A69 road (Great Britain)
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The A69 is a major northern trunk
road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...
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 b ...
, running east–west across the
Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...
, through the counties of
Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcastl ...
,
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 ...
and
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 ...
. Originally, the road started in the centre of
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 ...
then later near Birtley, but since the creation of the A1 Western Bypass around Newcastle upon Tyne, it now starts at
Denton Burn Denton Burn is an area located in Central Newcastle, approximately to the west of the city centre of Newcastle upon Tyne in England, United Kingdom. It is officially designated a suburb of the city, where it is linked to Carlisle by the A69 a ...
, a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne. The route from the A1 junction to
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 ...
city centre is 54 miles (87 km).


Settlements on the route

* Denton Burn *
West Denton West Denton is an area in the western part of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, 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 ...
*
Throckley Throckley is a village located in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, approximately west of Newcastle city centre. Hadrian's Wall passed through the village, its course traced by the village's main road, Hexham Road. Throckley lies within ...
* (
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 ...
) * (
Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...
) * (
Haydon Bridge Haydon Bridge is a village in Northumberland, England, with a population of about 2000, the civil parish Haydon being measured at 2,184 in the Census 2011. Its most distinctive features are the two bridges crossing the River Tyne, River South T ...
) *
Bardon Mill Bardon Mill is a small village in Northumberland, within the vicinity of the ancient Hadrian's Wall. It is located around from Hexham, from Carlisle, and from Newcastle upon Tyne. Nearby landmarks include Allen Banks & Staward Gorge, Sycamor ...
*
Melkridge Melkridge is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the river South Tyne. The village of Melkridge is in the south of the parish, and is about two miles (3 km) east of Haltwhistle along the A69 road. At the 2001 the civil ...
* (
Haltwhistle Haltwhistle is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, east of Brampton. It had a population of 3,811 at the 2011 Census. Stone-built houses are a feature of Haltwhistle. It is one of two settlements in Great Britain which c ...
) * (
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 ...
) *
Warwick Bridge Warwick Bridge is a village in the City of Carlisle district of the county of Cumbria, England. It forms part of a small urban area which includes the villages of Corby Hill and Little Corby. Warwick Bridge lies within the civil parish of Wet ...
* Warwick-on-Eden *
Botcherby Botcherby is a former village in Cumbria, England, now considered a suburb of the city of Carlisle. It is located east of the River Petteril south of its confluence with the River Eden, Cumbria. History Botcherby was first named in 1170 and be ...
*
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 ...
Places with parentheses are indicative of historically being on the A69, but have now been bypassed


Description of the route

The road runs westwards from the A1 at
Denton Burn Denton Burn is an area located in Central Newcastle, approximately to the west of the city centre of Newcastle upon Tyne in England, United Kingdom. It is officially designated a suburb of the city, where it is linked to Carlisle by the A69 a ...
in
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 ...
through the suburbs of
Denton Burn Denton Burn is an area located in Central Newcastle, approximately to the west of the city centre of Newcastle upon Tyne in England, United Kingdom. It is officially designated a suburb of the city, where it is linked to Carlisle by the A69 a ...
and
West Denton West Denton is an area in the western part of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, 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 ...
before a junction with the A6085 and the B6323. It continues west and passes over what was
Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. R ...
, which until now has been south of the road, at Milecastle 13 on the wall. Hereafter the road is always south of the wall. The road carries on up the Tyne valley, bypassing the village of
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 ...
and the market town
Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...
. The A69 crosses the River Tyne west of Hexham (
Constantius Bridge Constantius Bridge is a modern concrete bridge across the River Tyne about north west of Hexham, Northumberland, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scot ...
), re-crosses it west of the village of
Haydon Bridge Haydon Bridge is a village in Northumberland, England, with a population of about 2000, the civil parish Haydon being measured at 2,184 in the Census 2011. Its most distinctive features are the two bridges crossing the River Tyne, River South T ...
, and yet again as it bypasses
Haltwhistle Haltwhistle is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, east of Brampton. It had a population of 3,811 at the 2011 Census. Stone-built houses are a feature of Haltwhistle. It is one of two settlements in Great Britain which c ...
. After crossing the border into Cumbria, the A69 by-passes the town of
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 ...
, before coming 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 ...
junction with the
A689 road The A689 is a road in northern England that runs east from the A595, to the west of Carlisle in Cumbria, to Hartlepool in County Durham. The road begins west of Carlisle, just outside the city at the A595. The initial stretch was recently co ...
. The A69 turns left here and travels through the village of
Warwick Bridge Warwick Bridge is a village in the City of Carlisle district of the county of Cumbria, England. It forms part of a small urban area which includes the villages of Corby Hill and Little Corby. Warwick Bridge lies within the civil parish of Wet ...
, which is planned to be by-passed in the future. Following a short piece of
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 ...
, the A69 comes to Junction 43 of the
M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at t ...
, which skirts the eastern edge 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 ...
. The A69 into Carlisle has the name Warwick Road, and is known to be one of the most congested roads in the county. At Saint Aidan's church, the A69 turns right up Victoria Place, and meets the
A7 road A7, A.7, A 7, A07 or A-7 may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * A7, the A dominant seventh chord used in many rock songs, see dominant seventh chord * A (musical note) * ''A7'' (mixtape), by SCH, 2015 * Avenged Sevenfold, a hard rock/met ...
at a busy traffic-light controlled crossroads, where it terminates. The road forms part of the unsigned
Euroroute The international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The network is numbered from E1 up and its roads ...
E18. It is maintained by RoadLink. Historical sections of road numbered A69 At its eastern end, the A69 historically ran from its current terminus with the A1 at Denton Burn eastward along Westgate Road (now the western end of the A186) in Newcastle upon Tyne, terminating at the junction between Westgate Road and Neville Street in central Newcastle near
Newcastle Central station Newcastle Central Station (also known simply as Newcastle and locally as Central Station) is a major railway station in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the East Coast Main Line, around north of . It is the primary national rail station ...
. The construction of the
Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...
Western Bypass saw the section of A69 from Denton Burn into central Newcastle renumbered A186, with the A69 then passing over
Scotswood Bridge Scotswood Bridge is one of the main bridges crossing the River Tyne in North East England. It links the west end of Newcastle upon Tyne on the north bank of the river with the MetroCentre (shopping centre), MetroCentre and Blaydon in Gateshead ...
and following the Gateshead Western Bypass to Birtley where it joined 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 ...
. The later construction of the Newcastle Western Bypass saw the Gateshead Western Bypass section renumbered A1 as the A1 was diverted to the west of Newcastle upon Tyne city centre and over the new Blaydon Bridge, with the A69 curtailed to its current terminus at Denton Burn.


Standard of route

The A69 is a major route linking the
north-east 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 sepa ...
and
north-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east ...
of England, and as such has primary status throughout. For about between its start at Newcastle and the Hexham by-pass the A69 is dual carriageway standard, and is largely
grade separated In civil engineering (more specifically highway engineering), grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights (grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other tra ...
. The rest of the route, apart from a short dual carriageway section near the M6 Junction 43 is single carriageway, with occasional climbing lanes.


Haydon Bridge bypass

Haydon Bridge was the last village on the A69 in Northumberland to gain a bypass. This was officially opened on Wednesday 25 March 2009 and passes to the south of the village with a new bridge over the
River South Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Wat ...
to the west of the village.


Safety

A report on the A69 in 2011 noted that in the previous year 82 accidents were recorded with 130 injuries, 10 serious injuries and four deaths. Campaigning has been ongoing to get the section from Hexham to Carlisle dualled to allow vehicles to overtake safely.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:6-0069 Roads in Cumbria Roads in England Transport in Tyne and Wear Roads in Northumberland