A321
From Roader's Digest: The SABRE Wiki
| A321 | ||||||||||
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| From: | Henley (SU761828) | |||||||||
| To: | Blackwater (SU854600) | |||||||||
| Length: | 15.2 miles (24.5 km) | |||||||||
| Meets: | A4130, A4, A3032, A329(M), A3095. A30 | |||||||||
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| Route outline (key) | ||||||||||
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Route
As a whole, the A321 was probably a nice drive all the way when the numbers were first given out, but extensive housing and development along most of its route, and the appearance of the M4, A329(M) and A331 have removed most of its importance. Nevertheless, the sections south of Henley, between Wokingham and Sandhurst, and the old road between Frimley Green and Pirbright are still a nice drive.
Henley - Blackwater
The A321 starts at a set of lights with the A4130 at the edge of the Henley Bridge. It then runs along the Thames Valley to Wargrave, and is quite a picturesque drive. It meets the A4 at a roundabout and carries on into the centre of Twyford.
From here it crosses over the railway, where immediately afterwards there's then a TOTSO with the B3018. The A321 takes a sharp right past the station and then continues southwards to run through Hurst, running through flat fields.
Following this, the A321 crosses over the M4, and then, shortly afterwards, the A329(M). There used to be a temporary T-junction here, but it's long been replaced by a simple bridge. Neither motorway can be accessed from here, you have to dog-leg round to either Bracknell or Winnersh to get on.
The A321 then runs straight into the nightmare that is the Wokingham one way system that confuses me to this day. Amongst the maze of routes it takes, it manages to cross / multiplex with the A329 and head under the railway out of the town. There's then a nice fast road through thick forest towards the Wellingtonia Avenue, aka the B3348. The A321, meanwhile, carries on through the forest to emerge at Sandhurst, where it swings under the railway.
The A3095 used to terminate here, but has now been moved further up the road to meet the A321 at College Town. Originally the main road went straight on here towards the Royal Military Academy, but nowadays the A321 TOTSOs with the A3095 to the right and runs past the Meadows Shopping Centre. It terminates soon after at Blackwater with a complex, multi-lane roundabout with the A30 and A331.
History
The remainder of the A321 has now been downgraded following the completion of the A331, but it used to run on the now B3411 through Frimley and Frimley Green, running close to Lakeside Country Club (home of darts) and right next to the former site of Matthew Corbett Limited (home of Sooty).
It then ran through Mytchett and Ash Vale, crossed the Basingstoke Canal, and terminate on the A323 just east Ash. However, even that route is fairly new - the A321 was only routed onto this in the mid seventies. The real original route ran on the current B3012 over the Basingstoke Canal to the south of Deepcut. It continued along a rather fun bit of road with plenty of twists and turns before swinging under the railway at Curzon Bridge. It then ran close to the railway before meeting the A324 at a set of traffic lights - there's still a scrubbed out A321 sign here to this day.
It then ran through the nice village of Pirbright, close to Brookwood Cemetery (though out of sight of the village) and then continued on what is now the B3032 (which explains the A324 TOTSO) to Fox Corner. It then took over the route of what is now the A322 all the way to Guildford.
Original Author(s): Ritchie Swann
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