The A685 is a road in

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. C ...

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 ...

, that runs 28 miles (45 km) from Kendal to Brough.

Route

The A685 begins in Kendal town centre off the A6. It heads in a north-easterly direction to the village of

Tebay Tebay is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, within the historic borders of Westmorland. It lies in the upper Lune Valley, at the head of the Lune Gorge. The parish had a population of 728 in the 2001 census, increasing to 776 at th ...

and junction 38 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 ...

. From the M6 the A685 has

primary status 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 ...

as it heads in an easterly and then north-easterly direction to the small town of

Kirkby Stephen Kirkby Stephen () is a market town and civil parish in Cumbria, North West England. Historically part of Westmorland, it lies on the A685, surrounded by sparsely populated hill country, about from the nearest larger towns: Kendal and Penri ...

. It then has a very short dual carriageway section to aid overtaking, prior to meeting the A66 just outside the small town of Brough, where it terminates. From

Newbiggin-on-Lune Newbiggin-on-Lune is a village in the Eden district of Cumbria, England. Historically in Westmorland it is about south west of Kirkby Stephen, and lies on the main A685 route from Brough to Tebay. Nearby to the north is located the Smarda ...

the road follows the route of the former

South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway The South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway (SD&LUR) built a railway line linking the Stockton & Darlington Railway near Bishop Auckland with the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway (the West Coast Main Line) at Tebay, via Barnard Castle, Stainmore S ...

. The section from Tebay to Kirkby Stephen is banned to HGVs because of height and weight restrictions; HGVs have to go up to Penrith and then come south on the A66.

References

External links

SABRE page on the A685
Roads in Cumbria {{England-road-stub