The A689 is a road in northern

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 ...

that runs east from the

A595 The A595 is a primary route in Cumbria, in Northern England that starts in Carlisle, passes through Whitehaven and goes close to Workington, Cockermouth and Wigton. It passes Sellafield and Ravenglass before ending at the Dalton-in-Furness by ...

, to the west of

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

, to

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

. The road begins west of

, just outside the city at the A595. The initial stretch was recently constructed as part of the Carlisle Northern Development Route, a road bypassing

from west to north. Crossing the River Eden and the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

, the road intersects with Junction 44 of the M6 at Greymoorhill. From Junction 44 of the M6, the A689 runs roughly south-east to a

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

, with the B6264. From here, the A689 heads east, and crosses the

River Irthing The River Irthing is a river in Cumbria, England and a major tributary of the River Eden. The name is recorded as Ard or Arden in early references. For the first 15 miles of its course it defines the border between Northumberland and Cumbria. ...

Ruleholme Ruleholme is a small hamlet on the A689 road and the River Irthing, near the village of Irthington, in the City of Carlisle district, in the English county of Cumbria (historically in Cumberland). It is also near Carlisle Lake District Airport. ...

, then it meets the A69 at a roundabout junction. The A689 joins the route of the A69 around part of the

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipalit ...

bypass. Near the village of Milton, the A689 turns right, and continues through Milton and Hallbankgate before crossing the border into the county of

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

. The route continues roughly south-east, and re-enters the county of Cumbria just north of the small market town of Alston. After passing through Alston, the A689 eventually crosses the border into

, where the route still heads gradually south-east through

Weardale Weardale is a dale, or valley, on the east side of the Pennines in County Durham, England. Large parts of Weardale fall within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – the second-largest AONB in England and Wales. T ...

. At

Killhope Cross Killhope Cross (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the English Pennines. The pass divides Weardale to the east and Cumbria to the west. The road over the pass, the (A689) from Hartlepool to Carlisle, Cumbria, connects the hamlet of Cornriggs in ...

between Killhope and Nenthead the road reaches a height of , making it the highest A road and equal highest paved pass in England (or 3rd highest paved road in England.A Compendium of High Roads and Road Passes in Great Britain, Alan Kind & Friends http://web.me.com/mondard/Hodology/Highest_Roads_files/Highest%20Roads%20Part%201.pdf) At a roundabout with the A68, the A689 briefly joins the route of the A690, before turning right in the town of

Crook Crook is another name for criminal. Crook or Crooks may also refer to: Places * Crook, County Durham, England, a town * Crook, Cumbria, England, village and civil parish * Crook Hill, Derbyshire, England * Crook, Colorado, United States, a ...

(for a few years has bypassed Crook town centre and now uses a new bypass). Heading south-easterly still, the A689 encounters the town of

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history surro ...

, where it temporarily heads north-easterly (where it merges with the A688), before setting off in an easterly direction north of Bishop Auckland. The A689 meets 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 ...

at the Rushyford

, then shortly comes across the

A1(M) A1(M) is the designation given to a series of four separate motorway sections in England. Each section is an upgrade to a section of the A1, a major north–south road which connects London, the capital of England, with Edinburgh, the capit ...

at Junction 58. The A689 by-passes the town of

Sedgefield Sedgefield is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It had a population of 5,211 as at the 2011 census. It has the only operating racecourse in County Durham. History Roman A Roman 'ladder settlement' was discovered by C ...

, and becomes

dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

standard for the remainder of the route, after the section between Sedgefield and Wynyard was upgraded to dual carriageway in 2001. The A689 meets the A19 near

Wolviston Wolviston is a village and civil parish within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was 877. It is situated in the north of Billingham. The ...

, before turning north-east and eventually terminating close to the centre of

References

External links

A689 Carlisle-Hartlepool
– from SABRE's "Roads By 10". {{DEFAULTSORT:6-0689 Roads in Cumbria Roads in England Transport in County Durham Transport in Northumberland

See also

References

External links