The A4226 is a main road linking Bonvilston

Bonvilston

Bonvilston is a village in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The village is situated on the A48 about four miles east of Cowbridge and near the Welsh capital city of Cardiff.- History & Amenities :...

 to Barry and Cardiff International Airport

Cardiff International Airport

Cardiff Airport is an international airport serving Cardiff, and the rest of South, Mid and West Wales. Around 1.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010....

 (CIA) in the Vale of Glamorgan

Vale of Glamorgan

The Vale of Glamorgan is a county borough in Wales; an exceptionally rich agricultural area, it lies in the southern part of Glamorgan, South Wales...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

.

First stage

The A4226 begins at the junction with the A48 road

A48 road

The A48 is a major trunk road in Great Britain. It runs from the A40 at Highnam west of Gloucester to the A40 at Carmarthen. Before the construction of the M4 motorway and the first Severn Bridge in the mid 1960s it was the principal route into South Wales. For most of its journey through Wales,...

 (Sycamore Cross) just east of Bonvilston and south of Gwern-y-Steeple

Gwern-y-Steeple

Gwern-y-Steeple is a hamlet in the Vale of Glamorgan. It lies off the A48 road on the road to nearby Peterston-Super-Ely, which lies to the north. Cottrell Park Golf Club lies to the south.-Notable people:*C. Davis -potter...

 and Peterston-Super-Ely

Peterston-super-Ely

Peterston-super-Ely is a village in the Welsh county of the Vale of Glamorgan.As its name suggests, the village lies on the River Ely, on the other side of which is the Coryton estate. The local parish church is dedicated to Saint Peter...

. It heads in a southerly direction past numerous farms and country lanes leading off to hamlets such as Llancadle

Llancadle

Llancadle is a rural village south-west of Barry near Rhoose in the Vale of Glamorgan, in Wales.Llancadle is located near the international airport for Wales, Cardiff International Airport....

, Moulton

Moulton, Vale of Glamorgan

Moulton is a hamlet in the Vale of Glamorgan, southeastern Wales. It lies off the A4226 road on the road, northwest of Barry and east of Llancarfan. The landmark of note is the Three Horse Shoes pub and restaurant which attracts visitors from all across the Vale of Glamorgan. To the south of...

, Walterston

Walterston

Walterston is a small farming hamlet just north of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales.Walterston lies just to west of the Five Mile Lane leading down to Waycock Cross, Barry. The hamlet is very small and has just a few farms, all of which are twelfth to thirteenth century in origin...

 and Dyffryn Gardens

Dyffryn Gardens

Dyffryn Gardens is a collection of botanical gardens located near the village of St. Nicholas in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The gardens were selected by the British Tourist Authority as one of the Top 100 gardens in the UK.-History of The Dyffryn Estate:...

 etc, past the Welsh Hawking Centre

Welsh Hawking Centre

The Welsh Hawking Centre and Children's Animal Park is a hawking centre on Weycock Road on the northwestern outskirts of Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, in southern Wales. It contains the largest collection of birds of prey in Wales, with over 200 birds on site including eagles, owls, hawks, falcons and...

 until the junction with Port Road (leading to the A4050 road

A4050 road

The A4050 road connects Barry, Vale of Glamorgan with Culverhouse Cross on the outskirts of Cardiff, Wales. It is approximately long.Wenvoe village lies along the road....

 at Colcot

Colcot

Colcot is a northern district of Barry near Wenvoe in the Vale of Glamorgan 11 miles outside Cardiff in South Wales.-History & Amenities:Colcot Primary School was built in 1952. Nearby areas include Highlight Park and Brynhill Golf Course....

 roundabout) at Weycock Cross in northwestern Barry. This initial stage of the road is widely known locally as The Five Mile Lane, in fact it is nearer 4 miles today but historically the road extended along what is now Pontypridd Road in Barry to Romilly, roughly 5 miles in total.

Second stage

However, the A4226 route forks some 120 degrees at Weycock Cross to the right as one approaches the roundabout, where it continues in a westerly direction (continuation of Port Road West) along the northern perimeter of the airport until the entrance to the airport at the Tredogan roundabout. At this roundabout it becomes the B4265 road

B4265 road

The B4265 road is a main road in the Vale of Glamorgan, southeastern Wales, running in a northwesterly direction along near the coast. It links Cardiff International Airport to Bridgend, lasting for 15.9 miles...

 which leads to Llantwit Major

Llantwit Major

Llantwit Major is a small coastal town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the Bristol Channel coast. A small stream, the Afon Col-huw, runs through the town.-Local government:...

 and eventually to Bridgend

Bridgend

Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...

 and the turn off to the north leads to Penmark

Penmark

Penmark is a rural village south-west of Barry near Rhoose in the Vale of Glamorgan, in South Wales. The village is a parish and is of a distinct narrow shape. It has a parish church along the main road running through the village. It is also home to the Penmark United Under 15's football team...

.

Maintenance

On July 1, 1970, the Weycock section of the road was formally upgraded to Principal Road Status after being widened and improved.There is currently a proposal to upgrade this road to improve access to CIA. The improvements include adding straighter sections and other works to increase speeds along the road, and to extend the route designation to include the road between Sycamore Cross and the M4 Motorway

M4 motorway

The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...

Junction 34 (Miskin). The extension would also have upgrades including straighter sections to allow for faster speeds.http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/07/11/airport-access-plans-await-clearance-91466-21323023/

Accidents

A location along the initial stage of the road with a sudden turn in the road at one of its narrowest points has gained notoriety over the years and has claimed the lives of several people in car accidents.