A369
From Roader's Digest: The SABRE Wiki
| A369 | |||
 | |||
| |||
| From: | Bristol (ST564715) | ||
| To: | Portishead (ST469769) | ||
| Length: | 8 miles (12.9 km) | ||
| Meets: | A370, A3029, M5, | ||
| Primary Destinations | |||
| Bristol • | |||
| Highways Authorities | |||
| Traditional Counties | |||
For the original A369, a road between Glastonbury and Marksbury near Bath, see A369 (Glastonbury - Marksbury)
Route
Ashton Gate - Portishead
The A369 starts at the junction with the A370 and the A3029 near Ashton Gate and for the first part starts off flat. Ashton Court Estate is on the left hand side and sports grounds plus the river Avon on the right with Cumberland Basin in view. Then the quite tricky 1 in 7 uphill gradient of Rownham Hill presents itself to drivers, and a twisty residential road (with expensive houses!) up to the Clifton Suspension bridge is accessed on the right at quite a nasty junction. Then the road levels out slightly but continues to climb until a traffic light junction at the entrance to Ashton Court Estate appears on the left, and the B3129 from the Suspension Bridge merges from the right. A bit further on after the road dips there are some more traffic lights at the junction where the B3129 goes left running along the northern edge of Ashton Court Estate towards Failand.
From here the A369 continues - a 40mph speed limit applies along this stretch with Abbots Leigh off to the right. The roads dips down gradually and the speed limit increases to 50mph. The road to Pill and Ham Green hospital appears on the right and the main road dips sharply down Haberfield Hill to cross a small stream and then climbs just as sharply again on the other side. After a while the road for Easton-in-Gordano is on the right and the A369 drops downhill slowly to meet Portbury Lane on the left as the main road sweeps round to arrive at junction 19 of the M5 providing access for Avonmouth docks and the Gordano service area.
The A369 continues the other side of the junction bending sharply left along a quite straight and fast stretch called The Portbury Hundred (a name taken from one of King Harold’s private estates). This stretch is noteworthy for one of the most unusual signs I've seen on a British road - "low flying owls"!
The road to Sheepway is on the right just after a footbridge crossing both the A369 and the M5 giving access to the village of Portbury. (Before the M5 was constructed this used to be the old route of the main road). A bit further on the A369 reaches the outskirts of Portishead and at a roundabout the B3124 exits left towards Clevedon, and the road from Sheepway enters from the right. A few hundred yards on and the road enters a short dual carriageway with junctions for Portishead High Street and Cabstand leading to Nore road (offering views over the bristol Channel to the right). The A369 bends right and ends as it turns into an unclassified access road for the old docks. Approximately 8 miles from start to end.
Original Author(s): Martyn Hicks, Guy Barry
An image has been requested for this article.
