Is the A1 the longest motorway in the UK?

At 410 miles the A1 is Britain's longest road, connecting London to Edinburgh. The A14 meets the A1 at Brampton in Cambridgeshire and, as part of the A14 project, Highways England has widened it from two lanes to three in both directions between Alconbury and Buckden and built a redesigned junction at Brampton Hut.



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Britain's first motorway, the Preston by-pass, opened in 1958. Designed by Lancashire County Council under civil engineer Sir James Drake – regarded as the pioneer of the UK motorway network – it's now part of the M6. The next 10 years saw UK's network expand as hundreds of miles of motorway were built.

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Historical map of the original A8-A9 motorway, Italy. The first motorway ever built in the world was opened on 21 September 1924.

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Hardknott Pass is considered to be one of the most challenging in the UK. It has earned this consideration due to its series of hairpin bends and the high risk of ice on the road. It is a steep, twisting, single-track road that cuts right through the heart of the Lake District between the Duddon Valley and Eskdale.

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Answer: A motorway just relates to the A road that it's relieving pressure from. The reason there is no M7 is that the A7, which runs from Carlisle to Edinburgh has no need for a motorway to relieve it.

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The top three longest motorways in the UK are:
  • M6: Catthorpe, Leicestershire — Gretna Green, Dumfriesshire – Spread: 236 miles (379.8km)
  • M1: Staples Corner, London — Hook Moor, Yorkshire – Spread: 200 miles (321.9km)
  • M4: Chiswick, London — Pont Abraham, Carmarthenshire – Spread: 191.9 miles (308.8 km)


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Hanger Lane Gyratory – West London. Magic Roundabout – Swindon. Gravelly Hill Interchange (Spaghetti Junction) – Birmingham.

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In later years, as the M1 was extended southwards into London and the M25 was built, the M10's original purpose eroded. It was sometimes suggested that the motorway might have been extended to meet the M25 at junction 22, but this was never proposed.

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