A41 road
Encyclopedia
The A41 is a formerly-major trunk road
Trunk road
A trunk road, trunk highway, or strategic road is a major road—usually connecting two or more cities, ports, airports, and other things.—which is the recommended route for long-distance and freight traffic...

 in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 that links London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...

, although it has now largely been superseded by motorways. It passes through or near various towns and cities including Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...

, Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire in the East of England, to the north west of London and part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2001 Census was 81,143 ....

, Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...

, Solihull
Solihull
Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...

, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, West Bromwich
West Bromwich
West Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England. It is north west of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country...

, Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...

, Newport
Newport, Shropshire
Newport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies some north of Telford and some west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border...

, Whitchurch
Whitchurch, Shropshire
Whitchurch is a market town in Shropshire, England on the border between England and Wales. It is the oldest continuously inhabited town in Shropshire. According to the 2001 Census, the population of the town is 8,673, with a more recent estimate putting the population of the town at 8,934...

, Chester and Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port is a large industrial town and port in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated on the south border of the Wirral Peninsula on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, which in turn gives access to the River...

.

It follows part of the line of the old Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...

, Akeman Street
Akeman Street
Akeman Street was a major Roman road in England that linked Watling Street with the Fosse Way. Its junction with Watling Steet was just north of Verulamium and that with the Fosse Way was at Corinium Dobunnorum...

 and the eighteenth century Sparrows Herne turnpike
Sparrows Herne turnpike
The Sparrow's Herne Turnpike road was an 18th century English turnpike road from London to Aylesbury.Its route was approximately that of the later A41 trunk road, , and much of the original route is now numbered as the A4251...

.

With the opening of the M40
M40 motorway
The M40 motorway is a motorway in the British transport network that forms a major part of the connection between London and Birmingham. Part of this road forms a section of the unsigned European route E05...

 extension in 1990 linking with the M42
M42 motorway
The M42 motorway is a major road in England. The 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 and Tamworth on the way. The section between the M40 and M6 road forms...

 near Birmingham, much of the route was downgraded in importance - with the sections between Bicester
Bicester
Bicester is a town and civil parish in the Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in England.This historic market centre is one of the fastest growing towns in Oxfordshire Development has been favoured by its proximity to junction 9 of the M40 motorway linking it to London, Birmingham and...

 and the M42 near Solihull being renumbered as the A4141, A4177 and B4100.

Map of route


London to Watford

The southern section begins near Marble Arch
Marble Arch
Marble Arch is a white Carrara marble monument that now stands on a large traffic island at the junction of Oxford Street, Park Lane, and Edgware Road, almost directly opposite Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park in London, England...

 in London, at the junction with Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...

 (A40
A40 road
The A40 is a major trunk road connecting London to Fishguard, Wales and officially called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road in all legal documents and Acts...

), near Selfridges
Selfridges
Selfridges, AKA Selfridges & Co, is a chain of high end department stores in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge. The flagship store in London's Oxford Street is the second largest shop in the UK and was opened on 15 March 1909.More recently, three other stores have been...

. The north-bound traffic uses Gloucester Place, and the south-bound uses Baker Street
Baker Street
Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid the street out in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, who lived at a fictional 221B...

. It is the main route from the West End of London to/from the north (M1
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...

). The road crosses Marylebone Road
Marylebone Road
Marylebone Road is an important thoroughfare in central London, within the City of Westminster. It runs east-west from the Euston Road at Regent's Park to the A40 Westway at Paddington...

 close to Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds is a wax museum in London with branches in a number of major cities. It was founded by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud and was formerly known as "Madame Tussaud's", but the apostrophe is no longer used...

, Baker St tube station, and Marylebone railway station. Close to Regents Park, the two directions converge. The road passes near Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...

 and Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...

 (Abbey Road
Abbey Road (street)
Abbey Road is a thoroughfare located in the borough of Camden and the City of Westminster in London, running roughly northwest to southeast through St. John's Wood, near Lord's Cricket Ground...

 runs parallel to the A41). It passes along and becomes a dual-carriageway on Finchley Road, through Swiss Cottage
Swiss Cottage
Swiss Cottage is a district of the London Borough of Camden in London, England. Thedistrict is located north-west of Charing Cross. It is centred on the junction of Avenue Road and Finchley Road and is the location of Swiss Cottage tube station.-Etymology:...

, and along Hendon Way
Hendon Way
Hendon Way is one of London's busiest roads. It connects Finchley Road to Watford Way. It passes through Cricklewood and Hendon.Hendon Way was the scene of a murder at 8.30am on the morning of July 9, 2010....

, past Brent Cross shopping centre. It intersects with the North Circular Road
A406 road
The A406 or the North Circular Road is a road which crosses North London, UK, linking West and East London. It, together with the South Circular Road, forms a ring road through the inner part of Outer London...

 near Brent Cross
Brent Cross
Brent Cross is an area of north London, in the London Borough of Barnet. It is located near the A41 Brent Cross Flyover over the A406 North Circular Road. Brent Cross is best known for its shopping centre and the proposed Brent Cross Cricklewood development....

 shopping centre. The road passes through Hendon
Hendon
Hendon is a London suburb situated northwest of Charing Cross.-History:Hendon was historically a civil parish in the county of Middlesex. The manor is described in Domesday , but the name, 'Hendun' meaning 'at the highest hill', is earlier...

 and begins to run parallel with the M1
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...

. From the junction with the A5150 (close to the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...

's police college and the RAF Museum
RAF Museum
The Royal Air Force Museum London, commonly known as the RAF Museum, is a museum located on the former Hendon Aerodrome, dedicated to the history of aviation and the British Royal Air Force. The museum is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and a registered charity...

), it runs directly next to the M1. It overlaps the A1 at Five Ways Corner, which is also junction 2 of the M1, with the section known as Watford Way. It passes through Mill Hill
Mill Hill
Mill Hill is a place in the London Borough of Barnet. It is a suburb situated 9 miles north west of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until it was absorbed by London...

, and separates with the A1 at a roundabout at Apex Corner. It heads west, crossing the M1, the runs parallel to the A5 near Edgware
Edgware
Edgware is an area in London, situated north-northwest of Charing Cross. It forms part of both the London Borough of Barnet and the London Borough of Harrow. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....

. Near Elstree
Elstree
Elstree is a village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire on the A5 road, about 10 miles north of London. In 2001, its population was 4,765, and forms part of the civil parish of Elstree and Borehamwood, originally known simply as Elstree....

, it meets the M1 at junction 4, then meets the A5 at a roundabout, where the A5 becomes the A5183
A5183 road
The A5183 road is a de-trunked section of the A5. It covers the section between Junction 9 of the M1 motorway and Edgware in north London, largely along Watling Street...

, near an Esso
Exxon
Exxon is a chain of gas stations as well as a brand of motor fuel and related products by ExxonMobil. From 1972 to 1999, Exxon was the corporate name of the company previously known as Standard Oil Company of New Jersey or Jersey Standard....

 petrol station, Aldenham Reservoir and Hilfield Park Reservoir. It runs next to the M1 and enters Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

 close to Bushey
Bushey
Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. Bushey Heath is situated to the south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow.-History:...

. This section is known as Elton Way, which ends at a roundabout with the B462 (for Aldenham) and near Patchett's Equestrian Centre. The next section is dual-carriageway.

Running parallel to the M1, it intersects at junction 5, known as the Berrygrove Interchange or Aldenham
Aldenham
This article is about the village in Hertfordshire. For the London Transport Bus Overhaul Works, see Aldenham Works.Aldenham is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, approx. three miles north-east of Watford and two miles from Radlett. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book and is one of...

 Terminal
, the original endpoint of the M1 pre-1967. The road passes over the River Colne
River Colne, Hertfordshire
The Colne is a river in England which is a tributary of the River Thames. It flows mainly through Hertfordshire and forms the boundary between the South Bucks district of Buckinghamshire and the London Borough of Hillingdon...

 east and north of Watford as a bypass
Bypass (road)
A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety....

, meeting the A412
A412 road
The A412 is a road in England that links Slough and Watford. It was previously the main artery for this corridor, prior to the construction of the M25. It provides interchange to the A40/M40 at the Denham Roundabout, the M25 in Maple Cross and the A41 north of Watford...

 at Garston at the Dome roundabout with a Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...

 and Sainsburys
J Sainsbury
J. Sainsbury plc is the parent company of Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd, commonly known as Sainsbury's, the third largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom with a share of the UK supermarket sector of 16.5%....

 petrol stations as well as an Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...

. There is the West Herts College (Leggatts Campus). The road passes the North Watford mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

 and nearby Leavesden Film Studios
Leavesden Film Studios
Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden , is a film and media complex owned by Warner Bros.. The studios and backlot sit on the site of the former Rolls-Royce factory at Leavesden Aerodrome, which was an important centre of aircraft production during World War II...

 before meeting the £4.5m junction with the A405
A405 road
The A405 is a main five-mile-long dual carriageway road in Hertfordshire. It has, however, been a longer road.-North Orbital Road:As the North Orbital Road, it occupied what is now junctions 17 to 19 of the M25, being one of the first sections of the M25 to open. The section of the M25 from...

 opened in April 1978. It crosses the River Gade
River Gade
The River Gade is a river running almost entirely though Hertfordshire. It rises from a spring in the chalk of the Chiltern Hills at Dagnall, Buckinghamshire and flows through Hemel Hempstead, Kings Langley and Croxley Green to Rickmansworth where it joins the The River Colne...

 / Grand Union Canal
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...

 by a dogleg
Dogleg
Dogleg or dog-leg may refer to:Motor vehicles*Dog leg, an unusual manual transmission layout*Dog-leg, an offset 'zig-zag' plane of operation for a floor-mounted automatic transmission shift lever* The area behind the rear door on a four door car...

 known as Hunton Bridge and meets the M25
M25 motorway
The M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...

 at the Hunton Bridge Interchange, also junction 20. The old route through Kings Langley
Kings Langley
Kings Langley is a historic English village and civil parish northwest of central London on the southern edge of the Chiltern Hills and now part of the London commuter belt. The major western portion lies in the borough of Dacorum and the east is in the Three Rivers district, both in the county of...

 is now the A4251.

Watford to Tring

North of the M25 the road is a near motorway standard "A" road with all junctions grade-separated
Grade separation
Grade separation is the method of aligning a junction of two or more transport axes at different heights so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other transit routes when they cross each other. The composition of such transport axes does not have to be uniform; it can consist of a...

 via underpasses or flyovers, but curves and gradients a little steeper. There are no hard shoulders but frequent lay-bys. It climbs through the Chiltern Hills
Chiltern Hills
The Chiltern Hills form a chalk escarpment in South East England. They are known locally as "the Chilterns". A large portion of the hills was designated officially as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1965.-Location:...

 then descends into the valley of the River Bulbourne
River Bulbourne
The River Bulbourne is a river in Hertfordshire, England. It runs from Dudswell in Northchurch, through Berkhamsted , Bourne End and Boxmoor to where it joins the River Gade at Two Waters in Apsley near Hemel Hempstead. The total length of the river is 11 Km....

 crossing water meadows just outside Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire in the East of England, to the north west of London and part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2001 Census was 81,143 ....

 at Boxmoor
Boxmoor
Boxmoor, or Boxmoor Village, is a district of Dacorum in Hertfordshire, England. It is now part of Hemel Hempstead. It is a district of mainly nineteenth century housing and meadowland, repeatedly cut through by transport links from London to the The Midlands....

. There are grade separated junctions with the A414, A4251 and A416. The route returns to open country north of here, passing west of Berkhamsted
Berkhamsted
-Climate:Berkhamsted experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Castle:...

. It passes the National Film Archive. Before Tring, near Wigginton
Wigginton, Hertfordshire
Wigginton is a large village and civil parish running north-south and perched at on the edge of the Chiltern Hills in the county of Hertfordshire and aside the border with Buckinghamshire...

, it crosses the Icknield Way Path
Icknield Way Path
Icknield Way Path is a long distance footpath in East Anglia, England.It connects with: Angles Way, , Chiltern Way, , Hertfordshire Chain Walk, Hertfordshire Way, Lea Valley Walk, Peddars Way, Ridgeway, Roman Road Link, Stour Valley Path and Swan's Way....

 and Chiltern Way
Chiltern Way
The Chiltern Way is a waymarked long-distance footpath in southern England in the United Kingdom.-The route:The route is circular and runs through the Chiltern Hills region passing through parts of the counties of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire.The meandering route...

. An arched footbridge spans the road just near the summit before it passes just east of Tring
Tring
Tring is a small market town and also a civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in Hertfordshire, England. Situated north-west of London and linked to London by the old Roman road of Akeman Street, by the modern A41, by the Grand Union Canal and by rail lines to Euston Station, Tring is now largely a...

 (for the Ridgeway
The Ridgeway
thumb|right|thumb|The ancient tree-lined path winds over the downs countrysideThe Ridgeway is a ridgeway or ancient trackway described as Britain's oldest road...

 footpath) and descends the Chiltern scarp
Escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...

 into the Vale of Aylesbury.

The Tring
Tring
Tring is a small market town and also a civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in Hertfordshire, England. Situated north-west of London and linked to London by the old Roman road of Akeman Street, by the modern A41, by the Grand Union Canal and by rail lines to Euston Station, Tring is now largely a...

 bypass was built in 1973 as the A41(M) motorway, the first section of the Watford-Tring Motorway, although this section was downgraded on 6 July 1987. The A41(M) was originally designed to run from Tring
Tring
Tring is a small market town and also a civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in Hertfordshire, England. Situated north-west of London and linked to London by the old Roman road of Akeman Street, by the modern A41, by the Grand Union Canal and by rail lines to Euston Station, Tring is now largely a...

 via what is now M25
M25 motorway
The M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...

 junction 19a to M1
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...

 junction 5. It starts with the junction with the A4251 (former A41) and B4635 (former route through Tring), and passes through Tring Park
Tring Park
Tring Park is a large country house near Tring, Hertfordshire.The Manor of Tring is first mentioned in the Domesday Book where it is referred to as "Treunge" and was owned by Eustace III, Count of Boulogne, a countryman of William the Conqueror...

. The Tring bypass ends with the border of Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

, at the junction with the B4635, B4009 (former route through Aston Clinton) and B488
B roads in Zone 4 of the Great Britain numbering scheme
B roads are numbered routes in Great Britain of lesser importance than A roads. See the article Great Britain road numbering scheme for the rationale behind the numbers allocated.-3 digits:-4 digits :-4 digits :-4 digits :...

.

The section to Tring was finally built in the early 1990s, although to a lower standard and only as far as M25
M25 motorway
The M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...

 junction 20. There were two sections - the 7 miles (11.3 km) £23.9m Berkhamsted
Berkhamsted
-Climate:Berkhamsted experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Castle:...

 bypass, opened September 1993 and the 5 miles (8 km) £32.7m Kings Langley
Kings Langley
Kings Langley is a historic English village and civil parish northwest of central London on the southern edge of the Chiltern Hills and now part of the London commuter belt. The major western portion lies in the borough of Dacorum and the east is in the Three Rivers district, both in the county of...

 bypass, opened August 1993.

Tring to Bicester

On 3 October 2003, the dual carriageway section was extended to the 3 miles (4.8 km) £25m Aston Clinton
Aston Clinton
Aston Clinton is a village and civil parish close to the main A41 road in Buckinghamshire, England between Tring and Aylesbury. The parish covers and is about east of Aylesbury. The village is at the foot of the chalk escarpment of the Chiltern Hills at the junction of the pre-historic track the...

 Bypass, which was originally intended to be built at the same time as the two sections further south. It enters Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....

 and the district of Aylesbury Vale
Aylesbury Vale
The Aylesbury Vale is a large area of flat land mostly in Buckinghamshire, England. Its boundary is marked by Milton Keynes to the north, Leighton Buzzard and the Chiltern Hills to the east and south, Thame to the south and Bicester and Brackley to the west.The vale is named after Aylesbury, the...

. It crosses the Grand Union Canal
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...

, and there is a junction with the B489
B roads in Zone 4 of the Great Britain numbering scheme
B roads are numbered routes in Great Britain of lesser importance than A roads. See the article Great Britain road numbering scheme for the rationale behind the numbers allocated.-3 digits:-4 digits :-4 digits :-4 digits :...

, and finishes at a roundabout, becoming Aston Clinton Road. The road goes straight through Aylesbury, which is a bottleneck. It meets the A4157 at a roundabout as Tring Road, and the next roundabout is near Aylesbury Grammar School
Aylesbury Grammar School
Aylesbury Grammar School is a single-sex male grammar school in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, which educates 1,250 pupils.-Admissions:As a selective state school, its entry requirements are dictated by the exam taken at the age of 10-11...

 and a Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...

. It meets the A418
A418 road
The A418 road is a main trunk road in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, England. It begins at a roundabout with the A4146 just north of Ascott, near Leighton Buzzard. It then runs south as a single carriageway through Wing to Aylesbury. This stretch is proposed for a dual carriageway bypass. After...

 ring-road and becomes Exchange Street, then meets the A413
A413 road
The A413 is a major road in England that links Gerrards Cross to Towcester. It passes through various towns and villages including Buckingham, Aylesbury, Wendover, Winslow, Great Missenden and Amersham....

 from Wendover
Wendover
Wendover is a market town that sits at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district...

 at a roundabout and becomes Friarage Road, passing close to a Morrisons
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...

 and the train station
Aylesbury railway station
Aylesbury railway station is a railway station in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England and is a major stop on the London to Aylesbury Line from Marylebone station via Amersham. It is 37.75 miles from Aylesbury Station to Marylebone Station...

. The A418 lefts to the left and it becomes Gatehouse Road, then at the next roundabout, it leaves to left as Bicester Road near the Texaco
Texaco
Texaco is the name of an American oil retail brand. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owns the Havoline motor oil brand....

 Aylesbury Service Station. After four roundabouts, it crosses the River Thame
River Thame
The River Thame is a river in Southern England. It is a tributary of the larger and better-known River Thames.The general course of the River Thame is north-east to south-west and the distance from its source to the River Thames is about 40 miles...

. It then meets a roundabout with access for the new Berryfields development as well as Aylesbury Vale Parkway
Aylesbury Vale Parkway railway station
Aylesbury Vale Parkway railway station is a railway station serving villages to the northwest of Aylesbury. It will also serve the Berryfields and Weedon Hill housing developments to the north of the town when these are completed. The station is served by Chiltern Railways and opened on 14 December...

 before passing under a railway line
Great Central Main Line
The Great Central Main Line , also known as the London Extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway , is a former railway line which opened in 1899 linking Sheffield with Marylebone Station in London via Nottingham and Leicester.The GCML was the last main line railway built in...

, then through Waddesdon
Waddesdon
Waddesdon is a village within the Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England, 6 miles from Aylesbury on the A41 road. The centre of a civil parish, including the hamlets of Eythrope, Wormstone and Woodham, Waddesdon was an agricultural settlement with milling, silk weaving and lace making...

, then passes close to Westcott
Westcott, Buckinghamshire
Westcott is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located about a mile west of Waddesdon.The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'west cottage'....

 near the former airfield of RAF Westcott
RAF Westcott
RAF Westcott was a World War II Royal Air Force station in Buckinghamshire. It was used by 11 OTU during the war, along with its satellite station RAF Oakley...

. At Kingswood
Kingswood, Buckinghamshire
Kingswood is a hamlet of 30 dwellings on the South side of the A41 from Waddesdon to Bicester and between the villages of Ludgershall and Grendon Underwood in Buckinghamshire, England. Kingswood is also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district. Parish matters are currently administered via a...

, it passes the Crooked Billet and Plough and Anchor pubs. It enters Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

 and the district of Cherwell
Cherwell (district)
Cherwell is a local government district in northern Oxfordshire, England. The district takes its name from the River Cherwell, which drains south through the region to flow into the River Thames at Oxford....

, and at Blackthorn
Blackthorn, Oxfordshire
Blackthorn is a village and civil parish in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire about southeast of Bicester. The parish is bounded by the River Ray to the south, tributaries of the Ray to the east and north and field boundaries to the west...

 it crosses the River Ray
River Ray
The River Ray is a river in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, England. It rises at Quainton Hill and flows west through a flat countryside for around 25 km or 15 miles. It passes the village of Ambrosden and then flows through Otmoor...

 and meets a low bridge which was originally a 14 feet limit but due to bridge strikes, the road was lowered and the bridge now has a 15 feet limit.

Plans for an Aylesbury bypass exist and are well supported locally but no government decision has been made.

Bicester to Solihull

The £5.7m 2 miles (3.2 km) first stage of the Bicester bypass opened in November 1990, with the 2 miles (3.2 km) £3.9m second stage (part of the A421 section to Wendlebury) opened in May 1993, and has many roundabouts. Since 1993, the road now heads south-west where it officially becomes part of the M40
M40 motorway
The M40 motorway is a motorway in the British transport network that forms a major part of the connection between London and Birmingham. Part of this road forms a section of the unsigned European route E05...

 at junction 9, meeting with the A34 (which also overlaps the M40 to Birmingham - to draw traffic off the previous routes). The former route went through Warwick
Warwick
Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa and Whitnash with which it is conjoined. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 23,350...

. From here to the M42, the original route is now mainly designated as the B4100 (multiplexing at points with the current A361 and A422 through Banbury, plus the A452 and A425 approaching and through Warwick) followed by the A4177 and A4141, the latter two both excellent wide roads. At junction 5 of the M42, the A41 follows its old course. Further north, the road bypasses Solihull
Solihull
Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...

 and goes through the city centres of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

 and Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...

. This renumbering took place in 1991. The A4141 and B4100 are new designations, while the A4177 is an extension of an existing route.

Solihull to Wolverhampton

Now as an A road, the road manifests from the junction (opened in November 1976) with the A4141 and M42 near Berry Hall Farm
Berry Hall Farm
Berry Hall Farm is a moated, fifteenth century half-timbered property located on Ravenshaw Lane in central Solihull. Originally named 'Berry Hall' and also known as 'Old' Berry Hall, it was renamed Berry Hall 'Farm' by Joseph Gillott, owner of the Berry Hall estate when he built himself an opulent...

 (Picture), and crosses the River Blythe
River Blythe
The Blythe is a river in the English Midlands which runs from Warwickshire, through the borough of Solihull and on to Coleshill. It runs along the Meriden Gap in the Midlands Plateau,...

 and bypasses Solihull
Solihull
Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...

. The former route through Solihull is now the B4025 and B425, which passes Solihull School
Solihull School
Solihull School is a British Independent school situated near the centre of Solihull, West Midlands, England.2010 saw Solihull School celebrate its 450th anniversary since its foundation in 1560....

. The A41 has a staggered junction with the B4102 (for Solihull and Catherine-de-Barnes
Catherine-de-Barnes
Catherine-de-Barnes is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the English county of West Midlands...

) near the BUPA
Bupa
Bupa is a large British healthcare organisation, with bases on three continents and more than ten million customers in over 200 countries. It is a private healthcare company, in direct contrast to the UK's National Health Services, which are tax-funded healthcare systems and do not require private...

 Parkway Hospital. At Lode Heath, there is crossroads with the B425 (for Solihull Hospital) where the road is the Seven Star Road. The A41 resumes the old route at another junction with the B425, becoming Warwick Road, which is the name of the route all the way into Birmingham. At Worlds End there is the Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...

 Solihull garage on the left. Next is Ulverley Green and it passes the BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...

 Mereside garage on the right and passes under the Chiltern Main Line
Chiltern Main Line
The Chiltern Main Line is an inter-urban, regional and commuter railway, part of the British railway system. It links London and Birmingham on a 112-mile route via the towns of High Wycombe, Banbury, and Leamington Spa...

 (for Leamington
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...

) near Olton station
Olton railway station
Olton railway station serves the Olton area of Solihull, in the West Midlands of England. The station is operated by London Midland, and is also served by occasional Chiltern Railways services.-External links:**...

, Olton Library and Olton Reservoir
Olton Reservoir
Olton Mere, or Olton Reservoir, is a canal feeder reservoir in the Olton district of Solihull, West Midlands, England.The reservoir, constructed in 1799 to supply the Grand Union Canal, was formed from marshland fed by Folly Brook. It was designed to hold 150 locks full of water, but this was not...

. At the junction with the B4514, there is a Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...

 petrol station and the road enters the city of Birmingham. The B4514 leads onto Olton Boulevard and can be used to bypass Acocks Green, although there is one section to be completed near Sparkhill. It passes Archbishop Ilsey RC School at Acocks Green
Acocks Green
Acocks Green is an area and ward of south Birmingham, England. It is named after the Acock family who built a large house in the area in 1370. Acocks Green is one of the four wards making up Yardley formal district...

, then meets the B4146 and B4217 at a roundabout near a Sainsburys
J Sainsbury
J. Sainsbury plc is the parent company of Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd, commonly known as Sainsbury's, the third largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom with a share of the UK supermarket sector of 16.5%....

. It meets the A4040
A4040 road
The A4040 is the Outer Ring Road in Birmingham, England. It is the route followed by the Birmingham Outer Circle bus route. It was formed mainly of redesignated old roads, unlike Birmingham's inner and middle ring road , which were mostly purpose built.Places along the route include:* Perry Barr*...

 ring road at a staggered junction and crosses the Birmingham -Stratford Line near Tyseley station
Tyseley railway station
Tyseley railway station serves the district of Tyseley in Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It is situated at the junction of the lines from Birmingham towards Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon, and is adjacent to a large railway depot and Tyseley Locomotive Works.The station is served by...

 and the Tyseley Locomotive Works. At Sparkhill
Sparkhill
Sparkhill is an inner-city area of Birmingham, England, situated between Springfield, Hall Green and Sparkbrook.-Etymology:Sparkhill takes its name from Spark Brook, a small stream that flows from Moseley to the River Cole in Small Heath. It was, as the name suggests, a hill that was situated...

, it crosses the River Cole
River Cole, West Midlands
The River Cole is a river in the English Midlands. It rises in Redhill, near Kings Norton, South of Birmingham. After flowing through Birmingham, it passes Coleshill, to which it gave its name. It joins the River Blythe, of which it is a tributary, near Ladywalk, shortly before the Blythe meets...

 and meets the B4145 at a roundabout near Golden Hillock School. At Sparkbrook
Sparkbrook
Sparkbrook is an inner-city area in south-east Birmingham, England. It is one of the four wards forming the Hall Green formal district within Birmingham City Council.-Etymology:...

, it meets the A34 Stratford Road and there is a crossroads with the A4540 and B4126. The two main routes overlap around central Birmingham and meet the A4540
A4540 road
The A4540 is a Ring Road in Birmingham, England, also known as the Middle Ring Road, or the Middleway. There are proposals to make it a red route. It runs around the centre of the city at a distance of approximately . Birmingham City Centre is the area within this ring road. The ring road was...

 Middleway inner ring road. The former route of the A41 through inner Birmingham is now the B4100 heading past the Digbeth
Digbeth
Digbeth is an area of Birmingham, England. Following the destruction of the Inner Ring Road, Digbeth is now considered a district within Birmingham City Centre. As part of the Big City Plan, Digbeth is undergoing a large redevelopment scheme that will regenerate the old industrial buildings into...

 National Express
National Express
National Express Coaches, more commonly known as National Express, is a brand and company, owned by the National Express Group, under which the majority of long distance bus and coach services in Great Britain are operated,...

 coach station
Digbeth Coach Station
Birmingham Coach Station is a major coach interchange in Digbeth, Birmingham, England offering services to destinations throughout Great Britain and also to Belfast, Dublin and Poland. National Express, the largest scheduled coach service provider in Europe, has its national headquarters on the site...

, and passes near St Chad's RC Cathedral
Saint Chad's Cathedral
The Metropolitan Cathedral Church and Basilica of Saint Chad is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham and province of the Catholic Church in Great Britain and is dedicated to Saint Chad of Mercia. Built by Augustus Welby Pugin and substantially complete by 1841, St...

. The A41 resumes at Constitution Hill near Snow Hill train station
Birmingham Snow Hill station
Birmingham Snow Hill is a railway station and tram stop in the centre of Birmingham, England, on the site of an earlier, much larger station built by the former Great Western Railway . It is the second most important railway station in the city, after Birmingham New Street station...

, passing through Hockley
Hockley, Birmingham
Hockley is a central inner-city district in the city of Birmingham, England. It lies about one mile north-west of the city centre, and is served by the Jewellery Quarter station...

 where it meets the northern section of the A4540. There is a staggered junction with the A4040 as the road passes through Handsworth (at this point known as Soho Road) which is a particular bottleneck with narrow lanes, on-street parking, bad drivers and several close-set junction, often very badly congested. Just before The Hawthorns
The Hawthorns
The Hawthorns is an all-seater football stadium in West Bromwich, Sandwell, England, with a capacity of 26,484. It has been the home of West Bromwich Albion F.C. since 1900, when it became the sixth ground to be used by the club. The ground was the last Football League ground to be built in the...

 football stadium, home of West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...

, it leaves Birmingham and enters the borough of Sandwell
Sandwell
Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands with a population of around 289,100, and an area of . The borough is named after Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of both the Black Country, and the West Midlands conurbation, encompassing the urban towns of Blackheath,...

. It meets the M5
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with 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...

 at junction 1, where it also meets the A4168.

In 2004, there were plans to re-route the road between Birmingham & West Bromwich along the current A457 via Smethwick
Smethwick
Smethwick is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands of England. It is situated on the edge of the city of Birmingham, within the historic boundaries of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire....

 & up to the M5
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with 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...

 at Junction 1 along the current A4168. These plans were scrapped soon after. It bypasses West Bromwich on a dual-carriageway called the Expressway, which opened in 1973. There is a roundabout with the A4031 and the former route follows the A4196 from a roundabout.

The new route opened in 1995 and is called the Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...

 New Road, and crosses the Midland Metro
Midland Metro
The Midland Metro is a light-rail or tram line in the West Midlands of England between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton via West Bromwich and Wednesbury. It is owned and promoted by Centro, and operated by West Midlands Travel Limited, a subsidiary of the National Express Group , under...

 tram near Guns Village. There is a roundabout with the B4149 at Swan Village. From the roundabout with the A461 (for Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...

) at Great Bridge, it overlaps the A461
A461 road
The A461 is a main road in Great Britain that links Lichfield in Staffordshire, with Stourbridge, West Midlands, passing through Walsall & Dudley.-Places along the route:* Lichfield* Walsall* M6 motorway * Wednesbury* Tipton* Great Bridge...

 (to Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...

), crosses the Tame Valley Canal
Tame Valley Canal
The Tame Valley Canal is a relatively late canal in the West Midlands of England. It forms part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations. It takes its name from the roughly-parallel River Tame.-Geography:...

, meets the A4037
A4037 road
The A4037 is a minor A road which links Dudley with Wednesbury. It runs parallel with the major A461 which links Dudley with WednesburyThe route starts in Dudley & runs north passed the Black Country Living Museum towards Tipton. At Tipton it passes the Pie Factory & runs on the outskirts of the...

 at a roundabout and goes under the Midland Metro near Wednesbury Parkway
Wednesbury Parkway tram stop
Wednesbury Parkway tram stop is a tram stop in Wednesbury in the Black Country, England. It was opened on 31 May 1999 it is also the main depot for the Midland Metro and is situated on Midland Metro Line 1.-External links:*...

 station. The A461 heads off to junction 9 of the M6
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...

 & Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...

. The A41 follows the old route from the next roundabout and enters the borough of Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...

. At the junction with the A4444 (the final phase of the Black Country New Road) it crosses the Walsall Canal
Walsall Canal
The Walsall Canal is a narrow canal, seven miles long, forming part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, and passing around the western side of Walsall, West Midlands, England.-Route:...

.

There are junctions with the A4098 (where the road enters the borough of Wolverhampton) and B4163. The road goes straight through the middle of Bilston
Bilston
Bilston is a town in the English county of West Midlands, situated in the southeastern corner of the City of Wolverhampton. Three wards of Wolverhampton City Council cover the town: Bilston East and Bilston North, which almost entirely comprise parts of the historic Borough of Bilston, and...

, where it meets the dual-carriageway A463 Black Country Route
Black Country Route
The Black Country Route is a road in the West Midlands region of England.The plans for a motorway were drawn up in 1962 to ease congestion in the Black Country towns of Bilston and Willenhall, as well as giving the residents of Dudley, Coseley and Sedgley a more direct link with the M6 motorway...

 at a busy roundabout. Close by is the Bilston Central
Bilston Central tram stop
Bilston Central tram stop is a tram stop in Bilston near Wolverhampton, England. It was opened on 31 May 1999 and is situated on Midland Metro Line 1....

 station, near Morrisons
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...

. There is a junction with the B4484 (for the A454) near The Crescent
The Crescent tram stop
The Crescent tram stop is a tram stop in Bilston near Wolverhampton, England. It was opened on 31 May 1999 and is situated on Midland Metro Line 1.-External links:*...

 station. At Priestfield, it meets the B4162, and passes the City of Wolverhampton College
City of Wolverhampton College
City of Wolverhampton College is a further education college located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England.It was formed in September 1999 as the result of a merger of Wulfrun College in Wolverhampton and Bilston Community College in Bilston....

 Wellington Road Campus (Bilston) near Priestfield station. From here, the Midland Metro runs down the centre of the road. There is a roundabout with the A4126 and the road passes under the Wolverhampton loop of the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...

 at Monmore Green
Monmore Green
Monmore Green is an area of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated about one mile to the south-east of the city centre, in the East Park ward....

, and crosses the Birmingham Canal. It overlaps the A4150 Wolverhampton Ring Road, then passes West Park Hospital and crosses the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal. It passes through Tettenhall
Tettenhall
Tettenhall is a historic part of the city of Wolverhampton, England. The name Tettenhall is probably derived from Teotta's Halh, Teotta being a person's name and Halh being a sheltered position...

, past Tettenhall College.

Wolverhampton to Newport

It leaves the borough of Wolverhampton near Wergs where it crosses the River Penk
River Penk
The River Penk is a small river flowing though Staffordshire, England. Its course is mainly within South Staffordshire, and it drains most of the northern part of that district, together with some adjoining areas of Cannock Chase, Stafford, Wolverhampton, and Shropshire...

. It passes Wrottesley Hall, where there is a golf course. There is a junction with the A464 (for Shifnal
Shifnal
Shifnal is a small market town in Shropshire, England. It forms part of The Wrekin constituency, and is about east of Telford. It has a railway station on the Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton Line and is near to the M54 motorway.-Early medieval time:...

), and the road enters Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...

. It crosses the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line
Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line
The Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line is the railway line from Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury via Wellington; it was originally built by the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway. The line is double track throughout, with rarely used relief sidings at Cosford and 4 tracks through Wellington station...

 on the Albrighton
Albrighton, Bridgnorth
Albrighton is a large village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is located to the northwest of Wolverhampton and is best described as a dormitory village for the city...

 bypass. The Monarch's Way
Monarch's Way
The Monarch's Way is a long-distance footpath in England that approximates the escape route taken by King Charles II in 1651 after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester.Most of the footpath is waymarked...

 crosses and the road passes close to the RAF Museum at Cosford
RAF Cosford
RAF Cosford is a Royal Air Force station in Cosford, Shropshire, just to the northwest of Wolverhampton and next to Albrighton.-History:...

 (through the middle of the RAF base). There is the M54
M54 motorway
The M54 is a 23 mile east-west motorway in the English counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire. It is also referred to as the Telford Motorway, after the road's primary westbound destination, the new town of Telford...

 junction 3 and the road passes through Tong
Tong, Shropshire
Tong is a village in Shropshire in England. It is near junction 3 of the M54 motorway near Albrighton.The village is remarkable mainly for its church, St Bartholomews, outside of which is the supposed grave of Little Nell, a fictional character in Charles Dickens book, The Old Curiosity Shop...

, and is crossed by the Monarch's Way. Close by to the east is one of the sites of the V Festival
V Festival
The V Festival is an annual music festival held in England during the penultimate weekend in August. The event is held at two parks simultaneously which share the same bill; artists perform at one location on Saturday and then swap on Sunday. The sites are located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and...

 at Weston Park
Weston Park
Weston Park is a country house in Weston-under-Lizard, Staffordshire, England, set in more than of park landscaped by Capability Brown. The park is located north-west of Wolverhampton, and north-east of Telford, close to the border with Shropshire...

. The road meets the A5 at a roundabout, which is on the border with Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...

. At Weston Heath, there is a junction with the B5314. At the junction of the B4379, the road enters Telford and Wrekin
Telford and Wrekin
Telford and Wrekin is a unitary district with borough status in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. The district was created in 1974 as The...

. Nearby is Woodcote Hall
Woodcote Hall
Woodcote Hall is situated on the edge of Newport, Shropshire on the Staffordshire border and is currently a nursing home.Rebuilt in 1875 by F.P. Cockerell after the 18th century mansion was destroyed by fire...

 (now a nursing home). The 5 miles (8 km) £6m Newport
Newport, Shropshire
Newport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies some north of Telford and some west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border...

 bypass opened in early 1985. The former route went through Chetwynd Aston. Newport is home of the Harper Adams agricultural college, at Edgmond
Edgmond, Shropshire
Edgmond is a village in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies 1 mile north-west of the town of Newport.Harper Adams University College is in Edgmond...

. The road meets the A518 (for Telford
Telford
Telford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...

) at a roundabout. There is another roundabout with the A518 for the eastern direction (which passes nearby Aqualate Park). There is a roundabout with the A519 and B5062 (for Whitchurch).

Newport to Whitchurch

The road rejoins the old route and passes Chetwynd Park
Chetwynd Park
Chetwynd Park is an 18th century landscape garden with woodland, on the edge of Newport, Shropshire.The park can trace its history back to 1388, when it lay southeast of Chetwynd Park estate. The country house is now lost, but the medieval deer park survives as an agricultural showground, used for...

. The £1.5m Hinstock
Hinstock
Hinstock is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England.It appeared in the Domesday book survey as "Stoche" ; the present version of its name was created in the mediaeval period by prefixing Middle English hine .Hinstock is approximately halfway between the market towns of Newport and Market...

 Bypass opened in late 1983 It then pases through standford, standford bridge and the river meese, then. It passes High Heath, Shakeford, Crickmery which is near Wistanswick. Nearby is RAF Ternhill
RAF Ternhill
RAF Ternhill is a small Royal Air Force station at Ternhill in Shropshire, near the towns of Newport and Market Drayton. The station, home of Volunteer Gliding Squadron 632, was a helicopter base but is now principally used as an outpost for the tri-service helicopter training establishment at RAF...

 near Stoke Heath, a former wartime fighter base and a HM Young Offender Institution. The road crosses the River Tern
River Tern
The River Tern is a river in Shropshire, England. It rises north-east of Market Drayton in the north of the county. The source of the Tern is considered to be the lake in the grounds of Maer Hall, Staffordshire...

, meets the A53
A53 road
The A53 is a primary route in northern England, that runs from Buxton in Derbyshire to Shrewsbury in Shropshire.-Route of Road:The A53 begins in the centre of Buxton off the A6 road, before meeting the A515 road at a roundabout. Out of the town, it has a junction with the A54 road before...

 at a roundabout with a Total
Total S.A.
Total S.A. is a French multinational oil company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world.Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and...

 garage at Ternhill
Ternhill
Ternhill is a village in Shropshire, England, notable for its Royal Air Force training base which was the site of a bombing by the Provisional IRA on 20th of February 1989 in which one person was injured...

. Close by at Market Drayton
Market Drayton
Market Drayton is a small market town in north Shropshire, England. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" and earlier simply as "Drayton" ....

 next to the A53, is Müller Dairy
Müller (company)
Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller is a multinational producer of dairy products, with a headquarters in Fischach in the German state of Bavaria. The group includes a number of companies operating under the Müller name, including the original Molkerei Alois Müller GmbH & Co. KG and Müller Dairy ...

, maker of popular yoghurt
Yoghurt
Yoghurt, yogurt or yogourt is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yoghurt are known as "yoghurt cultures"...

s. After Bletchley Manor, there is 3 miles (4.8 km) of dual carriageway. At Sandford
Sandford
-People:* Baron Sandford* Ben Sandford , skeleton racer from New Zealand* Sandford Fleming , Scottish-Canadian engineer and inventor of Standard Time* Christopher Sandford , Anglo-Irish private press owner...

, there is the B5065, in passing Sandford, Sandford Hall and crosses the bailey brook and over Sandford bridge, a notoriously dangerous and narrow stretch of road for the volume of traffic which passes over it. The road passes through Prees Higher Heath near a former airfield (RAF Tilstock), and meets the A49
A49 road
The A49 is a major road in western England, which traverses the Welsh Marches region. It runs north from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire via Hereford, Leominster, Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, then continues through central Cheshire to Warrington and Wigan before terminating at its junction with...

 at a roundabout near Tilstock. The 3 miles (4.8 km) £13.7m Whitchurch
Whitchurch, Shropshire
Whitchurch is a market town in Shropshire, England on the border between England and Wales. It is the oldest continuously inhabited town in Shropshire. According to the 2001 Census, the population of the town is 8,673, with a more recent estimate putting the population of the town at 8,934...

 Bypass opened in July 1992, where the road meets the A49
A49 road
The A49 is a major road in western England, which traverses the Welsh Marches region. It runs north from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire via Hereford, Leominster, Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, then continues through central Cheshire to Warrington and Wigan before terminating at its junction with...

.

Whitchurch to Birkenhead

The final stretch of the road leaves Shropshire and heads north through Cheshire passing Beeston
Beeston Castle
Beeston Castle is a former Royal castle in Beeston, Cheshire, England , perched on a rocky sandstone crag above the Cheshire Plain. It was built in the 1220s by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester, , on his return from the Crusades...

 and Peckforton
Peckforton Castle
Peckforton Castle is a country house built in the style of a medieval castle. It stands in woodland at the north end of Peckforton Hills northwest of the village of Peckforton, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building...

 Castles. The road bypasses Chester, before running through the suburbs of Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port is a large industrial town and port in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated on the south border of the Wirral Peninsula on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, which in turn gives access to the River...

 (where the road was downgraded for safety reasons in the early 1990s). It heads to junction 5 of the M53 motorway
M53 motorway
The M53 is a motorway in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and Cheshire on the Wirral Peninsula in England. It can also be referred to as the Mid Wirral Motorway...

 and the Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...

 county boundary at Hooton
Hooton, Cheshire
Hooton is a village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England in the south of the Wirral Peninsula near Ellesmere Port.- History :...

. From this junction it is named New Chester Road, passing through Eastham
Eastham, Merseyside
Eastham is a village and an electoral ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the Wirral Peninsula, to the south of Bromborough...

 and Bromborough
Bromborough
Bromborough is a large village within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the Wirral Peninsula, to the south of Bebington and to the north of Eastham...

. At Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight is a model village, suburb and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Between 1894 and 1974 it formed part of Bebington urban district within the county of Cheshire...

 the A41 diverts onto a dual-carriageway section bypassing New Ferry
New Ferry
New Ferry is a small town located on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Situated to the east of Bebington, it is part of the Bromborough Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and in the parliamentary constituency of Wirral South...

 and Rock Ferry
Rock Ferry
Rock Ferry is an area of Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Administratively it is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the county of Cheshire...

 before rejoining New Chester Road at Tranmere Oil Terminal
Tranmere Oil Terminal
Tranmere Oil Terminal is situated on the River Mersey, 1½ miles south of Birkenhead. It was opened on 8 June 1960 to handle vessels of up to 65,000 tons, and is connected to the Stanlow Oil Refinery by a 15-mile pipeline...

. Passing Green Lane railway station
Green Lane railway station
Green Lane railway station serves the town of Birkenhead, Wirral, England, located in the south of the town. It is situated on the Chester and Ellesmere Port branches of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network.- History :...

, the road finally ends in Birkenhead town centre. The A41 provides the southern approach to the Queensway Tunnel
Queensway Tunnel
The Queensway Tunnel is a road tunnel under the River Mersey, in the north west of England, between Liverpool and Birkenhead. It is often called the Birkenhead Tunnel, to distinguish it from the Kingsway Tunnel, which serves Wallasey.-History:...

, which passes under the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....

 and enters Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 to meet the start of the A59
A59 road
The A59 is a major road in the United Kingdom that runs from Liverpool in Merseyside, to York in North Yorkshire.-Merseyside:The A59 begins in the centre of Liverpool at the mouth of the Birkenhead Tunnel, and heads north out of the city, first as Scotland Road in Vauxhall, then Kirkdale Road,...

. The road then passes a junction with the A554 and A552 near Hamilton Square railway station
Hamilton Square railway station
Hamilton Square railway station is situated near Hamilton Square in Birkenhead, Wirral, England, on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network...

, terminating at the bus station at Woodside
Woodside, Merseyside
Woodside is a small riverside locality in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England, situated almost opposite Liverpool Pier Head across the River Mersey.-History:...

. The end of the road offers spectacular views over the Mersey to Liverpool and transport links to Mersey Ferry
Mersey Ferry
The Mersey Ferry is a ferry service operating on the River Mersey in north west England, between Liverpool and the Wirral Peninsula. Ferries have been used on this route since at least the 12th century, and continue to be popular for both local people and visitors.The current fleet consists of...

 services.

History of the road number

The original (1923) route of the A41 was Stanmore
Stanmore
Stanmore is a suburban area of the London Borough of Harrow, in northwest London. It is situated northwest of Charing Cross. The area is home to Stanmore Hill, one of the highest points of London, high.-Toponymy:...

 to Oakengates
Oakengates
Oakengates is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, and now forms part of the new town of Telford...

, meeting the A5 at both ends.

The A41 has since been extended at both ends. The northern extension dates from 1935. In Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...

, the A41 swapped places with the A464 and the A529; the original A464 ran from Kingswood Common to Nantwich
Nantwich
Nantwich is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The town gives its name to the parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich...

, and the original A529 ran from Hinstock
Hinstock
Hinstock is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England.It appeared in the Domesday book survey as "Stoche" ; the present version of its name was created in the mediaeval period by prefixing Middle English hine .Hinstock is approximately halfway between the market towns of Newport and Market...

 to Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...

. North of Chester, the A41 replaced part of the A51.

The southern extension dates from after the Second World War. Watford Way was opened in about 1930 as the A5088. In 1935, it was renumbered A500, and it later became the A41.

See also

  • British road numbering scheme
  • Sparrows Herne turnpike
    Sparrows Herne turnpike
    The Sparrow's Herne Turnpike road was an 18th century English turnpike road from London to Aylesbury.Its route was approximately that of the later A41 trunk road, , and much of the original route is now numbered as the A4251...

    . The stagecoach route dating from 1762 that followed the general course of the modern A41 as far as Aylesbury.
  • M53 motorway
    M53 motorway
    The M53 is a motorway in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and Cheshire on the Wirral Peninsula in England. It can also be referred to as the Mid Wirral Motorway...

  • Wirral Line
    Wirral Line
    The Wirral Line is one of the two commuter railway lines operated by Merseyrail that are centred around Merseyside, England, the other being the Northern Line...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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