway sections, passing Lockington, before meeting traffic from the south-bound M1 at junction 24a. The three-laned A6 overlaps the A50 for a couple of miles, and there is a junction with the B6540 (former A453). The road crosses the Trent and Mersey Canal and River Trent, where it enters Derbyshire and the district of South Derbyshire
.

railway and along a new bypass and then over the River Derwent, meeting the A615 at a roundabout. The road then continues on Bakewell Road into Darley Dale
, where the road, as Dale Road, passes the hospital, and crossroads with the B5057.

Peak District–Manchester

From Matlock the road enters the

Peak District National Park. 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 (for Blackwell) and A5270, and it enters the district of High Peak and passes under four railway bridges. It enters Buxton as Bakewell Road and meets the B5059 at a roundabout. It leaves Buxton as Fairfield Road, and heads towards Stockport slightly north-east to Dove Holes
and to a roundabout with the A623.

The A6 near Chapel-en-le-Frith

The four-mile (6.4 km) part-dual-carriageway

High Lane, the road enters the Borough of Stockport in Greater Manchester
.

Passing the McVitie's factory where Stockport meets Manchester

Towards

A635(M), passing the University of Manchester. As it passes Manchester Piccadilly station it is called London Road, the previous name of the station, before becoming Piccadilly at Ducie Street. It continues north-west towards Piccadilly Gardens, a major public square and bus station. To the immediate right of this point is the Northern Quarter, an eclectic and bohemian neighbourhood containing cafes, bars and alternative stores. Here, Piccadilly becomes Market Street, a pedestrian commercial avenue, and the A6 designation is discontinued. It then resumes at Chapel Street after crossing the Irwell
.

Manchester city centre–Chorley

The road crosses the River Irwell at the A56, besides the medieval quarter of Manchester, containing Manchester Cathedral, Chetham's Library, the oldest free public library in the world, and Victoria station. Here the road is called Chapel Street as it leaves Manchester City Centre and enters Salford. Where the original Salford Royal Hospital stands (now flats) at its junction with Adelphi Street, its name changes to the Crescent. Along this stretch the road passes the University of Salford, and Salford Museum and Art Gallery, and the Working Class Movement Library, as well as Salford Crescent railway station near the junction with Albion Way. It then continues as the dual carriageway Broad Street through Pendleton and past the junction with Langworthy Road (A5186). At Irlams o' th' Height it departs from the dual carriageway, at the terminus of the A580 East Lancashire Road, at the border of Pendlebury. It becomes Manchester Road through Pendlebury for a short distance passing both the site of the former Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and Hospital Road. The road enters Swinton and passes Victoria Park opposite the junction with Barton Road. Along Chorley Road the road passes Swinton Post Office and Salford Civic Centre, at the town centre's crossroads with the B5231. The road heads north-west towards Linnyshaw and Walkden.

The road passes under the

M60 near the junction with the M61, near the Worsley Braided Interchange and Wardley Hall (home of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Salford) and enters Whittle Brook and Walkden as Manchester Road, passing the Linnyshaw Industrial Estate on the right. The A6 meets the A575 (for Worsley and Farnworth) and B5232 (for Boothstown) at crossroads where the road is dual-carriageway as High Street. It becomes Manchester Road East and continues towards Little Hulton. It meets the A5082 (for Tyldesley
and Farnworth) at crossroads near St Paul's Church, Peel, becoming Manchester Road West.

On leaving Little Hulton, the road enters the Borough of Bolton near the Chloride Battery Works. Near Farnworth, the road meets the

Manchester to Southport railway line and meets the B5236 at Wingates near St John's Primary School and the St. John the Evangelist Church. On leaving Westhoughton, the road becomes Chorley Road. At Four Gates, there is the B5239 for Aspull. It meets the A6027 roundabout close to the M61 junction 6 for Horwich. It passes through Hilton House, at Scot Lane End, it meets the B5408 for Blackrod, becoming the Blackrod By-Pass Road. It meets the B5238, for Horwich, at crossroads near Blackrod railway station. Close by on the M61 is the Rivington services
(formerly Bolton West services). It rejoins the old route where it meets the B5408.

Leaving

A5106 from Standish
.

It crosses the

railway. The dual-carriageway A674 goes to Blackburn via the nearby junction 8 of the M61 and the Preston England Temple, a Mormon
temple.

Chorley–Carnforth

From Chorley, it meets the B6229 and B5248 at

East Lancashire Line and meets the B5257 at a roundabout. It meets the B6230 at a roundabout at Dog Kennel Wood, crosses the River Darwen and meets the A675 at Walton-le-Dale
, where the bypass ends.

Crossing the River Ribble south of Preston

The A6 crosses the River Ribble and the Ribble Way, entering Preston district. It enters Preston as a single carriageway, meeting the A59 (for Blackburn), B6243 (for Ribbleton), and A6063. It passes through the centre of Preston, becoming North Road, meeting the A5071 (Moor Lane), then becoming Garstang Road. The A6 passes Moor Park and crosses the A5085 Blackpool Road. At Fulwood, it meets the B6242 at crossroads, then passes Sharoe Green. North of junctions with the B6241 Preston ring road, junction 1 of the M55 is a roundabout on the A6 connected by slip roads with the motorway above. This was formerly the northern end of the Preston bypass.

After the motorway, a 1.2-mile (2 km) bypass opened in 2017 takes the A6 east of

University of Lancaster lies in the 0.6-mile (1 km) separation between the A6 and the M6, where there is a short section of dual-carriageway on the A6 alongside the West Coast Main Line. The road enters Lancaster as Scotforth
Road then Greaves Road.

It meets the A588 Ashton Road for

Hest Bank as Lancaster Road passing Bolton Town. It crosses the Lancaster Canal and meets the A5105 Coastal Road (from Morecambe) to the left at Bolton-le-Sands. Here the road is at its closest point to Morecambe Bay
. It follows the Lancaster Canal and enters Carnforth as Lancaster Road and meets the B6254 which leads to M6 junction 35.

Carnforth–Carlisle

Near Shap

Leaving

Sizergh Castle before leaving at a GSJ becoming the single carriageway Milnthorpe Road. It passes through Kendal, splitting in two, where it meets the northern end of the A65
.

In Kendal, it passes

Eden district
.

Passing under the M6 at Shap

The road climbs to over 1,350 feet (410 m) at

Penrith Hospital
.

The Roman road section south of Carlisle

The A6 takes a central route through

Roman road, having seen several deaths in the past few years.[2][3]

This section through

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 into the A7 which runs out of Carlisle and across the Anglo-Scottish border terminating at Scotland's capital city of Edinburgh
.

Former route south of Luton

The route of the old A6 south of Luton is now the

A5183
and A1081.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Broughton Bypass opens to the public after 40 year wait". Lancashire Evening Post. 5 October 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  2. ^ Kuiper, Deborah (12 May 2006). "40mph limit for A6 crash blackspot". Cumberland News. Archived from the original on 1 July 2007.
  3. ^ Coleman, Phil; Story, Chris (23 June 2006). "A6 death road speed camera was scrapped". Cumberland News. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.

External links

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