The A56 is a road in

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 ...

which extends between the city of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...

and the village of Broughton in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

. The road contains a mixture of single and

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 ...

sections, and traverses environments as diverse as the dense

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

of inner city

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

and the lightly populated region of rural east

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

. The road includes a short section of trunk road between the end of the

M66 motorway The M66, also known as the Bury Easterly Bypass, is a motorway in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is long and provides part of the route between the M62 and M60 motorways and the M65, with the rest being provided by the A5 ...

near

Ramsbottom Ramsbottom is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 census was 17,872. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the River Irwell in the West Pennine Moors, northwest of B ...

and the

M65 motorway The M65 is a motorway in Lancashire, England. It runs from just south of Preston through the major junction of the M6 and M61 motorways, east past Darwen, Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley, Brierfield, Nelson and ends at Colne. History The ...

west of

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Br ...

Route description

The road begins as Frodsham Street in the centre of

at its junction with Foregate Street A51 and heads north-eastwards out of the city. Just outside the city, the A56 crosses Junction 12 of the M53 motorway, continuing in a north easterly direction. The road passes through the towns and villages of Mickle Trafford,

Dunham on the Hill Dunham-on-the-Hill is a village and former civil parishes in England, civil parish, now in the parish of Dunham-on-the-Hill and Hapsford, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester, and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It i ...

, Helsby and

Frodsham Frodsham is a market town, civil parish, and electoral ward in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its population was 8,982 in 2001, increasing to 9,077 at the 2011 Census. It is s ...

whilst roughly paralleling the course of the south side of the

M56 motorway The M56 motorway, also known as the North Cheshire motorway, serves the Cheshire and Greater Manchester areas of England. It runs east to west from junction 4 of the M60 at Gatley, south of Manchester, to Dunkirk, approximately north of Ches ...

. After leaving

, the A56 crosses the M56 at Junction 11 and passes the towns of

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool to the northwest across the River Mersey. ...

and

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

, taking up a more easterly direction to again parallel the course of the north side of the motorway. The road crosses the M6 motorway halfway between Junctions 20 and 21, before passing south of Lymm on its way to its junction with the A556 road at Bowdon. At Bowdon the A56 turns sharply northwards, passing

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

and Sale, crossing the M60 Manchester Outer Ring Road at Junction 7 into

Stretford Stretford is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, south of Manchester city centre, south of Salford and north-east of Altrincham. S ...

. The A56 takes the name of Chester Road and continues north-eastwards through

and

Hulme Hulme () is an inner city area and electoral ward of Manchester, England, immediately south of Manchester city centre. It has a significant industrial heritage. Historically in Lancashire, the name Hulme is derived from the Old Norse word ...

into Manchester city centre, where it takes on the name

Deansgate Deansgate is a main road (part of the A56) through Manchester City Centre, England. It runs roughly north–south in a near straight route through the western part of the city centre and is the longest road in the city centre at over one mile ...

, one of Manchester's main shopping streets and thoroughfares. At the end of Deansgate, the A56 takes on the name of Victoria Street as it passes

Manchester Victoria railway station Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England is a combined mainline railway station and Manchester Metrolink, Metrolink tram stop. Situated to the north of the Manchester city centre, city centre on Hunts Bank, close to Manchester Cathed ...

. Since 2012, most of Victoria Street has been pedestrianised with planters, but the road markings still remain underneath. Turning sharply to the north-west, the A56 leaves Manchester and goes through the Broughton district of Salford on its way to

Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester city centre, north of Salford and south of Bury. Historically part of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ancient pari ...

, where it is called Bury New Road, where it again crosses the M60 Manchester Outer Ring Road at Junction 17. Heading due north the road passes Whitefield and cuts through Bury before crossing the

at Junction 1. The road follows the M66 up to its terminus near Edenfield. The A56 becomes dual carriageway, and traffic from the M66 can continue onto this trunk road section only. Traffic from the A680 and the A676 can also join the A56. Again heading roughly due northwards the A56 bypasses Haslingden and

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

before joining the

at Junction 8, slightly to the west of

. After joining the M65, the A56 disappears from the maps, only to reappear approximately to the north east close to M65 Junction 13 at a junction with the A682 in central Nelson. Taking an easterly direction, the A56 goes through

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds. The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne ...

before turning sharply to the north. Now cutting through the more rural parts of east

the road passes Foulridge and Earby, finally reaching its termination point where it merges with the

A59 road The A59 is a major road in England which is around long and runs from Wallasey, Merseyside to York, North Yorkshire. The alignment formed part of the Trunk Roads Act 1936, being then designated as the A59. It is a key route connecting Merseysi ...

to the west of Broughton in

Former route

Prior to the construction of the M65, M66 and connecting roads, the route continued through Edenfield and into Rawtenstall. The route then passed through the centre of Burnley and on to Nelson, this section is now marked as an extension of the A682.

References

External links

Road to Nowhere: A56
{{DEFAULTSORT:5-0056A Roads in England Roads in Cheshire Roads in Yorkshire Roads in Greater Manchester Roads in Lancashire Transport in Manchester Transport in North Yorkshire

Route description

Former route

See also

References

External links