The A6108 road is an

A road A roads may be *motorways or freeways, usually where the local word for motorway begins with A (for example, ''Autobahn'' in German; ''Autostrada'' in Italian). * main roads or highways, in a system where roads are graded A, B and sometimes lower c ...

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 the south of

Scotch Corner Scotch Corner is a Junction (road), junction of the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) and A66 road, A66 Trunk road#United Kingdom, trunk roads near Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond in North Yorkshire, England. It has been described as "the modern gate ...

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...

going via

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

and

Leyburn Leyburn is a market town and civil parish in the district of Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, England, sitting above the northern bank of the River Ure in Wensleydale. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the name was derived from 'Ley ...

across the moors and the valleys of

Swaledale Swaledale is one of the northernmost dales (valleys) in Yorkshire Dales National Park, located in northern England. It is the dale of the River Swale on the east side of the Pennines in North Yorkshire. Geographical overview Swaledale runs ...

and

Wensleydale Wensleydale is the dale or upper valley of the River Ure on the east side of the Pennines, one of the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. It is one of only a few Yorkshire Dales not currently named after its principal river, but th ...

. The road is long, but through traffic between the two destinations will find a shorter route of by going south on the A1. The route is single carriageway for its entire length. The route was closed for traffic on 5 July 2014 between Leyburn and Ripon to accommodate Stage One of the

Tour De France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

Description of route

The road starts south of

, heading south then south-west over Skeeby Beck on a 17th and 18th century bridge through Skeeby and into Richmond. In Richmond town there is a junction with the A6136 road to

Catterick Garrison Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and military town south of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world, with a population of around 13,000 in 2017 and covering over 2,400 acres (about 10& ...

and

Catterick Bridge Catterick Bridge is both a bridge across the River Swale in North Yorkshire, England, about 1 mile north of Catterick, and a hamlet at the south end of the bridge. The bridge The bridge carries the A6136 road (once the Great North Road). ...

. The road takes the northern flank of the town and heads west, out alongside 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. Th ...

crossing the river at Lownethwaite which is out of Richmond. out of Richmond, the road heads south through Downholme. The road has a sharp 90° turn to the south-west and an almost immediate 90° turn south-east at Walburn Hall on the edge of

Wathgill Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and military town south of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world, with a population of around 13,000 in 2017 and covering over 2,400 acres (about 1 ...

Army Camp. After this there is a short run to the junction with the Catterick road where the A6108 turns onto the unclassified road at a 90° angle south-westwards at a T-Junction. The road now follows the route of the

Richmond to Lancaster Turnpike The Richmond to Lancaster Turnpike, was a road that was opened in the second half of the 18th century between Richmond, in the North Riding of Yorkshire and Lancaster in Lancashire, Northern England. The turnpike was built to allow goods to be ...

, which is why it turns onto and off this road via T-junctions. After a mile (1.6 km) there is a sharp 90° turn off the road to the south where the A6108 continues through Bellerby and dropping down into Leyburn where it meets the road from Reeth and then the A684. The A6108 then runs in tandem with the A684 south-east through Leyburn centre for less than half a mile and turns off south going over the River Ure at Middleham Bridge and ascending a slight incline into Middleham where the road curves to the east. It carries on in an eastwards direction until it crosses the River Cover where it heads due south into East Witton and then east again through the village following a rough south-easterly direction through Jervaulx and Low Ellington for until it enters Masham. Here the road heads east over the River Ure again before heading south-east into West Tanfield (over the Ure) and down through North Stainley where

Lightwater Valley Lightwater Valley Family Adventure Park is a theme park in North Stainley, North Yorkshire, England. The park was once home to Europe's longest roller coaster, The Ultimate (roller coaster), The Ultimate. Lightwater Valley was founded by Robert ...

is on the western side of the road. The road enters Ripon after leaving Masham and heads east at the junction with North Road on the old A61, across North Bridge (over the River Ure) and then it has a roundabout junction the A61 bypass around Ripon.

Safety

A section of the route from Halfpenny House Junction (where the A6108 meets the unclassified road from Catterick Garrison) is known locally as the Tank Road. The British Army training estate beyond Catterick Garrison to the west is used for Infantry and armoured transport training. The road was widened and flattened out, which means high speeds can be attained in an area where the roads are narrow and slow going. This has led to many accidents, especially on the intersections in the road. During the period between January 2001 and November 2004, the area around halfpenny House was designated an accident cluster in the local Traffic Management Study published in 2007. A total of 9 accidents occurred here including 5 where drivers lost control on the bends. Drivers have been warned by North Yorkshire Police about safety, especially as the roads are prone to icing over in winter, which adds to the danger. Traffic calming measures were implemented outside the Secondary School in Richmond in 2008 and new signage was erected on the unclassified road leading to Halfpenny House Junction on the A6108.

Middleham Bridge

The suspension bridge over the River Ure at Middleham is subject to a height restriction of with poor advanced signage. The road over the bridge is only able to sustain one way traffic, with the priority given to vehicles exiting Middleham (i.e. going north to Leyburn). The bridge is castellated with stone beams going widthways across the structure. This accounts for the height restriction as the bridge goes over the river and not under a railway or canal. The mock medieval towers were built in 1829 when crossing the bridge required paying a toll. The bridge itself lies on the position of a ferry crossing.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:6-6108 Roads in Yorkshire Transport in North Yorkshire