North Circular Road

51°36′58″N 0°05′43″W / 51.6161°N 0.0952°W / 51.6161; -0.0952

A406 shield
A406
North Circular Road
The route of the North Circular Road in Greater London, with the South Circular Road and Woolwich Ferry
Route information
Maintained by Transport for London
Length25.7 mi (41.4 km)
HistoryOpened: 1910
Completed: c. 1930
Major junctions
West endChiswick (M4 Junction 1)
Major intersections
East endBeckton
Location
CountryUnited Kingdom
Road network

The North Circular Road (officially the A406 and sometimes known as simply the North Circular) is a 25.7-mile-long (41.4 km) ring road around Central London in England. It runs from Chiswick in the west to Woolwich in the east via suburban North London. It connects lots of suburbs and other trunk roads in the region. Together with the South Circular Road, it forms a ring road around central London. This ring road does not go all around the city. Instead, it is C-shaped. This is because in the east, you need to cross over the River Thames on the Woolwich Ferry.

Route

The North Circular Road is the northern part of a ring-road around Central London. It has seen much more investment than the South Circular Road, and it runs on much wider roads. Existing houses were demolished for the North Circular Road. The route has other names at some points. However, it is mostly called the North Circular so route planning is easier. The route is mostly grade-separated dual carriageway from the A40 at Hanger Lane to the A13 in Beckton except for the Drury Way/Brentfield Road junction, the Golders Green Road/Brent Street junction, Henlys Corner and the section from Bounds Green to Green Lanes. In worse sections, the original names such as Gunnersbury Avenue and Bowes Road are used.

Junctions

The North Circular Road has a lots of different junctions that connect to other roads. Some are complex and grade-separated, like at Charlie Brown's Roundabout near Woodford. Some are at-grade junctions with traffic lights. The original road only had at-grade junctions. Many of these were improved and grade separated in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Current junctions

Name Destinations Notes
Chiswick flyover A315 / A4 / A205  – Chiswick, Kew, Brentford, Staines-upon-Thames, Hounslow
Gunnersbury Park B4491 / A4000  – South Ealing, Shepherd's Bush, Acton
A4020  – Ealing, Southall, Acton
Hanger Lane Gyratory A40 / A4005  – Greenford, Perivale, Alperton, Park Royal, Acton Northolt
A404  – Harrow, Wembley, Harlesden Near Stonebridge Park station
Brent Park, Superstores, Wembley Stadium, Industrial Estate
A4088  – Willesden, Neasden, Kingsbury
Staples Corner M1 / A5  – The NORTH, Watford, Harrow, Kilburn, Cricklewood, Edgware, West Hendon A5 is the historic Watling Street from London to Wroxeter
Brent Cross A41 to A1 – Kilburn, Cricklewood, Hendon, Hatfield
A502 to A1  – Mill Hill, Golders Green, Hampstead
Henlys Corner A1 to M1  – The NORTH, Watford, Mill Hill, Hendon West end of merge with the A1
Henlys Corner A598  – Finchley, Golders Green There is a special crossing for Jews to use on the Sabbath here
Henlys Corner A1  – Central London, Holloway East end of merge with A1
A1000  – North Finchley, East Finchley, Chipping Barnet The historic Great North Road
Colney Hatch Junction B550  – Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Retail Park
Hobart Corner A109 / A1004  – New Southgate, Whetstone, Southgate
Bounds Green interchange A1110 / B1452  – New Southgate, Southgate This area often gets a lot of traffic because the road is just one lane each way. Transport for London want to improve the junction.
Clockhouse Junction A105  – Palmers Green, Wood Green, Hornsey
Great Cambridge Road Roundabout A10 to M25 / A111  – Central London, Dalston, Hertford, Enfield, Potters Bar, Ware, Royston, Cambridge
Crooked Billet Roundabout A112  – Chingford, Walthamstow, Highams Park
Waterworks A104 to A503 / M11 – Woodford, Leytonstone, Walthamstow
Charlie Brown's A1400 / A113  – Gants Hill, Chigwell The original Charlie Brown's was the roundabout underneath this junction. It was named after a pub next to the roundabout, which was demolished in 1972.
Charlie Brown's M11  – Stansted, Cambridge
Redbridge Roundabout A12  – Central London, Stratford, Chelmsford, Romford Also the location of Redbridge tube station
A118  – Manor Park, Ilford The historic Roman Road from London to Colchester
A124  – East Ham, Barking, London
Beckton Roundabout A13 / A1020 (North Circular) to M25 / A117  – Tilbury, Dartford Crossing, Woolwich Ferry, Central London, Blackwall Tunnel

Former junctions

Name Destinations Notes
Waterworks Corner A104 / A503 To avoid Epping Forest, the North Circular previously met the A104 by a water works northeast of Walthamstow.
Gants Hill A12 / A123 Gants Hill tube station is here.

Public transport

There are three bus routes where most of the route is on the North Circular Road:

References

  1. ↑ "Gunnersbury Avenue to North Circular Road, Barking". Google Maps. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  2. ↑ Griffin, Christopher (2008). Nomads Under the Westway: Irish Travellers, Gypsies and Other Traders in West London. University of Hertfordshire Press. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-902-80654-9.
  3. ↑ Weinreb 2008.
  4. ↑ "A406 timeline: a half century of broken promises". Enfield Independent. 8 October 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  5. 1 2 Dunn, Joseph (7 April 2014). "Great drives: The North Circular, London". Sunday Times Driving. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "North Circular Road, Ealing". Hansard. 15 December 1978. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Work on Henlys Corner junction improvement scheme to begin in February 2011". Transport for London. 28 January 2011. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  8. ↑ "Six months of traffic chaos looms as works reduce Wood Green High Road to one lane". Tottenham and Wood Green Journal. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2015.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  9. ↑ "Walking". Transport for London. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  10. ↑ "Mystery of the Charlie Brown Roundabout". Go Britannia travel guide. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  11. ↑ The Times Road Map of London (Map). The Times. 1926. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "34 bus route". Transport for London. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  13. ↑ "112 bus route". Transport for London. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  14. ↑ "232 bus route". Transport for London. Retrieved 15 May 2019.

Other websites