The A168 is a major road in
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It runs from
Northallerton
Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It had a population of 16,832 in the 2011 census, an increa ...
to
Wetherby
Wetherby () is a market town and civil parish in the City of Leeds district, West Yorkshire, England, close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire, and lies approximately from Leeds City Centre, from York and from Harrogat ...
, acting as a local access road for the A1(M).
History
The majority of it was built during A1 upgrades as parts of it between Dishforth and Walshford are originally part of the old A1 southbound carriageway until it was upgraded to the A1(M) several feet to the west.
The original route ran from
Topcliffe to
Northallerton
Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It had a population of 16,832 in the 2011 census, an increa ...
, the current southern section of the A167.
Route
Heading northwards, it begins at the roundabout with the A659 (''Wattlesyke'' for
Collingham) near junction 45 of the A1(M). This section of road was built when the A1 was improved to A1(M) in the Bramham to Wetherby section of the A1 Darrington to Dishforth scheme which was completed in December 2009. At Sweep Farm it follows the route of the former A1. It meets the eastern terminus of the
A58 at a roundabout, and follows the former A1 Wetherby bypass across the
River Wharfe
The River Wharfe ( ) is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfedale.
...
, built in 1959. It runs next to the motorway Wetherby bypass and there is a roundabout for the former B1224, for
Wetherby Racecourse
Wetherby Racecourse is a racecourse situated near the market town of Wetherby in West Yorkshire, England, located from Leeds city centre. For most of its history the course has hosted only National Hunt racing but staged its first Flat racing ...
. There is a roundabout for an industrial estate and then one for the newly diverted B1224, and junction 46 of the A1(M), where it rejoins the former Great North Road. There is a junction for
Kirk Deighton
Kirk Deighton is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated north-west of Wetherby, to which it is contiguous, and near the A1(M). The village was in the West Riding of Yorkshire, and Wethe ...
then one for
Cowthorpe. At Walshford Bridge it crosses the
River Nidd.
The former route of the A1 went through
Walshford. The A1 Wetherby to Walshford section opened in August 2005, when the former A1 south of Walshford became the A168. At
Great Ribston with Walshford there is a roundabout for Walshford west of the A1(M), and on the eastern side, there is a roundabout for
Hunsingore
Hunsingore is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated near the River Nidd and the A1(M) motorway, about west of York, and north east of Wetherby.
History
Hunsingore translates as ...
. The A168 from 1995 to 2005 terminated at Walshford, where the A1(M) joined the A1. The former A1 north of Walshford became the A168 when the thirteen-mile Walshford to Dishforth section was built
by
Alfred McAlpine
Alfred McAlpine plc was a British construction firm headquartered in Hooton, Cheshire. It was a major road builder, and constructed over 10% of Britain's motorways, including the M6 Toll (as part of the CAMBBA consortium). It was listed on the ...
and
AMEC, and opened by
John Arthur Watts in November 1995. At
Allerton Mauleverer with Hopperton
Allerton Mauleverer with Hopperton is a civil parish in the Harrogate (borough), Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 130, increasing to 150 at the 2011 Census.
As its name sugge ...
it passes under the A59, accessed from a turn to the right which leads to
Allerton Castle
Allerton Castle, also known as Allerton Park, is a Grade I listed nineteenth-century Gothic or Victorian Gothic house at Allerton Mauleverer in North Yorkshire, England. It was rebuilt by architect George Martin, of Baker Street, London in 18 ...
Flaxby Golf Clubis to the left, near
Flaxby. There is a left turn for
Arkendale, and right turns for
Marton and
Grafton. At junction 48 of the A1(M) it meets the
A6055
The A6055 is a stretch of road in North Yorkshire that runs from Knaresborough to Boroughbridge, with a break, then starts up again at Junction 50 of the A1(M) to run parallel with A1(M) acting as a Local Access Road (LAR) going between Junctio ...
for
Knaresborough
Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate.
History
Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenares ...
, to the south-west. The former course of the Great North Road carries straight on through
Boroughbridge
Boroughbridge () is a town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-west of the county town of York. Until a bypass was built the town lay on t ...
. The A168 follows the former course of the A1 bypass, next to the current A1(M), to the west of the town. It crosses the
River Ure
The River Ure in North Yorkshire, England is approximately long from its source to the point where it becomes the River Ouse. It is the principal river of Wensleydale, which is the only major dale now named after a village rather than its r ...
and at
Kirby Hill there is a roundabout for the B6265 for Ripon to the west.
It resumes the route of the Great North Road. At the point where it runs parallel to runway of the former
RAF Dishforth
Royal Air Force Dishforth or more simply RAF Dishforth is a former Royal Air Force station near to Ripon in North Yorkshire, England. Opened in 1936, the base was used as a bomber airfield during the Second World War with both British and Canad ...
at
Norton-le-Clay
Norton-le-Clay is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated near the A1(M) motorway and north-west of Boroughbridge. It is one of the Thankful Villages
Thankful Villages (also known as B ...
, it joins the route of the
Roman road Dere Street
Dere Street or Deere Street is a modern designation of a Roman road which ran north from Eboracum (York), crossing the Stanegate at Corbridge (Hadrian's Wall was crossed at the Portgate, just to the north) and continuing beyond into what is n ...
. The road becomes the parish boundary between
Marton-le-Moor and
Dishforth
Dishforth is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Dishforth translates from Old English as dic-ford; a ford by a dike or ditch. The population of the parish taken at the 2001 census as 719 and had ...
. At Dishforth, the road leaves
Dere Street
Dere Street or Deere Street is a modern designation of a Roman road which ran north from Eboracum (York), crossing the Stanegate at Corbridge (Hadrian's Wall was crossed at the Portgate, just to the north) and continuing beyond into what is n ...
and forms part of junction 49 of the A1(M). The A1 junction was planned in the 1970s to be the northern terminus of the A6183, a motorway-standard road that bypassed Leeds to the west from
Kirkhamgate
Kirkhamgate is a village, north-west of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It originated as a hamlet in the Alverthorpe township in the parish of Wakefield in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
Geography
Kirkhamgate is situated on rising ground at ...
, north-west of Wakefield. The scheme was eventually condensed into the A1-M1 motorway link road and the improvement of the A1 to Dishforth. The A168 becomes the main route from the A1 to Teesside, joining the short section of the A168(M), and a
trunk road. The former route went through Dishforth, to the south. The South of Topcliffe and Asenby By-pass, including Dishforth by-pass section was built in 1970, connecting with the A1 at the ''Dishforth Roundabout''. At
Asenby
Asenby is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England, with a population of 285 (2001 census), increasing to 311 at the 2011 census. The village is about south-west of Thirsk and east of Ripon. It is sout ...
, the
A167
The A167 and A167(M) is a road in North East England. It is partially a trunk road and partially a motorway, where it is commonly referred to as Newcastle Central Motorway. Most of the road’s route was formerly that of the A1, until it was ...
leaves to the left, which is the former route of the A168, and the A168 bypasses Asenby and
Topcliffe, crossing the
River Swale
The River Swale in Yorkshire, England, is a major tributary of the River Ure, which becomes the River Ouse, that empties into the North Sea via the Humber Estuary. The river gives its name to Swaledale, the valley through which it flows.
...
, and consequently entering the district of
Hambleton. The Topcliffe and Asenby By-pass was built in the late 1960s. There is a left turn for Topcliffe, the A167, also for
RAF Topcliffe
Royal Air Force Topcliffe or RAF Topcliffe is a Royal Air Force station in North Yorkshire, England.
It was established as a RAF Bomber Command station in 1940. The British Army took over a large part of the site in 1974 and the airfield beca ...
(which is still operational), and access to the east for
Dalton
Dalton may refer to:
Science
* Dalton (crater), a lunar crater
* Dalton (program), chemistry software
* Dalton (unit) (Da), the atomic mass unit
* John Dalton, chemist, physicist and meteorologist
Entertainment
* Dalton (Buffyverse), minor ch ...
and the former
RAF Dalton. RAF Dishforth, Dalton, and Topcliffe were all used by
No. 6 Group RCAF during the Second World War. It rejoins the former route. The South of Thirsk By-pass to north of Topcliffe and Asenby By-pass section opened in the late 1960s. In the parish of Topcliffe, there is a left turn for
Sowerby, the B1448, the former route of the A168. The road becomes part of the Thirsk bypass, and at Sowerby crosses the
East Coast Main Line, then
Cod Beck. At Pudding Pie Hill it meets the
A170 at a grade-separated junction, where the road continues as the
A19 to
Teesside
Teesside () is a built-up area around the River Tees in the north of England, split between County Durham and North Yorkshire. The name was initially used as a county borough in the North Riding of Yorkshire.
Historically a hub for heavy manu ...
. The improvements from the A1 to Thirsk in the late 1960s originally included classifying that section as the A19, not the A168. The Thirsk by-pass opened as the A19 in September 1972.
At
Thornbrough
Thornbrough is a civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. The population of the civil parish was estimated at 20 in 2014. In the 2011 census the population of the parish was included with Upsall, Felixkirk and North ...
, at the northern end of the Thirsk by-pass, the A168 leaves to the left at a grade-separated junction. It crosses the
Cod Beck, and there is a left turn for the B1448, the former A168
Thirsk and Northallerton Golf Clubis to the left. It passes through
Thornton-le-Street
Thornton-le-Street is a village and parochial and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It is part of the civil parish of Thornton-le-Moor and Thornton-le-Street for District purposes. As the population remained le ...
.
Thornton-le-Moor
Thornton-le-Moor is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England, situated equidistantly from the towns of Thirsk and Northallerton.
History
The Romans built two roads from a camp to the south at Thornton ...
is to the left.
Thornton-le-Beans is to the right. The
Vale of Mowbray
The Vale of Mowbray (sometimes mistakenly referred to as the Vale of York) is a stretch of low-lying land between the North York Moors and the Hambleton Hills to the east and the Yorkshire Dales to the west. To the north lie the Cleveland low ...
is to the west. It enters
Romanby
Romanby is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. Romanby is situated just south-west of Northallerton, and at the 2001 UK census had a population of 6,051, increasing to 6,177 at the 2011 Census.
The ...
then
Northallerton
Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It had a population of 16,832 in the 2011 census, an increa ...
as ''Thirsk Road'' and the northern terminus of the road is with the A167 in the town centre at a roundabout.
References
External links
Sabre RoadsA168(M)
{{DEFAULTSORT:1-0168
Roads in Yorkshire
Transport in North Yorkshire
Roads in Leeds
Borough of Harrogate
Hambleton District