The A68 is a major road in the United Kingdom, running from
Darlington in England to the
A720 in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
, the capital of Scotland. It crosses the
Anglo-Scottish border
The Anglo-Scottish border () is a border separating Scotland and England which runs for between Marshall Meadows Bay on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The surrounding area is sometimes referred to as "the Borderlands".
The ...
at
Carter Bar
__NOTOC__
Carter Bar is a pass in the Cheviot Hills, on the Anglo-Scottish border. It lies east of Carter Fell at the head of Redesdale, and is crossed by the A68 road as it runs north towards Teviotdale.
The name "Carter Bar" is relatively mod ...
and is the only road to do so for some distance either way; the next major crossings are the
A697
The A697 is a road that can be used an alternative to the A1 for those travelling between Scotland and England via the North East.
Route
It connects Morpeth on the A1 to the A68 at Oxton, near Edinburgh. The road runs via Wooler and Col ...
from
Coldstream
Coldstream ( gd, An Sruthan Fuar , sco, Caustrim) is a town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream is the home of the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army.
Description
Coldstream l ...
to
Cornhill-on-Tweed in the east, and the
A7 near
Canonbie to the west.
Route
The southernmost section of the A68, as it leaves Darlington, has been described as a "rustbelt". In January 2022 there was a proposal to widen key roundabouts in Darlington to ease traffic flow. The road crosses 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 Copshaw Hill Interchange. It bypasses
Bishop Auckland and runs through
West Auckland,
Toft Hill and
Tow Law
Tow Law is a town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is situated a few miles to the south of Consett and 5 miles to the north west of Crook.
According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,952, increasing to 2,138 at the 201 ...
, where Durham County Council has installed a live camera so that drivers can check traffic and weather. It then passes
Consett and
Corbridge
Corbridge is a village in Northumberland, England, west of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle and east of Hexham. Villages nearby include Halton, Northumberland, Halton, Acomb, Northumberland, Acomb, Aydon and Sandhoe.
Etymology
Corbridge was kno ...
; it used to pass through the centre of the town but since 1979 has run on a bypass to the east, crossing the
River Tyne over
Styford Bridge.
During the construction of the bypass, Roman burials, glass and coins were found, and some traces of
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 ...
. To return to the previous route of the A68 it is
concurrent
Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to:
Law
* Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea''
* Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...
with the
A69 for , before turning off north again. The road passes through rural
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 ...
, following the route of Dere Street for much of this stretch, which is considered highly scenic.
The A68 crosses the
Scottish border at
Carter Bar
__NOTOC__
Carter Bar is a pass in the Cheviot Hills, on the Anglo-Scottish border. It lies east of Carter Fell at the head of Redesdale, and is crossed by the A68 road as it runs north towards Teviotdale.
The name "Carter Bar" is relatively mod ...
, then runs through the
Border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
towns of
Jedburgh
Jedburgh (; gd, Deadard; sco, Jeddart or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the historic county of Roxburghshire, the name of which was randomly chosen for Operation Jedburgh in s ...
,
St Boswells,
Earlston
Earlston ( sco, Yerlston; gd, Dùn Airchill) is a civil parish and market town in the county of Berwickshire, within the Scottish Borders. It is on the River Leader in Lauderdale, Scotland.
Early history
Earlston was originally called ''Arc ...
and
Lauder
The former Royal Burgh of Lauder (, gd, Labhdar) is a town in the Scottish Borders in the historic county of Berwickshire. On the Southern Upland Way, the burgh lies southeast of Edinburgh, on the western edge of the Lammermuir Hills.
Etymo ...
before going over
Soutra Hill, passing through
Pathhead and by-passing
Dalkeith, before terminating at Millerhill Junction on the A720. Until September 2008, the A68 passed through Dalkeith; the opening of a bypass removed large volumes of traffic from the town centre and led to a reduction in accidents. The northern section is used by commuters to Edinburgh, as well as long-distance traffic.
In August 2020 part of the road near Fala collapsed after heavy rain. It reopened the following month.
Part of the A68 is a
trunk road from the boundary with
Midlothian to the border at Carter Bar, managed by BEAR Scotland for
Transport Scotland
Transport Scotland ( gd, Còmhdhail Alba) is the national transport agency of Scotland. It was established by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005, and began operating on 1 January 2006 as an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government.
Organisa ...
. The English section as far south as the junction with the
A696 to
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
was previously a trunk road, but was detrunked in 2001 as part of the government's "
New Deal for Trunk Roads in England" report published three years earlier.
Along with the A696, the A68 forms an alternative route between
Newcastle Upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
and Edinburgh to the
A1 which runs along the coast via
Berwick Upon Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...
, and is the more scenic of the two.
History
The A68 follows the Roman
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 ...
north of Corbridge, crossing
Hadrian's Wall, and shares its route as far as the historic camps of
Habitancum
Habitancum was an ancient Roman fort (castrum) located at Risingham, Northumberland, England. The fort was one of the defensive structures built along Dere Street, a Roman road running from York to Corbridge and onwards to Melrose in what is now ...
and
Bremenium. The area contains numerous Roman forts.
The current route across Carter Bar was proposed by
John Loudon McAdam
John Loudon McAdam (23 September 1756 – 26 November 1836) was a Scottish civil engineer and road-builder. He invented a new process, " macadamisation", for building roads with a smooth hard surface, using controlled materials of ...
in 1828. It was constructed over the following decade, and featured bridges designed by
James Jardine.
Safety
The A68 was the 20th most dangerous UK road in 2017. In 2021, the Scottish government announced funding for safety improvements in Pathhead. In England, some MPs have lobbied for similar safety improvements along the road.
See also
*
British road numbering scheme
The Great Britain road numbering scheme is a numbering scheme used to classify and identify all roads in Great Britain.
Each road is given a single letter (which represents the road's category) and a subsequent number (between 1 and 4 digits). ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:6-0068
Roads in England
Roads in Scotland
Transport in County Durham
Transport in Northumberland
Transport in the Scottish Borders
Transport in Midlothian
Transport in Edinburgh
Roads in Northumberland