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A307

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A307
Location Map ( geo)
Cameraicon.png View gallery (17)
From:  Kew (TQ190773)
To:  Cobham (TQ105605)
Via:  Richmond upon Thames
Distance:  13.7 miles (22 km)
Meets:  A205, A316, A305, A308, A240, A243, A309, A3009, A244, A245
Former Number(s):  A3
Old route now:  A205
Primary Destinations
Highway Authorities

Kingston upon Thames • Richmond upon Thames • Surrey

Traditional Counties

Surrey

Route outline (key)
A307 Kew Bridge
A307 Kew - Richmond
A307 Richmond - Cobham

Route

The A307 is a link road running through southwest London and northwest Surrey, which is primary at the start but for the most part is now more local in character.

Kew - Cobham

Kew Road, Richmond

The road begins at the junction with the A205 'South Circular Road' beside Kew Green. It heads south with the Royal Botanic Gardens (also known as 'Kew Gardens') on the right hand side of the road. The run down Kew Road is fairly straightforward and after about half a mile, it bears to the right before reaching the junction with the A316 at 'Richmond Circus'.

After going straight across the gyratory, the A307 continues past Richmond station and lots of shops before heading into a one-way system shared with the A305, which meanders around yet more shops as well as some pubs and clubs. A sharp left brings the A307 to the roundabout at Richmond Bridge. The A305 crosses the bridge and the A307 stays on this side of the Thames, continuing ahead into Petersham Road. Running alongside the River Thames for about 300 yards, the road continues for a further half-mile before reaching a T-junction, controlled by traffic lights. The A307 TOTSOs to the right and after 100 yards, there is a very sharp turn to the left.

The road then continues south through Petersham and Ham along a very narrow road, which is often prone to congestion. After passing Cassel Hospital and Tiffin Girls' School, the A307 picks up the one way system and runs under the railway line at Kingston Station. The one-way system partially multiplexes with the A308, which runs in from Roehampton before heading off towards Kingston Bridge, for about 400 yards. The A307 takes a left at the Fairfield Bus Station and, 200 yards later at the College Roundabout, the A240 continues straight on while the A307 heads off towards the river with a TOTSO to the right.

Leaving Kingston, the road becomes 'Portsmouth Road' and runs alongside the Thames through the western side of Surbiton. While the river curves around to the northwest, the A307 continues heading southwest through Thames Ditton towards Esher. The road opens out as it passes Giggs Green, before running under the Hampton Court and Waterloo - Woking lines in quick succession. The A307 runs straight across the 'Scilly Isles' junction with the A309, and as it heads into Esher, it passes Sandown Park Racecourse. Esher High Street is pretty narrow and has three sets of lights, including the junction with the A244, before continuing down 'Portsmouth Road' towards Claremont and Cobham. The road actually becomes quite rural as it crosses Esher Common, before passing over the A3 Esher Bypass; there is no junction here. Heading down past the American Community School, 'The Fairmile' driving range and the police station, the A307 drifts downhill into Cobham before coming to an end at the junction with the A245.

One of the most noticeable things about this road is how anonymous it is. Over 20 years since the section from the Scilly Isles to Cobham became the A307, this section of the road is still most commonly called the 'Portsmouth Road' or the old A3 when people give you directions. Renumbering to A307 has just never seemed to catch on in the local area.

History

In the 1922 Draft Road Lists the A307 ran from the A3 at Kingston to the A500 at Child's Hill, via a short merger with the A4 between Kew Bridge and Chiswick. This merger was probably the reason why it was truncated, with the A4000 taking the draft route between Chiswick and Willesden, and the A407 taking the remaining section. However the A4 was diverted on the final lists via the under-construction Great West Road, so the A307 ended on the A315 at Chiswick, just to the south of the A4/A4000 junction. The A205 South Circular has since taken over the northern end of the A307.

Originally ending on the A3 in Kingston, the A307 picks up the old A3 where it meets the "Portsmouth Road" south of Kingston. The present one-way system, and the route via the College Roundabout, were part of the diversion set up around 1990. Previously both the A307 and A308 (and the A3 before them) ran along Clarence Street (now pedestrianised) and the A307 then turned left through the Market Place. The section through Petersham has a 20 mph limit posted.




A307
Junctions
Crossings
Places
Related Pictures
View gallery (17)
A307 Kingston - Coppermine - 22129.jpgPegasus Crossing - Coppermine - 595.JPGPortsmouth Road (C) Colin Smith - Geograph - 637615.jpgScilly Isles alternative A.pngScilly Isles with Esher Bypass.png
Other nearby roads
Kew Bridge
A316 • A3000 • A3003 • B353 • B356 • B4491
Richmond upon Thames
A305 • A310 • A311 • A313 • A316 • A3004 • A3005 • B306 • B321 • B322 • B349 • B350 • B352 • B353 • B354 • B355 • B360 • E1 (Old System)
Kingston upon Thames
A3 • A238 • A239 (Kingston Bypass) • A240 • A243 • A308 • A309 • A310 • A2043 • A2099 • A3063 (Kingston) • B282 • B283 • B285 (Kingston) • B351 • B357 • B358 • B359 • B364 • B3363 • B3364 • B3365 • B3370 • EuroVelo 2 • NCN4 • T6 (Britain)
Esher
A3 • A244 • A309 • A3009 • B364 • B3379 • Esher Link Road • T6 (Britain)
A300-A399
A300 • A301 • A302 • A303 • A304 • A305 • A306 • A307 • A308 • A309 • A310 • A311 • A312 • A313 • A314 • A315 • A316 • A317 • A318 • A319
A320 • A321 • A322 • A323 • A324 • A325 • A326 • A327 • A328 • A329 • A330 • A331 • A332 • A333 • A334 • A335 • A336 • A337 • A338 • A339
A340 • A341 • A342 • A343 • A344 • A345 • A346 • A347 • A348 • A349 • A350 • A351 • A352 • A353 • A354 • A355 • A356 • A357 • A358 • A359
A360 • A361 • A362 • A363 • A364 • A365 • A366 • A367 • A368 • A369 • A370 • A371 • A372 • A373 • A374 • A375 • A376 • A377 • A378 • A379
A380 • A381 • A382 • A383 • A384 • A385 • A386 • A387 • A388 • A389 • A390 • A391 • A392 • A393 • A394 • A395 • A396 • A397 • A398 • A399
St Peters Way  Motorways: A308(M) • A329(M)  Earlier Itineraries: A303 • A326 • A331 • A333 • A341 • A346 • A355 • A364 • A369 • A374 • A378 • A392 • A397

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