A395
A395 | ||||
Location Map ( geo) | ||||
| ||||
From: | Kennards House, Launceston (SX291831) | |||
To: | Davidstow (SX137868) | |||
Distance: | 10.6 miles (17.1 km) | |||
Meets: | A30, B3262, A39 | |||
Primary Destinations | ||||
Highway Authorities | ||||
Traditional Counties | ||||
Route outline (key) | ||||
|
Route
The A395 leaves the A30 a few miles west of Launceston. It's signposted to "North Cornwall". Since the North coast, reached by this road, is one of the most popular parts of the county for tourists, I imagine this road can get very busy, although it's always been pleasantly empty when I've been that way.
Kennards House - Davidstow
The junction where the A395 leaves the A30 is nearly a dumbbell junction. Where it differs from a typical such junction is that the eastbound exit from the A30 doesn't reach the dumbbell roundabout, but comes to a T Junction on the A395 slightly west of the roundabout. From this junction there are also two minor roads, one either side of the A30, one of which is the pre-bypass line of the A30.
The A395 heads west from here. It's a little bit twisty at first, alongside some woodland, then it opens out into a series of long straights. The road has a very open feel, almost like moorland (Bodmin Moor is about five miles west of here) although it is in fact all enclosed farmland. I've never noticed it, but the OS map shows a trig point by the road along here, at 208 m (this is far from the highest point of the road, by the way).
After a few miles you get to the tiny village of Pipers Pool, then more open road, even straighter than before - overtaking is very easy along here. After a while there are a few sections that are genuinely moorland, and the road goes through the middle of a wind farm. Some of the turbines are fairly close to the road and look very impressive. There's another tiny village called Cold Northcott where there's a petrol station, independently owned and normally (permanently?) closed.
The road continues in much the same way to Hallworthy. This is slightly larger than the other two villages, though still small, and there are some fairly tight bends in the road here. It's a 40 mph limit, like the other two villages (the rest of the road is NSL). The B3262 leaves here, signposted "Bude (A39)" - it just cuts the corner off.
A couple of miles beyond this, the A395 ends at a T Junction on the A39 at Davidstow (where the nice cheese comes from). There's not much of Davidstow and what there is you won't see from either 'A' road. Camelford, that notorious bottleneck on the A39, is a few miles South-West of here.