The A10 (in certain sections known as ''Great Cambridge Road'' or Old North Road) is a major road in England. Its southern end is at London Bridge in the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas ...

, and its northern end is the

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

port town of King's Lynn. From London to Royston it chiefly follows the line of Roman

Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London ('' Londinium'') to Lincoln (''Lindum Colonia'') and York (''Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earningas' ...

. The main route to

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

is now via the M11 motorway, however non-motorway traffic still uses the A10.

Route

Within 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 ...

, the route of the A10 comprises King William Street,

Gracechurch Street Gracechurch Street is a main road in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London, which is designated the A1213. It is home to a number of shops, restaurants, and offices and has an entrance to Leadenhall Market, a covered ...

, Bishopsgate and

Norton Folgate Norton Folgate is a short length of street in London, connecting Bishopsgate with Shoreditch High Street, on the northern edge of the City of London. It constitutes a short section of the A10 road, the former Roman Ermine Street. Its name is a ...

. It then becomes Shoreditch High Street,

Kingsland Road Kingsland Road is the name given to an East London stretch of the A10 road within the London Borough of Hackney in England. The A10 was originally a Roman Road better known as Ermine Street or sometimes the Old North Road. The name ''Kingsland ...

, Kingsland High Street and Stoke Newington Road. It runs through Stoke Newington as Stoke Newington High Street and then becomes

Stamford Hill Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about 5.5 miles north-east of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a sub-district of Hackney, the major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the ...

, through

until

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...

. In July 2013, the Tottenham Hale gyratory was removed and the A10 now follows the route of

Tottenham High Road Tottenham High Road is the main thoroughfare through the district of Tottenham, in the London Borough of Haringey. It runs from Edmonton in the North (where it becomes Fore Street) to Stamford Hill in the South (where the road becomes Stamford H ...

in both directions. North of Tottenham, the A10 leaves its historical route of

/Hertford Road (now A1010) to join the Great Cambridge Road via Bruce Grove and The Roundway. The Roundway is the southern end of a long dual carriageway section of the A10, which extends to just south of Buntingford. This dual carriageway section bisects the

London Borough of Enfield The London Borough of Enfield () is a London borough in North London. It borders the London boroughs of Barnet to the west, Haringey to the south, and Waltham Forest to the southeast. To the north are the districts of Hertsmere, Welwyn Hat ...

, skirting the Enfield fringes of Enfield Town before crossing the M25 motorway at junction 25, near Waltham Cross. Until the late 1970s, the Great Cambridge Road passed through the towns of

Broxbourne Broxbourne is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Hoddesdon, in the Broxbourne district, in Hertfordshire, England, north of London, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 I ...

Hoddesdon Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River. Hoddesdon ...

and Warealong what is now the A1170 road. Since then, an all-purpose road from

Cheshunt Cheshunt ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London on the River Lea and Lee Navigation. It contains a section of the Lee Valley Park, including much of the River Lee Country Park. To the north lies Broxbourne and Wormley, ...

by-passes these towns. The Kingsmead Viaduct takes the A10 high over the

Lea Valley The Lea Valley, the valley of the River Lea, has been used as a transport corridor, a source of sand and gravel, an industrial area, a water supply for London, and a recreational area. The London 2012 Summer Olympics were based in Stratford, in ...

between Hertford and Ware and the Hertford East Branch Line railway. North of Ware, a further by-pass scheme was opened in late 2004, taking the A10 around the Hertfordshire villages of

Wadesmill Wadesmill is a hamlet in Hertfordshire, England, located on the north side of the River Rib with an estimated population of 264. At the 2011 Census the population of the hamlet was included in the civil parish of Thundridge. Running through the ...

, Thundridge, High Cross, and Collier's End. The bypass would have opened sooner, but the lime-stabilised subsoil heaved and cracks opened up in the road surface. A substantial portion of the road surface had to be relaid. Further north, there is another section of 1970s dual carriageway road between Puckeridge and Buntingford, the contract for which was awarded to Meres Construction Ltd in April 1972. Buntingford was by-passed in the 1980s, however this is only

single carriageway A single carriageway (British English) or Undivided highway (American English) is a road with one, two or more lanes arranged within a one carriageway with no central reservation to separate opposing flows of traffic. A single-track road has a s ...

. From Buntingford, the road runs through the villages of Chipping, Buckland and

Reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * ...

, before reaching the edge of Hertfordshire in the market town of Royston. Once in Cambridgeshire, the topography changes from undulating hills to flat agricultural and fenlands, round the villages of Melbourn and Foxton (the road going over a

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term a ...

adjacent to Foxton railway station), through

Harston Harston is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, located around 5 miles (8 km) south of Cambridge. In 2011, it had a population of 1,740. Village Sign The village sign was erected in the Queen's Silver Jubilee ye ...

and up to the M11 motorway at junction 11, near

. A10 traffic is signposted to travel north on the M11, skirting round the top of Cambridge on the A14; however, the former course of the A10 turns into the A1309 and heads for the city centre. The original A10 went through the heart of the city, past the major colleges along

King's Parade King's Parade is a street in central Cambridge, England.Midsummer Common. The A10 reappears to the north of Cambridge at the Milton Interchange of the A14 and heads north, crossing the River Great Ouse and approximately following the river downstream towards

The Wash The Wash is a rectangular bay and multiple estuary at the north-west corner of East Anglia on the East coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire and both border the North Sea. One of Britain's broadest estuaries, it is fed by the riv ...

. It bypasses Ely, Littleport and

Downham Market Downham Market, sometimes simply referred to as Downham, is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It lies on the edge of the Fens, on the River Great Ouse, approximately 11 miles south of King's Lynn, 39 miles west of Norwich and 30 ...

before reaching King's Lynn in Norfolk, where the road ends at a junction with the A47 and A149 Coast Road.

Future improvements

, there have been proposals for the A10 between Cambridge and Ely to be turned into a dual carriageway. So far, the improvements have been estimated to cost £260 million, with a smaller cost, £38 million has been placed for junction upgrades. Junction improvements for the M25 motorway Junction 25 have started, with a widening of the southbound entry, widening the eastbound and westbound slip lane, maintaining the footpaths under the junction, widening of the roundabout northbound and a separate lane for northbound traffic from the M25.

References

External links

Society for All British Road Enthusiasts entry for the A10Road to Nowhere – A10M25 Junction 25 improvements/
{{DEFAULTSORT:1-0010 Streets in London Transport in the City of London Roads in England Roads in Cambridgeshire Roads in Hertfordshire Roads in London Transport in the London Borough of Enfield Transport in the London Borough of Hackney Transport in the London Borough of Haringey Streets in the London Borough of Enfield