The A3, known as the Portsmouth Road or London Road in sections, is a major road connecting the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
and
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most d ...
passing close to
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...
,
Guildford
Guildford ()
is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
,
Haslemere
The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south west Surrey, England, around south west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill, they comprise the civil parish of Haslemere in ...
and
Petersfield. For much of its length, it is classified as a
trunk road and therefore managed by
National Highways. Almost all of the road has been built to
dual carriageway standards or wider. Apart from bypass sections in London, the road travels in a southwest direction and, after
Liss
Liss, Lyss or LISS may refer to
*Liss (band), a Danish musical group
* Liss (name), a given name and surname
*Liss, Hampshire, a village in England
**West Liss, the oldest part of Liss village
**Liss Forest, a hamlet near Liss
** Liss Athletic F. ...
,
south-southwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...
.
Close to its southerly end, motorway traffic is routed via the
A3(M), then either the east–west
A27 or the Portsmouth-only
M275 which has multiple lanes leading off the westbound A27 — for non-motorway traffic, the A3 continues into Portsmouth alongside the A3(M), mostly as a single carriageway in each direction through
Waterlooville
Waterlooville is a market town in the Borough of Havant in Hampshire, England, approximately north northeast of Portsmouth. It is the largest town in the borough.
The town has a population of about 64,350 and is surrounded by Purbrook, Blendwort ...
and adjoining small towns. The other section of single carriageways is through the urban environs of Battersea, Clapham and Stockwell towards the northern end, which has to accommodate
bus lane
A bus lane or bus-only lane is a lane restricted to buses, often on certain days and times, and generally used to speed up public transport that would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion. The related term busway describes a roadwa ...
s and
parking meter
A parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. Parking meters can be used by municipalities as a tool for enforcing their integrated on-street par ...
bays.
History
By the 17th century, the historic Portsmouth Road bore great strategic significance as the road link between the capital city and what became the settled main port of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
, as well as a non-military port like nearby
Chichester
Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...
— a petition was passed by Her Majesty for the expansion of the bench of justices of the town of
Guildford
Guildford ()
is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
along its route, in consideration of the importance of the Portsmouth Road, in 1603. Many of the other towns and villages that the road passed through gained income and, in the case of towns, a market advantage as a result — principally in the history of
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...
,
Godalming
Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settlement ...
and
Petersfield. The modern A3 follows the general route of the Portsmouth Road, but it
bypasses many of the towns and villages along the way, leaving the various stretches of the old route for local traffic — for instance, the
A307
The A307 road runs through SW London and NW Surrey. It is primary at the north-east end; the remainder is non-primary, generally superseded in the mid-twentieth century in two stages by newer alignments of the Portsmouth Road, the Kingston byp ...
, its original course through
Kingston-upon-Thames and
Esher, retains its name, Portsmouth Road.
A programme of road improvements, starting in the 1920s, transformed the road, so that it is now predominantly a two or three lane
carriageway, bypassing the town centres; south of the
South Downs
The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the eas ...
National Park, it includes a section of
motorway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
, the
A3(M), just before the road reaches the
A27 at Havant. The construction of the Kingston and Guildford bypasses in the 1920s and 1930s made use of temporary
narrow gauge railway
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller struct ...
s to move the construction materials. The Esher bypass, between
Hook from the first mentioned bypass to the
M25, is three lanes with a motorway-standard hard shoulder; from there to Guildford the road has three lanes.
Lord Montagu of Beaulieu
Baron Montagu of Beaulieu (, Engl. pronunciation: "bewley", from French ''beau'', "beautiful" and ''lieu'', "place"), in the County of Hampshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1885 for the Conservative poli ...
stressed the urgency of building a Kingston bypass in 1911, but public funds were not secured before the onset of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
and were not available in the aftermath. By the early 1920s, traffic in Kingston town centre had increased by over 160% in 10 years in the coaching town and the decision was taken in 1923 to revive the plans, with the contract worth £503,000 (). Work started in 1924, and it was opened by the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 August 186714 December 1947) was a British Conservative Party politician who dominated the government of the United Kingdom between the world wars, serving as prime minister on three occasions, ...
MP, on 28 October 1927. It ran for from the Robin Hood Gate of
Richmond Park near to the outskirts of
Esher. The opening ceremony concluded with refreshments for 800 guests in marquees near to the northern start/end. Its construction immediately attracted developments of housing where access was easiest. The
Restriction of Ribbon Development Act 1935 came too late to prevent this private housing, which is apparent where the A3 winds through
Tolworth and
New Malden, where the architecture includes concrete to
art nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
apartments,
Mock-Tudor
Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architectur ...
gabled houses and
gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aest ...
d
Arts and Crafts movement-inspired houses.
The road was once the haunt of
highwaymen such as
Jerry Abershawe, who terrorised the area around Kingston and led a gang based at the Bald Faced Stag Inn on the Portsmouth Road. Another particularly dangerous location was in the vicinity of the wooded crest skirting the
Devil's Punch Bowl
The Devil's Punch Bowl is a visitor attraction and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest situated just to the east of the village of Hindhead in the English county of Surrey. It is part of the Wealden Heaths Phase II Special Protection ...
,
Hindhead
Hindhead is a village in Surrey, England. It is the highest village in Surrey, with buildings at between 185 and 253 metres above sea level. It is best known as the location of the Devil's Punch Bowl, a beauty spot and site of special scientifi ...
, about south-west of
Guildford
Guildford ()
is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
.
The complexity of the double roundabout at the junction between the A309 Kingston by-pass and the A307 led to it being referred to colloquially as the Silly Isles, later the junction officially adopted the name The Scilly Isles.
In 2011, the
Hindhead Tunnel became the centrepiece of the Hindhead Bypass, away from the winding road of the small town, where the only urban set of traffic lights on the route outside London had created a bottleneck. Until 2011, the road through Hindhead was the last single carriageway section of the route, outside London and Portsmouth.
Route
The road follows a route roughly parallel to the
Portsmouth Direct Line railway which goes through, rather than past, all of the towns which the road serves, with
Havant and
Woking and , respectively, off the road.
Greater London
The A3 starts at
King William Street at its junction with
Gracechurch Street in the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
, crosses
London Bridge
Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It re ...
while entering the
London Borough of Southwark, and goes south-west along
Borough High Street and
Newington Causeway to the
Elephant and Castle roundabout. It continues along
Newington Butts
Newington Butts is a former hamlet, now an area of the London Borough of Southwark, that gives its name to a segment of the A3 road running south-west from the Elephant and Castle junction. The road continues as Kennington Park Road leading to ...
, and bounds then enters the
London Borough of Lambeth
Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazier S ...
on
Kennington Park Road
Kennington Park Road is a main road in south-east London, England, and is part of the A3 trunk road. It runs from Newington Butts at its Y-junction with Kennington Lane, south-west to the Oval, where the A3 continues as Clapham Road, towards ...
which becomes Clapham Road and
Clapham High Street. The A3 then turns west (leaving as its straight continuation the
A24) as
Clapham Common North Side. Along this road, it enters the
London Borough of Wandsworth
Wandsworth () is a London borough in southwest London; it forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main named areas are Battersea, Balham, Putney, Tooting and Wandsworth Town.
The borough border ...
, after which it runs
concurrently with the A205 'South Circular' along Battersea Rise,
Wandsworth Common
Wandsworth Common is a public common in Wandsworth, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, south London. It is and is maintained and regulated by Wandsworth Council. It is also a Ward of the London Borough of Wandsworth. The population of the ward ...
North Side and East Hill, and goes through
Wandsworth
Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
Toponymy
Wandsworth takes its nam ...
, and then the A205 carries on west towards Richmond. On
West Hill, just east of the Tibbets Corner junction with the
A219
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
near
Putney Heath
Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Commons totalling 4 ...
, the road increases from one lane each way to a three-lanes-each-way
dual-carriageway and the speed limit increases from 30 mph (48 km/h) to 40 mph (64 km/h). The A3 then continues south-west between
Richmond Park and
Wimbledon Common
Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Commons totalling 46 ...
, as Kingston Road before beginning to bypass
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...
while going through
Roehampton Vale. The A3 enters The Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames just before
Kingston Vale
Kingston Vale with Kingston Hill is a district in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in south-west London. It is a residential area between Richmond Park, the much smaller Putney Vale, Wimbledon Common, Coombe/Coombe Hill and the Norbit ...
where there is a junction with the
A308 for Kingston upon Thames and Richmond Park. The speed limit then increases to 50 mph (80 km/h) before going under the Coombe Flyover. The A3 then goes on a flyover by Shannon Corner in
Raynes Park
Raynes Park is a residential suburb, railway station and local centre near Wimbledon, London, and is within the London Borough of Merton. It is situated southwest of Wimbledon Common, to the northwest of Wimbledon Chase and to the east of ...
, before having junctions for
New Malden,
Tolworth and
Hook along the Kingston By-pass.
Brief features of a section of road contribute to a traffic pinch-point during
peak hours around the Hook underpass. The road reduces from three lanes to two in the underpass. The speed limit at this point reduces from to , with the first of a handful of
Gatso
Gatso is the brand that Gatsometer BV (now known as Sensys Gatso Group when Sensys acquired Gatso in 2015) use on their speed cameras and red light cameras. The most commonly encountered Gatso speed cameras emit radar beams to measure the speed ...
speed enforcement cameras. If returning to London, traffic from the A309 also joins just before the underpass.
Surrey
The A3's Kingston By-pass now ends sooner leaving a spur junction the A309 to the Scilly Isles junction near
Sandown Park
Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse r ...
,
Esher, its route instead becoming the Esher By-pass on the border of
Hook, London
Hook is a suburban area in south west London, England. It forms part of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and is located 12 miles (19.3 km) south west of Charing Cross. Neighbouring settlements include Hinchley Wood, Long Ditton, ...
and
Long Ditton
Long Ditton is a residential suburb in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England on the boundary with the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London. In medieval times it was a village, occupying a narrow strip of land. Neighbouring settleme ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
.
After passing
Claygate
Claygate is an affluent suburban village in Surrey, England, southwest of central London. It is the only civil parish in the borough of Elmbridge. Surrounded by green belt, it lies inside the Greater London Built-up Area.
Claygate was once in ...
, the motorway-standard section has junctions with the A244 between
Esher and
Oxshott, then the A245 between
Cobham and
Hersham. The road's Wisley Interchange with the
M25 enables a flyover still with a 70 mph (112 km/h) speed limit. It bypasses
Wisley
__NOTOC__
Wisley is a village and civil parish in Surrey, England between Cobham and Woking, in the Borough of Guildford. It is the home of the Royal Horticultural Society's Wisley Garden. The River Wey runs through the village and Ockham an ...
,
Ockham,
Ripley
Ripley may refer to:
People and characters
* Ripley (name)
* ''Ripley'', the test mannequin aboard the first International Space Station space station Dragon 2 space test flight Crew Dragon Demo-1
* Ellen Ripley, a fictional character from the Al ...
(and
Burpham
Burpham is a rural village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. The village is on an arm of the River Arun slightly less than northeast of Arundel.
A slight minority of the population qualifies as within the worki ...
which is a suburb of
Guildford
Guildford ()
is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
) before cutting through the major town itself as a dual carriageway and changing to a 50 mph (80 km/h) speed limit. It returns to 70 mph (112 km/h) at the A31 and A246 junction before bypassing
Godalming
Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settlement ...
and
Milford. It continues through a tunnel at
Hindhead
Hindhead is a village in Surrey, England. It is the highest village in Surrey, with buildings at between 185 and 253 metres above sea level. It is best known as the location of the Devil's Punch Bowl, a beauty spot and site of special scientifi ...
(constructed in 2011 to improve capacity and bypass the
Devil's Punch Bowl
The Devil's Punch Bowl is a visitor attraction and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest situated just to the east of the village of Hindhead in the English county of Surrey. It is part of the Wealden Heaths Phase II Special Protection ...
) before leaving Surrey.
Hampshire
The A3 enters Hampshire just after exiting the Hindhead Tunnel, passes
Liphook and
Bramshott
Bramshott is a village with mediaeval origins in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It lies 0.9 miles (1.4 km) north of Liphook.
The nearest railway station, Liphook, is south of the village.
History
The first evidence for ...
, turns
SSW past
Liss
Liss, Lyss or LISS may refer to
*Liss (band), a Danish musical group
* Liss (name), a given name and surname
*Liss, Hampshire, a village in England
**West Liss, the oldest part of Liss village
**Liss Forest, a hamlet near Liss
** Liss Athletic F. ...
, then passes
Petersfield. The A3's original route between Hindhead and Petersfield, passing through several villages, became the B2070. At Liss, there remains an
at-grade At-grade may refer to:
*At-grade intersection, a crossing between roads on the same level
* Road junction
*Level crossing, where a road or path crosses a railway on the same level
* Diamond crossing, where two railway tracks cross
* At-grade railway ...
roundabout, the only such junction on the route. Over the
South Downs
The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the eas ...
, it passes Clanfield and
Horndean
Horndean is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, north of Portsmouth.
The nearest railway station is southeast of the village at Rowlands Castle.
The village had a population of 12,942 at the 2011 Census, and shares the semi- ...
. From just north of Horndean, (still heading towards Portsmouth) the A3 separates from the
A3(M) (below) and continues as London Road as far as Hilsea, south of which it is Northern Parade. It runs along the west side of
Portsea Island
Portsea Island is a flat and low-lying natural island in area, just off the southern coast of Hampshire in England. Portsea Island contains the majority of the city of Portsmouth.
Portsea Island has the third-largest population of all ...
which forms Portsmouth proper, roughly parallel with the
M275, into the nearly waterfront centre of the city where, after passing the
Catholic cathedral, it meets with the
A2030. Here, it reaches
Old Portsmouth, passing the
Anglican cathedral and the 15th century harbour where it comes to an end at Broad Street and
Portsmouth Point
Portsmouth Point, or "Spice Island", is part of Old Portsmouth in Portsmouth, Hampshire, on the southern coast of England. The name Spice Island comes from the area's seedy reputation, as it was known as the "Spice of Life". Men were easily foun ...
.
Hindhead tunnel
The
Hindhead Tunnel is a twin bore tunnel, which cost £371 million to construct, and is the longest non-estuarial road tunnel in the UK.
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond conducted the opening ceremony on 27 July 2011, though the northbound tunnel opened to traffic two days later than the southbound one, on 29 July.
The new dual carriageway diverges from the original route where the old A3 began climbing sharply as it headed towards the scenic Devil's Punch Bowl. The old road now turns right and continues into Highfield Lane. From there, the remainder of the original road to Punch Bowl Common - a short distance north-east of the Hindhead traffic lights - has been completely ripped up and returned to nature. From the south, the short and largely built-up southern stretch of old A3 (now bypassed) runs up from the Grayshott exit into Hindhead and remains in use, but has been renumbered from A3 to
A333.
Proposed developments
Ham Barn roundabout, Liss
Since the 2013 opening of the
Hindhead Tunnel, the modern route (or, in the case of the southernmost section, its associated motorway section) is at least dual-carriageway, but at
Liss
Liss, Lyss or LISS may refer to
*Liss (band), a Danish musical group
* Liss (name), a given name and surname
*Liss, Hampshire, a village in England
**West Liss, the oldest part of Liss village
**Liss Forest, a hamlet near Liss
** Liss Athletic F. ...
is the sole at-grade roundabout. Widely considered the main traffic pinch-point and an accident hotspot (due to its unusual egg-shape and
camber angle which can cause lorries at excess speed to tip over), there have been wide calls for its removal, the projected increase in traffic with the completion of the tunnel supporting the proposal. In November 2010, the
Highways Agency announced it would discuss three options for the roundabout's future, but in December it announced that no change would be commenced before 2015:
*full-time signalling,
*removing the roundabout entirely (and thereby removing the A3/B3006 connection completely),
*keeping the existing system.
Cathedral exit, Guildford
The slip road exiting the A3 leading to the
Royal Surrey County Hospital
The Royal Surrey County Hospital (RSCH) is a 520-bed District General Hospital, located on the fringe of Guildford, run by the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust.
History
The hospital has its origins in a facility at Farnham Road which opened ...
and the
Surrey Research Park
The Surrey Research Park is a large research park in Guildford, Surrey. The Surrey Research Park has been planned, developed, funded and managed by the University of Surrey which operates the park as a wholly owned University Enterprise Unit.
O ...
regularly creates congestion on the main A3 during peak times, when the traffic queue reaches onto the main carriageway. In May 2011, it was announced that this is to be resolved with new improvements to the traffic system directly adjacent to the A3, with work funded jointly by the
University of Surrey and
Surrey County Council.
Related urban proposals and developments
Various schemes exist to manage urban traffic and economise land use, and include running park and ride services. The main such scheme along the route is in Guildford. In February 2015, the
Mayor of London Boris Johnson announced plans to build over a short section at
Tolworth, after visiting a similar site in
Boston, Massachusetts; the Mayor said "rebuilding some of our complex and ageing road network underneath our city would not only provide additional capacity for traffic, but it would also unlock surface space and reduce the impact of noise and pollution." Similar plans have been proposed for other areas of London but proven cost-prohibitive.
A3(M)
This section of the road was opened in 1979 and acts as an alternative to the A3 road in this part of Hampshire.
Junctions
Cycling
There are several cycle routes which follow the route of the A3.
London
In London,
Cycle Superhighway 7 (CS7) runs either side of the A3 from
Elephant and Castle to
Clapham Common. The route is signposted and marked using painted blue cycle logos, carrying cyclists through
Kennington
Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between the ...
,
Stockwell
Stockwell is a district in south west London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, South Lambeth, Oval and Kennington all border Stockwell.
History
The name ...
, and
Clapham. North from Elephant and Castle, CS7 runs along the
A300/
Southwark Bridge Road towards the
City
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
. South of Clapham Common, CS7 runs along the
A24 to
Colliers Wood
Colliers Wood is an area in south west London, England, in the London Borough of Merton. It is a mostly residential area, but has a busy high street around Colliers Wood tube station on London Underground's Northern line. The high street is p ...
, via
Balham
Balham () is an area in south London, England, mostly within the London Borough of Wandsworth with small parts within the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. The area has been settled since Saxon times and appears in the Domesday Book as B ...
and
Tooting
Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and partly in the London Borough of Merton. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross.
History
Tooting has been settled since pre-Saxon times. Th ...
.
Between
Wandsworth
Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
Toponymy
Wandsworth takes its nam ...
and
Kingston Vale
Kingston Vale with Kingston Hill is a district in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in south-west London. It is a residential area between Richmond Park, the much smaller Putney Vale, Wimbledon Common, Coombe/Coombe Hill and the Norbit ...
, a
shared-use path runs alongside the A3 for cyclists and pedestrians. The path is segregated from other road traffic and links to cycle paths which run alongside the
A308/
Kingston Hill. This provides
Norbiton
Norbiton is an area within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London. It lies approximately east of Kingston upon Thames town centre, and from Charing Cross. Its main landmarks include Kingston Hospital, Kingsmeadow football stadium ...
with a traffic-free route to Wandsworth, which is also the terminus of
Cycle Superhighway 8 (CS8 to
Millbank
Millbank is an area of central London in the City of Westminster. Millbank is located by the River Thames, east of Pimlico and south of Westminster. Millbank is known as the location of major government offices, Burberry headquarters, the ...
).
Surrey and Hampshire
Shared-use paths and cycle lanes run alongside the A3 at points between the Greater London boundary and Portsmouth.
Between
Thursley and
Milford in Surrey, cycle crossings of the
slip roads exist for cyclists travelling along the
cycle lanes.
There is a cycle path between
Liss
Liss, Lyss or LISS may refer to
*Liss (band), a Danish musical group
* Liss (name), a given name and surname
*Liss, Hampshire, a village in England
**West Liss, the oldest part of Liss village
**Liss Forest, a hamlet near Liss
** Liss Athletic F. ...
and
Petersfield which runs along the Portsmouth-bound (southbound) side of the A3. The route joins the A3 south of
West Liss
West Liss is the oldest part of the modern village of Liss, in Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South Eas ...
and leaves the dual-carriageway to the north of Petersfield (at Farnham Road). The route between Liss town centre and Farnham Road is part of
National Cycle Route 22 (NCR 22).
South of Petersfield,
National Cycle Route 222 (NCR 222) follows the route of the A3 until the route reaches
Waterlooville
Waterlooville is a market town in the Borough of Havant in Hampshire, England, approximately north northeast of Portsmouth. It is the largest town in the borough.
The town has a population of about 64,350 and is surrounded by Purbrook, Blendwort ...
. The route passes through the
Queen Elizabeth Country Park
Queen Elizabeth Country Park is a large country park situated on the South Downs in southern England. It is located on the A3 road three miles south of Petersfield, Hampshire and lies within the South Downs National Park.
The park contains 1,40 ...
and passes along the eastern rim of
Clanfield. The main cycle route between Petersfield and the Country Park follows NCR 22 through
Buriton
Buriton () is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is located 2 miles (3.3 km) south of Petersfield.
History
About a mile north-west of Buriton was the extensive manor of West Mapledurham ...
.
See also
*
Great Britain road numbering scheme
*
List of motorways in the United Kingdom
*
British industrial narrow gauge railways
British industrial narrow-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man that were primarily built to serve one or more industries. Some offered passenger services for employees or workmen, but they did not run p ...
Notes and references
;Notes
;References
External links
CBRD Motorway Database – A3 and A3(M)A3 Hindhead Improvement– Highways Agency page
Society for All British Road Enthusiasts entry for the A3
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Roads in England
Roads in Surrey
Transport in Hampshire
Transport in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
Roads in London
Streets in the London Borough of Lambeth
Transport in the London Borough of Merton
Streets in the London Borough of Southwark
Proposed roads in the United Kingdom
Streets in the London Borough of Wandsworth