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| Major junctions | ||||
| West end | Old Market Street, Bristol | |||
 A4044  A4320  A431  A4017  A4174  A4175 A46  A350 A4  A3102  A419  A417  A415  A338 A34  A4144  A4158  A4142 A40 | ||||
| East end | Headington in Oxford | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Primary destinations | Chippenham Swindon | |||
| Road network | ||||
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The A420 is a road between Bristol and Oxford in England. Between Swindon and Oxford it is a primary route.
Since the opening of the M4 motorway in the 1970s, the road has been in two sections. The first section begins on Old Market Street near the centre of Bristol and passes through Kingswood before leaving the city on the east side. From here it travels eastward over the southern part of the Cotswolds, to the north of Bath, to Chippenham in Wiltshire.
The second section begins at a junction with the A419 east of Swindon. It then travels under the Great Western Main Line at the twin-arch Acorn Bridge (the second arch was originally used by the Wilts & Berks Canal) and past Shrivenham and Watchfield (both bypassed in the 1980s), then on towards Faringdon in the Vale of White Horse. A further by-pass section, opened in 1979, [1] avoids the centre of Faringdon, passing just south of Folly Hill and crossing the A417.
The A420 then travels the corallian limestone ridge that forms the north-west boundary of the Vale of White Horse, passing Littleworth, Buckland and Longworth. A dual-carriageway section by-passes Southmoor and Kingston Bagpuize on its way to Oxford. Most of the road between Swindon and Oxford, apart from the dual carriageway sections and a short section around Faringdon, is limited to 50 mph (80 km/h).
A further dual-carriageway section bypasses Cumnor Hill, to give a view of the "City of Dreaming Spires" that is Oxford from the west. After crossing the Oxford Ring Road, it passes through the suburb of Botley and down the Botley Road. It crosses the River Thames on Osney Bridge and reaches central Oxford after passing under the Cherwell Valley Line next to Oxford station. Within Oxford, it is routed along Oxpens Road, then Thames Street, parts of St Aldate's, then the High Street, which is closed to most motor traffic during the day. [2] The road then crosses Magdalen Bridge to St Clements and East Oxford and ascends the notoriously steep Headington Hill to the suburb of Headington before terminating at the Headington Roundabout (known locally as the Green Road roundabout), where it meets the A40 and the Oxford Ring Road (designated the A4142).
Large vehicles such as lorries are advised by large signs at Oxford and Swindon not to take this route and use the alternative A34 and M4 route to Swindon. This is not enforced and the road is often heavily congested due to slow HGVs taking the shorter A420 route. [3] [4] The road has a poor accident record and this coupled with heavy peak time traffic caused it to be nicknamed the 'A420 Road to Hell' in local media in 2007. [5] A survey in February 2018 claimed that it is the most dangerous A road in South East England. [6]
What is now the A420 was established in the early 18th century as a direct route between Chippenham and Bristol via Tog Hill, avoiding the older and more established route via Bath (now the A4). It was an important road for Bristol, whose communications with Bath had been disputed and difficult. After the Bath Road was turnpiked in 1707, the Bristol Trust attempted to turnpike the direct road in 1727, but faced opposition from colliers at Kingswood, and the road was not sufficiently improved until the 1740s. [7]
When first classified in 1922, the A420 ran between Chippenham and Botley, near Oxford, while the road between Bristol and Chippenham was the A430. [8] The two roads were later joined and the A430 renumbered A420. The road from Botley through Oxford to Headington was originally part of the A40. When the northern Oxford bypass was built in the 1930s, the A40 was rerouted along the bypass and the road through Oxford was renumbered A420.
As a result of the building of the M4 motorway in the early 1970s and subsequent road modernisation, the A420 between Chippenham and Swindon lost its identity. From Chippenham to Lyneham through Sutton Benger and to the north of RAF Lyneham and its limestone ridge, it became the B4069. From Lyneham to Swindon it became part of the A3102. From Swindon through Stratton St Margaret to the A419 it became the A4312.
Matches between rival football clubs Oxford United and Swindon Town are sometimes referred to as the "A420 derby". [9]
The A420 near Kingston Bagpuize in Oxfordshire was the site of the fastest speeding offence ever caught in a routine speed check in the UK. On 27 January 2007, Timothy Brady, a 33-year-old man from Harrow, London, was clocked driving at 172 miles per hour (277 km/h) in a Porsche 911 Turbo that he had taken without permission from his employer, a luxury car hire firm. [10] Brady was disqualified from driving and sentenced to 10 weeks in prison. [10]
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to the west. The largest settlement is Swindon, and Trowbridge is the county town.
The A40 is a trunk road which runs between London and Goodwick (Fishguard), Wales, and officially called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road (A40) in all legal documents and Acts. Much of its length within England has been superseded by motorways, such as the M40, and has lost its trunk road status, though it retains it west of Gloucester, including its length within Wales. It is approximately 260 miles (420 km) long. The eastern section from Denham, Buckinghamshire to Wheatley, Oxfordshire is better served by the M40 and its former function of linking London with Cheltenham and Gloucester has been taken by the M4, A419 and A417 via Swindon.
The A4 is a major road in England from Central London to Avonmouth via Heathrow Airport, Reading, Bath and Bristol. It is historically known as the Bath Road with newer sections including the Great West Road and Portway. The road was once the main route from London to Bath, Bristol and the west of England and formed, after the A40, the second main western artery from London.
The A44 is a major road in the United Kingdom that runs from Oxford in southern England to Aberystwyth in west Wales.
The A36 is a trunk road and primary route in southwest England that links the port city of Southampton to the city of Bath. At Bath, the A36 connects with the A4 to Bristol, 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.
The A48 is a trunk road in Great Britain running from the A40 at Highnam, 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Gloucester, England, to the A40 at Carmarthen, Wales. Before the Severn Bridge opened on 8 September 1966, it was a major route between England and South Wales. For most of its route, it runs almost parallel to the M4 motorway. During times of high winds at the Severn Bridge, the A48 is used as part of the diversion route and is still marked as a Holiday Route.
The A361 is an A class road in southern England, which at 195 miles (314 km) is the longest three-digit A road in the UK.
The A350 is a north–south primary route in southern England, that runs from the M4 motorway in Wiltshire to Poole in Dorset.
Botley is a village in the civil parish of Botley and North Hinksey, in the Vale of White Horse district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England, just west of the Oxford city boundary. Historically part of Berkshire, it stands on the Seacourt Stream, a stream running off the River Thames. The intersection of the A34 and A420 is to the village's north.
The A419 road is a primary route between Chiseldon near Swindon at junction 15 of the M4 with the A346 road, and Whitminster in Gloucestershire, England near the M5 motorway. The A419 is managed and maintained by a private company, Road Management Group, on behalf of the UK Department for Transport.
The A417 is a main road in England, running from Streatley, Berkshire to Hope under Dinmore, Herefordshire. It is best known for its section between Cirencester and Gloucester where it has primary status and forms part of the link between the major settlements of Swindon and Gloucester.
The A429 is a main road in England that runs in a north-northeasterly direction from junction 17 of the M4 motorway to Coventry in the West Midlands.
Warmley is a village in South Gloucestershire, England.
Bourton is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, England, about 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Highworth in neighbouring Wiltshire. Bourton was part of the parish of Shrivenham until 1867, and was in Berkshire until the 1974 local government boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 326.
The Oxford Ring Road circles the city of Oxford, England. It is a dual carriageway ring road for most of its length apart from a short section between Woodstock Road and Banbury Road in the north of the city. The severe restrictions on traffic in Oxford city centre mean that it is the only practical way for long-distance traffic to get past Oxford, especially as there are few road bridges over the rivers Isis and Cherwell. Five Park and Rides are close to the ring road.
The A338 is a major primary route in southern England, that runs from the junction with the A35 at Poole in Dorset to the junction with the A420 at Besselsleigh in Oxfordshire, a distance of 84 miles (135 km).
Christian Malford is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. The village lies about 4+1⁄2 miles (7 km) northeast of the town of Chippenham. The Bristol Avon forms most of the northern and eastern boundaries of the parish. The hamlets of Thornend and Upper Town lie within the parish.
The A431 is an A road running from Bristol to Bath in England. It runs parallel to, and about 3 miles (4.8 km) to the north of, the A4, the principal route between Bristol and Bath on the south side of the River Avon.
Transport in Swindon, England, and the surroundings has directly contributed to the town's growth and the ingress of businesses and industries.
A roads in Zone 4 of the Great Britain road numbering scheme | ||
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