A65 road

A65
Route information
Length	69.0 mi [1]  (111.0 km)
Major junctions
Southeast end	A58(M)  / A58 in Leeds
Major intersections	A59 in Skipton
Northwest end	A6 in Kendal
Location
Country	United Kingdom
Counties	West Yorkshire North Yorkshire Lancashire Cumbria
Primary destinations	Skipton Kirkby Lonsdale
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones
← A64 → A66

The A65 ^[2] is a major road in England. It runs north west from Leeds in West Yorkshire via Kirkstall, Horsforth, Yeadon, Guiseley, Ilkley and Skipton, west of Settle, Ingleton and Kirkby Lonsdale before terminating at Kendal in Cumbria.

Bypasses

The Kirkstall Road dual carriageway near the end of the A65 in Leeds

The A65 just north of Addingham, near Skipton

Listed from south to north, beginning at Leeds:

• The 2-mile (3.2 km) £5.5 million dual-carriageway Burley in Wharfedale Bypass opened in April 1995.
• The 2-mile (3.2 km) £4 million Addingham bypass opened in January 1991.
• The £2.8 million Draughton Bypass opened in December 1991.
• The north section of the £16.4 million Skipton Bypass opened in December 1981, which is part of the A59.
• North of Skipton, where the road meets the busy A629 from Bradford, there have been plans for a bypass around Gargrave, which is where the road crosses the Pennine Way.
• The 4-mile (6.4 km) £8.5 million Settle & Giggleswick Bypass opened in December 1988.
• The 1-mile (1.6 km) Clapham bypass is the earliest of these bypasses. ^[3] The National Archives have a file "West Riding CC: Clapham Bypass (A65); consideration of proposals" covering 1948–1969. ^[4]

Road safety

The A65 between Long Preston and junction 36 of the M6 motorway has a poor safety record, according to EuroRAP being listed as a medium-high risk road. This 26-mile (42 km) stretch of single carriageway road suffered 48 fatal or serious injury accidents between 2002 and 2004. The road features in the list of highest risk roads in Britain (excluding motorcycle accidents). ^[5] The section between Leeds and Long Preston is listed as being a low-medium risk road. ^[6]

Junction list

County	Location	mi [1]	km	Destinations	Notes
West Yorkshire	Leeds	0.0	0.0	A58(M) east / A58 west to Wellington Street / M621  / M1  / M62  / A64(M)  / A64  / A62  / A647  – City centre, Wetherby, York, Harrogate, Halifax, Huddersfield, Bradford	Southeastern terminus; western terminus of A58(M)
	Horsforth	4.6	7.4	A6120 (Ring Road) to M62  / M1  / A647  / A61  / A58  / A64  – Bradford, Harrogate, Wetherby, York, Pudsey, Shipley	To A61, Harrogate and Shipley signed northwest only, To A58, A64, Wetherby and York southeast only
	Rawdon– Yeadon boundary	7.0	11.3	A658 (Apperley Lane / Green Lane) to A61  – Bradford, Greengates, Harrogate, Pool
	Guiseley	9.1	14.6	A6038 south (Bradford Road) to A650  – Bradford, Shipley, Baildon	Southeastern terminus of A6038 concurrency
	Menston	10.2	16.4	A6038 north (Otley Road) to A61  – Otley, Harrogate	To A61 and Harrogate signed northwest only; northwestern terminus of A6038 concurrency
	Burley in Wharfedale	11.7	18.8	A660 southeast to A658  – Leeds, Harrogate, Otley	Otley signed southeast only; northwestern terminus of A660
	Addingham	19.4	31.2	A6034 south / B6160 (Silsden Road) to A629  – Keighley, Addingham, Silsden	Northern terminus of A6034
North Yorkshire	Skipton	23.5	37.8	Otley Road (A6069 west) – Skipton	Eastern terminus of A6069
		23.8	38.3	A59 east – Harrogate	Southeastern terminus of A59 concurrency
		24.4	39.3	The Bailey (A6131 south) – Skipton, Embsay	Northern terminus of A6131
	Stirton with Thorlby	26.5	42.6	A59 west / A629 south (Rotary Way) to A56  / A650  – Clitheroe, Burnley, Keighley, Bradford, Earby	Routes, Clitheroe, Burnley, Keighley and Bradford signed northwest only, Earby southeast only; northwestern terminus of A59 concurrency; northern terminus of A629
	Long Preston	36.4	58.6	A682 south to A59  – Nelson, Gisburn, Nappa	Northern terminus of A682
	Thornton in Lonsdale	51.2	82.4	A687 west to A683  / M6 south – Burton in Lonsdale, Lancaster	Eastern terminus of A687
Lancashire– Cumbria boundary	Burrow-with-Burrow– Casterton boundary	56.1	90.3	A683 south (Burrow Road) to M6 south – Lancaster, Caton, Hornby	Eastern terminus of A683 concurrency
Cumbria	Casterton	56.3	90.6	A683 north – Sedbergh, Casterton, Barbon	Western terminus of A683 concurrency
	Preston Patrick	62.3	100.3	A590 southwest / A6070 south to M6  / A591  – Kendal, Barrow, Holme, Burton	A590 signed northwest only, To A591 southeast only; northeastern terminus of A590; northern terminus of A6070
	Kendal	68.7	110.6	Romney Road / Natland Road to A6  / M6  / A590  / A591  – Lancaster, Barrow, Windermere, Natland	To A591 and Windermere signed northwest only
		69.0	111.0	A6 (Kirkland) to M6  / A591  / A590  – Lancaster, Windermere, Skipton, Barrow	Northwestern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi        Concurrency terminus

References

1. "53.7981793, -1.5619162 to 71-75 A65, Menston, Ilkley LS29 6DD, UK to A65, Kendal LA9 7PR, UK to A6, Kendal LA9 7DT, UK". Google Maps . Retrieved 27 July 2025.
2. Google map of A65
3. On Ordnance Survey 1:25000 map The Three Peaks 1982
4. "Record for: West Riding CC: Clapham Bypass (A65); consideration of proposals". The National Archives . Retrieved 18 May 2013.
5. EuroRAP 2006: British Results
6. Collins big road atlas 2019. Glasgow: Collins Bartholomew. 2018. p. xiii. ISBN   978-0-00-827268-5.

53°59′34″N2°09′53″W / 53.99276°N 2.16482°W / 53.99276; -2.16482