A686 | |
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![]() The A686 looking east below Hartside | |
Route information | |
Maintained by | |
Length | 36.5 mi [1] (58.7 km) |
Major junctions | |
South end | Penrith 54°39′19″N2°44′32″W / 54.6554°N 2.7423°W |
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North end | Haydon Bridge 54°58′23″N2°14′10″W / 54.9730°N 2.2361°W |
Location | |
Country | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Towns | Alston |
Villages | |
Road network | |
The A686 is a road in Northern England. It runs from Penrith in Cumbria to Haydon Bridge in Northumberland. AA Magazine named the A686 as one of their "Ten Great Drives" [2] owing to the dramatic scenery of the North Pennines hills encountered along its route. Travel journalist Phil Llewellin said:
England’s great wilderness sprawls across the northern Pennines, where the mountains have fascinating names such as Fiend’s Fell and Wildboar Fell. Penrith merits a visit after leaving the M6, and memories of the motorway fade as the A686 crosses the River Eden valley. The mood changes dramatically in Melmerby, where the road starts its long climb to the cafe at Hartside, 1,900 feet (580 m) above sea level, with stunning views across the Solway Firth and Scotland. The road leads to Alston, which claims to be England’s highest market town, a charming little place with cobbled streets and quaint buildings. The A686 beyond Alston crosses another breathtaking expanse of windswept upland before running down to the River Allen's beautiful wooded gorge.
The A686 begins at a roundabout with the A66 road and A6 road on the edge of Penrith, Cumbria, though it originally started in nearby Carleton at a crossroads with the former route of the A66. The road heads in a north-easterly direction crossing the River Eden before going through the village of Langwathby. It continues through Melmerby and across the Pennines before reaching the isolated market town of Alston.
It meets the A689 road (to Brampton and Bishop Auckland) and then crosses the border into Northumberland. It continues past the villages of Ninebanks, Bearsbridge and Whitfield. It meets the B6305 road to Hexham, and 3.1 miles (5.0 km) later terminates at its junction with the A69 road just east of Haydon Bridge.
Unfortunately, England's highest Cafe [3] experienced a severe fire back in 2018 [4] and has since been entirely demolished. There is widespread demand for a re-construction project [5] to take place at this iconic motoring viewpoint, yet plans are yet to get off the ground. Overlooking Cumbria's Eden Valley, with a 20-mile view NW to the Solway Firth on a clear day, this Cafe was once an iconic stopping off point for those travelling across the North Pennines. The view is still spectacular, and motorists still often take a break at the car park.
During the deep winter, heavy snow and black ice often makes the high points of the A686 treacherous. After heavy snow, the road may be closed. [6]
The South Tynedale Railway is a preserved, 2 ft narrow gauge heritage railway in Northern England and at 875 feet (267 m) is England's second highest narrow gauge railway after the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway in north Devon. The South Tynedale line runs from Alston in Cumbria, down the South Tyne Valley, via Gilderdale, Kirkhaugh and Lintley, then across the South Tyne, Gilderdale and Whitley Viaducts to Slaggyford in Northumberland.
Cumberland is an area of Northern England which was historically a county and is now fully part of Cumbria. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish counties of Dumfriesshire and Roxburghshire to the north. The area includes the city of Carlisle, part of the Lake District and North Pennines, and the Solway Firth coastline.
The A66 is a major road in Northern England, which in part follows the course of the Roman road from Scotch Corner to Penrith. It runs from east of Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire to Workington in Cumbria. The road has been progressively improved with dual carriageway sections, but with stretches of single carriageway road. The road is set to be completely dualled between Scotch Corner and Penrith, with a £1.3 billion scheme being announced in March 2024.
Alston is a town in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England, within the civil parish of Alston Moor on the River South Tyne. It shares the title of the 'highest market town in England', at about 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level, with Buxton, Derbyshire. Despite its altitude, the town is easily accessible via the many roads which link the town to Weardale, Teesdale, and towns in Cumbria such as Penrith via Hartside Pass, as well as Tynedale. Historically part of Cumberland, Alston lies within the North Pennines, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Much of the town centre is a designated Conservation Area which includes several listed buildings.
Eden was a local government district in Cumbria, England, based at Penrith Town Hall in Penrith. It was named after the River Eden, which flowed north through the district toward Carlisle. Its population of 49,777 at the 2001 census, increased to 52,564 at the 2011 Census. A 2019 estimate was 53,253. In July 2021 it was announced that, in April 2023, Cumbria would be divided into two unitary authorities. On 1 April 2023, Eden District Council was abolished and its functions transferred to the new authority Westmorland and Furness, which also covers the former districts of Barrow-in-Furness and South Lakeland.
The A69 is a major northern trunk road in England, running east–west across the Pennines, through the counties of Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and Cumbria. Originally, the road started in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne then later near Birtley, but since the creation of the A1 Western Bypass around Newcastle upon Tyne, it now starts at Denton Burn, a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne.
The River Eden is a river that flows through Cumbria, England. It rises on Black Fell Moss, near the village of Outhgill, and runs in a generally north-westerly direction through the Vale of Eden and Solway Plain before reaching the sea at the Solway Firth.
Cross Fell is the highest mountain in the Pennines of Northern England and the highest point in England outside the Lake District. It is located in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It lies within the county of Cumbria and the historic county boundaries of Cumberland.
Penrith and The Border was a constituency in Cumbria represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Throughout its existence it elected only members of the Conservative Party.
The Vale of Eden is formed by the course of the River Eden, one of the major rivers of Northwest England. It is however of much greater extent than the actual valley of the river, lying between the Cumbrian Mountains, and the northern part of the Pennine Range. It lies entirely within the county of Cumbria. The river has its source in the peat bogs below Hugh Seat, in the dale of Mallerstang. At first it heads off south before turning back north for the rest of its course – except just before its outlet into the sea which it enters from the east.
The A689 is a road in northern England that runs east from the A595, 3.1 miles (5.0 km) to the west of Carlisle in Cumbria, to Hartlepool in County Durham.
Hadrian's Wall Path is a long-distance footpath in the north of England, which became the 15th National Trail in 2003. It runs for 84 miles (135 km), from Wallsend on the east coast of England to Bowness-on-Solway on the west coast. For most of its length it is close to the remains of Hadrian's Wall, the defensive wall built by the Romans on the northern border of their empire. This is now recognised as part of the "Frontiers of the Roman Empire" World Heritage Site.
The Pennine Cycleway is a Sustrans-sponsored route in the Pennines range in northern England, an area often called the "backbone of England". The route passes through the counties of Derbyshire, West Yorkshire, Lancashire, North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Northumberland. It is part of the National Cycle Network (NCN). Sustrans founder John Grimshaw calls it 'the best National Cycle Network route of the lot'.
Melmerby is a village and civil parish in the Eden district, in the county of Cumbria, England. It is a small village with a population of around 200. The village is 9 miles to the east of Penrith, a thriving community with immediate access to Junction 40 of the M6 motorway and a main line railway station serving London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Surrounded by countryside it sits between the North Pennines with its highest point, Cross Fell to the east and the World Heritage Lake District National Park 10 miles to the west. The River Eden is bridged about 4 miles (6.4 km) away at Langwathby, and Long Meg and Her Daughters, the 3,500-year-old stone circle – the second largest in the country – is nearby at Little Salkeld. In 1931 the parish had a population of 175.
The A685 is a road in Cumbria, England, that runs 28 miles (45 km) from Kendal to Brough.
Carleton is a suburb of the town of Penrith, Cumbria, England, that has seen a huge growth in housing since the 1960s and is, of 2018, still expanding due to the Carleton Meadows, Carleton Manor and Woodberry Heights developments. It was formerly a separate small village or hamlet one mile east of the centre of Penrith.
Stainmore is a remote geographic area in the Pennines on the border of Cumbria, County Durham and North Yorkshire. The name is used for a civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, including the villages of North Stainmore and South Stainmore. The parish had a population of 253 in the 2001 census, increasing to 264 at the Census 2011. Stainmore Forest stretches further east into County Durham, towards Bowes.
Penrith and Solway is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was contested for the first time at the 2024 general election, since when it has been represented by Markus Campbell-Savours of the Labour Party.
During poor weather conditions the A686 was often closed on Hartside and the preferred route into the rest of Cumbria was along the A689 towards Brampton.