The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over 230 miles (370 km) from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby before heading north-west. It passes Coventry, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Preston, Lancaster and Carlisle before terminating at Junction 45 near Gretna. Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74(M) which continues to Glasgow as the M74. Its busiest sections are between junctions 4 and 10a in the West Midlands, and junctions 16 to 19 in Cheshire; these sections have now been converted to smart motorways.
The M40 motorway links London, Oxford, and Birmingham in England, a distance of approximately 89 miles (143 km).
The A303 is a trunk road in southern England, running between Basingstoke in Hampshire and Honiton in Devon via Stonehenge. Connecting the M3 and the A30, it is part of one of the main routes from London to Devon and Cornwall. It is a primary A road throughout its length, passing through five counties.
The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley. It continues past Bromsgrove, Droitwich Spa, Worcester, Tewkesbury, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Bristol, Portishead, Clevedon, Weston-super-Mare, Bridgwater, Taunton, Tiverton, Cullompton terminating at junction 31 for Exeter.
The M42 motorway runs north east from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire to just south west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, passing Redditch, Solihull, the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and Tamworth on the way, serving the east of the Birmingham metropolitan area. The section between the M40 and junction 4 of the M6 forms – though unsigned as such – a part of Euroroute E05. Northwards beyond junction 11, the route is continued as the A42; the junctions on this section, 12–14, are numbered like a continuation of the motorway, but the road has non-motorway status from here.
The M32 is a 4.4-mile-long (7.1 km) motorway in South Gloucestershire and Bristol, England. It provides a link from the M4, a major motorway linking London and South Wales, to Bristol city centre and is maintained by National Highways, the national roads body.
Cullompton is a town and civil parish in the district of Mid Devon and the county of Devon, England. It is 13 miles (21 km) north-east of Exeter and lies on the River Culm. In 2011, the parish as a whole had a population of 8,499, while the built-up area of the town had a population of 7,439.
Tiverton Parkway railway station is on the Bristol to Exeter line in Devon, England. Despite being named after the town of Tiverton, it is actually located a short distance from the village of Sampford Peverell, 6 miles (9.7 km) to the east of Tiverton, and close to the junction of the M5 motorway with the A361 North Devon link road. It is 177 miles (285 km) from the zero point at London Paddington via Bristol Temple Meads.
Tebay Services are motorway service stations on the M6 motorway in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. The northbound opened in 1972 and the southbound in 1993. They are known for their family-run business which eschews the typical facilities at British motorway services for a farm shop and buildings in keeping with the local environment.
Stafford services is a pair of motorway service stations on the M6 motorway near Stone, Staffordshire, England. In August 2011 it was rated as 4 stars and 3 stars by quality assessors at Visit England.
Willand is a village and civil parish in Mid Devon, England. It is about 19 km (12 mi) north of Exeter and 2.4 km (1.5 mi) north of Cullompton. In 1991 the population was 3750 although recently this has grown considerably. The National Grid reference for the centre of the area is ST037110. Willand is a major part of Lower Culm electoral ward. The ward population at the 2011 Census was 5,808. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Halberton, Uffculme and Cullompton.
Frankley services is a motorway service station on the M5 motorway between Junctions 3 and 4, near Birmingham, and taking its name from the nearby village of Frankley.
Taunton Deane services is a double sided motorway service station on the M5 motorway near Taunton, England. It is owned by Roadchef.
There are 22 disused railway stations on the Bristol to Exeter line between Bristol Temple Meads and Exeter St Davids. The line was completed in 1844 at which time the temporary terminus at Beambridge was closed. The most recent closure was Tiverton Junction which was replaced by a new station} on a different site in 1986. 12 of the disused stations have structures that can still be seen from passing trains.
Extra MSA Services Ltd is a company that operates nine motorway service stations in England, mainly on primary routes. It is based at Beaconsfield services, previously being in the centre of Lincoln. It is also known as Extra MSA Forecourts Ltd.
Strensham services is a motorway service station on the M5 in Worcestershire, England. It is operated by Roadchef. In August 2011, it was rated as 4 stars (southbound) and 3 stars (northbound) by quality assessors at Visit England.
Gloucester Services are a pair of Motorway Service Areas (MSA) serving the northbound and southbound carriageways of the M5 between Junction 11A and Junction 12, near Whaddon, Gloucester. It specialises in selling artisanal food, and does not offer outlets for popular chain food brands. Fuel is provided by Esso and electric vehicle charging facilities are available.
A smart motorway, also known in Scotland as an intelligent transport system, is a section of motorway in the United Kingdom that employs active traffic management (ATM) techniques to increase capacity through the use of MIDAS technology including variable speed limits and occasionally hard shoulder running and ramp metering at busy times. They were developed at the turn of the 21st century as a cost-effective alternative to traditional carriageway widening, with intended benefits ranging from more reliable journey times to lower vehicle emissions. However, despite the risk of a collision occurring between two moving vehicles being found to be decreased, there has been an acknowledged rise in the incidence of collisions involving vehicles where at least one was stationary in the first few years following the widespread removal of the hard shoulder on the country's busiest sections of motorway. Smart motorways garnered intense criticism from politicians, police representatives and motoring organisations, particularly from 2020 onwards, after a surge in near miss incidents and dozens of fatalities were revealed, and as of April 2023, no new smart motorways will be built.
The Bristol to Exeter line is a major branch of the Great Western Main Line in the West of England and runs from Bristol, to Exeter, from where it continues as the Exeter to Plymouth line. It was one of the principal routes of the pre-1948 Great Western Railway which were subsequently taken over by the Western Region of British Railways and are now part of the Network Rail system.
