The A36 is a trunk road and

primary route The United Kingdom has a network of roads, of varied quality and capacity, totalling about . Road distances are shown in miles or yards and UK speed limits are indicated in miles per hour (mph) or by the use of the national speed limit (NSL) sy ...

in southwest

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 ...

that links the port city of

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

to the city of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. At Bath, the A36 connects with the A4 to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

, thus providing a road link between the major ports of Southampton and Bristol. It also provides a link between Bristol and London via the A303.

Route

Originally, the A36 continued to Avonmouth, beyond Bristol, but this section was renumbered to the A4. Within Bath the A36 acts as a ring road on the southern side of the river, from the junction with the A4 at Newbridge to the west of the city. From here traffic can continue to Bristol on the A4 or to Wells and Weston-super-Mare via the A39 and A368 roads. Another link to the A4 on the eastern side at

Cleveland Bridge Cleveland Bridge over the River Avon is a grade II* listed building located in the World Heritage Site of Bath, England. It is notable for the unusual lodges that adorn each corner in a style that could be likened to miniature Greek temple ...

, which provides a route to the M4 motorway via the A46, is highly congested. The A36 leaves Bath in an easterly direction towards Bathampton, then turns south to follow the Avon through its steep-sided valley, climbing out of the valley beyond

Limpley Stoke Limpley Stoke is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It lies in the Avon valley between Bath and Freshford, and is both above and below the A36 road. The parish is surrounded to the north, west and south by the Bath and North E ...

. The road passes near a number of towns and a city, including Frome,

Warminster Warminster () is an ancient market town with a nearby garrison, and civil parish in south west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of about 17,000 in 2011. The 11th-century Minster Church o ...

, Wilton and

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

in Wiltshire, and Totton in Hampshire, on the western outskirts of Southampton, where it meets the

M27 motorway The M27 is a motorway in Hampshire, England. It is long and runs between Cadnam and Portsmouth. It was opened in stages between 1975 and 1983, providing the largest two urban areas in Hampshire ( Southampton and Portsmouth) with a direct m ...

and the A35.

Standard of route

The majority of the A36 is built to single carriageway standard, but parts of it have been upgraded to dual carriageway. The A36 is dual carriageway for its 1 mile (1.6 km) bypass of the village of

Beckington Beckington is a village and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, across the River Frome from Lullington about three miles north of Frome. According to the 2011 census the parish, which includes the hamlet of Rudge, which ...

, 3 miles (5 km), briefly combined with the A361 north of Frome. It shares part of

bypass with the

A350 The Airbus A350 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner developed and produced by Airbus. The first A350 design proposed by Airbus in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the A330 ...

. It is also dualled for approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) near its grade separated junction with the A303 road, 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Wilton. The A36 in

acts as the city's ring road, bypassing the city centre to dual carriageway standard. Just south-east of Salisbury the largest dualled section runs for about 4 miles (6 km), bypassing the village of Alderbury. Then, the road is briefly dualled from its roundabout with the A3090 to the

(junction 2) – this part of the road is erroneously thought by some to have been previously known as the A36(M); prior to the opening of the Totton Western Bypass on the other side of the junction, it was named as a spur of the M27, and hence is built to motorway standards. The A36 reverts to single carriageway standard through Totton until it terminates.

Points of interest

External links

SABRE page on A36
{{DEFAULTSORT:3-0036 Roads in England Roads in Hampshire Roads in Somerset Roads in Wiltshire