Fort gets down on his hands and knees to decipher the ancient lettering on ancient stones and reveal stories from the days of Ethelred. Forts book is also a mediation on the motor car itself: it is a force for darkness or for liberation? - Independent on Sunday It is also frustrating to have signals on the Countess and Podimore roundabouts out of peak seasons ie having to stop and wait unnecessarily. Couldn't they be switched off when traffic flows are lighter?

Former Stonehenge A303 road proposal 'still popular locally' ". BBC News. 10 February 2016 . Retrieved 19 August 2016. Concerns mount over plans for two-mile road tunnel past Stonehenge". The Guardian. 2 April 2019 . Retrieved 11 March 2020. So what you are saying is they should have got rid of the A30 number between the M3 and Salisbury? Salisbury to Lopcombe Corner becomes A343, Lopcombe to the A272 becomes A272 (extension needed when the A272 was moved out tof Winchester). Then what about A272 to Sutton Scotney or Mitcheldever? Unclassified, B Number or A3xxx? Declassifying somehow goes against the grain a bit given that the A30 was deliberately redirected to Bullington Cross to maintain a link with the A303 and A34. Your plan gets somewhat messy at this point. Better to maintain the status quo or renumber to A3xxx after Lopcombe Corner South of Doncaster, the 'GNR' still has beautiful old coaching inns sanding, some in disrepair (at Scrooby Top)Moving further west into Somerset and past Wincanton, Cadbury Castle looms large to the left of the A303. Legend has it that the giant hillfort at South Cadbury was once home to King Arthur's mythical Camelot, where the Knights of the Round Table would have met to plan their conquests. The typical Friday or Saturday holiday flow that occurs on say 10-15 weekends of the year (or even be generous and say 20) or the flow that happens on the other ~230 weekdays say a wet Tuesday in February? I loved the bits in this book about the villages and countryside, and I pretty much enjoyed the history and old tales of strange country folk and unusual goings on from various times in history. I thought the information about Stonehenge very interesting, but was much less in favour of the political rantings.

An epic journey to the South-West. The A303 is a road like no other, a route that has become part of the English way of life. Tom Fort highlights its enduring appeal - Independent Hi Richard - the point I was trying to make was that: if as well as the 11,000ADT on the A303, another, say, 15,000AADT goes from Exeter to London via M4/M5, then there would be large latent demand not using the A303, which should be using the A303 and is instead clogging up indirect routes - which have more than enough Exeter-Birmingham, London-South Wales etc to fill them up already (not to mention clogging up Chard Town Centre at those traffic lights). This would rather change the picture.Improving journeys to the South West - The case for the A303/A358 corridor (PDF). Highways England (Report). 2018. p.7 . Retrieved 6 December 2021. Like i say,i don't think every section of D2 of this vintage is evidence of a plan to dual the whole route. There is a section of D2 on the non primary A352 Dorchester to Wareham that is to me a classic example of this. I dont think there was ever a plan to Dual from Dorchester to Wareham!! (At least not before more important roads like the A35.) Keeping with King Arthur connections, moving further west between Sparkford and Podimore, the majestic Glastonbury Tor can be seen on the horizon to the right. Despite being located more than ten miles away, the iconic Tor can be spotted rising above the Somerset Levels from the A303. Here Fort unearths a tenth-century story of internecine lust, treachery, betrayal and murder worthy of the Icelandic Sagas - Times Literary Supplement

In 2019, the preferred route of the A358 upgrade was revealed, [59] and in 2020 the government confirmed funding for the A358 scheme and dualling of the A303 between Sparkford and Podimore. [60] Other schemes [ edit ] Couple more A30/A303 memories (sorry if this nostalgia is a bit self-indulgent and semi off-topic!): And I learned a lot, both about the mysterious world of television, and about the road. My road, as I've come to think of it. think of the A1, pre-upgrading; once past Wetherby, you had farms, and houses, cosying right up to the road-side I'm in favour of Dualling the A358 as soon as possible either wholly or partially in sections. The amount of commuting from places like Ilminster to Taunton/Bristol etc has gone from zero thirty years ago to quite a bit. Together with Taunton - Yeovil traffic, this is justified as a local scheme, but as an online upgrade of the present route not an expressway. (ie I wouldn't grade separate the A372 junction and would keep the traffic lights.The authorities could also get the green patches out in Wandsworth and return the A3036 to it's original number of A303 Stonehenge permanent road closure work begins". BBC News: Wiltshire. 24 June 2013 . Retrieved 19 August 2016. Plans to improve the A303 between Sparkford and Ilchester by upgrading three miles of single carriageway to high-quality dual carriageway were approved by the government in February 2021. [66] Work began on this section that October. [67] Cultural references [ edit ] Tom Fort drove the length of the A303 in a Morris Traveller, and his account was turned into a book and television documentary Prior to the broadcast of Series 15 of Top Gear in 2010, the cast of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May were spotted and recorded driving along the A303 in what appeared to be house cars. The video was recorded and put on YouTube. [70] Some long distance (as well as local) traffic still uses the A30 for the same reason, particularly traffic originating at Yeovil, Sherborne, Shaftesbury and even Salisbury. This ought to go A3088/A303 but I bet most of it stays on the A30.