A458
From Roader's Digest: The SABRE Wiki
| A458 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| From: | Quinton (SO994849) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| To: | Mallwyd (SH861125) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Length: | 86.6 miles (139.4 km) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Meets: | A456, A491, A449, A454, A442, A5, A483, A470 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Former Number(s): | A456, A491, A4084 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Now part of: | A470 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Primary Destinations | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bridgnorth • Dolgellau • Shrewsbury • Stourbridge • Welshpool • | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highways Authorities | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Highways Agency • NMWTRA • Dudley • Sandwell • Shropshire • Staffordshire • Worcestershire | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Counties | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Merionethshire • Montgomeryshire • Shropshire • Staffordshire • Worcestershire | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route outline (key) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Contents |
Route
Section 1: Quinton - Shrewsbury
The A458 begins at a roundabout on the A456 at Quinton, just to the east of the M5 motorway, though there is no motorway junction at this point. At this stage there is very little clue of the variance in scenery that follows. It runs west for a mile to another roundabout with an A road and an unclassified road. Obviously, it is the unclassified road which is dual carriageway, the A road is the A4034 heading towards Blackheath. Soon after, the A458 itself becomes dual carriageway as it leaves the built up area for a short while until we cross the Dudley Canal. Soon after, there is another roundabout, this time with the A459, followed by a section which is more like a pair of one-way streets than dual carriageway as there are buildings in the central reserve.
This arrangement ends at a roundabout in Halesowen, and we continue along a single carriageway alignment through residential areas, until we cross the A4036 on the way into Stourbridge. The town centre is made up of a ring of A roads, including the A491 and A451, as well as the A458. We emerge on the west side and continue across fields to Stourton where we cross the A449 and a river.
Now we are out in the countryside, and as we progress in a westerly direction, we pass through the southern edge of a forest, before passing to the north of landscaped parkland near Enville. From here, the road is heading north-west, and we continue to pass through fields until we reach a roundabout with the A454 on the east side of Bridgenorth. We bypass the town to the south, crossing first the Severn and a B road before immediately passing under the Severn Valley railway and then another B road. We cross the B4364 at a roundabout, and just over half a mile later we meet the line of the old A458 as it emerges from the town.
We continue north westwards through farm land, passing Morville, and the B4368, before turning north towards Much Wenlock, thus avoiding some hillier ground to the west. The right turn at the crossroads here is the A4169, and the left is the B4378, but we go straight on, before descending down Harley Hill towards Harley. Then we head north to Cressage, which is back on the River Severn. In the village we turn left, remaining south of the river, running across very flat land, shadowing the line of a disused railway all the way to Shrewsbury. We cross the A5 bypass at Weeping Cross, where slip roads give access to and from the west, and a roundabout immediately after gives access to the east via the B4380. We continue into the town centre, meeting the A5064 at a roundabout, where we turn left, then crossing the A5112 at another roundabout. We pass under the railway via a one-way system, where there is a junction with the A5191, before crossing the Severn into the historic town centre.
We cross the Severn again in order to leave the town, passing the northern end of the A488. We cross the B4380 at a short stretch of dual carriageway, and eventually reach the A5 again at a roundabout where the A5 dual carriageway ends.
Section 2: Shrewsbury - Mallwyd
From here we head due west, now on a trunk road, past some parkland, then past the village of Ford. We go on through a flatish landscape until we reach Middleton where we cross the Welsh Border, and steep hills rise to the north and south. (Middletown Hill and Moel-y-Golfa). We then emerge into a broad valley (River Severn, where we cross Offa's Dyke before meeting the A483 at a roundabout north of Welshpool.
The A483 bypasses Welshpool, so we turn right at the north of town towards the town centre. Again, at the crossroads, we turn right, then left at the roundabout to resume our course on the A458. We follow the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway to the north of Powis Castle, following the valley of Sylfaen Brook - the hills on either side rising to around 1000 feet.
At Cyfronydd we arrive in the valley of the River Banwy. Still shadowing the light railway, we turn sharp left in Glascoed towards Llanfair Caereinion, where the railway terminates. We continue to follow the valley on the north side of the river, crossing to the south just beyond the terminus of the A495. We continue to thread our way through the hills, mostly within the Banwy Valley until we reach the watershed near the boundary of the Snowdonia National Park at Nant-y-dugoed. East of here, the rivers eventually drain into the sea at the Severn Bridge. West of here, the area drains into the Irish Sea.
The valley sides here are steeper than to the east, and the hillside south of the River Dugoed is heavily wooded. The arable land at the east end of the A458 has long since disappeared, now we are into hill farming countryside, where the largest population group is sheep. Our journey ends in a surprising manner for such a rural area where the dominant form is a priority junction. Here, however, the road ends at a roundabout on the A470 in the Dyfi Valley, about 12 miles south east of Dolgellau.
The section of road between Shrewsbury and Mallwyd was originally part of the A491. This was renumbered A458 in 1935, as was the A4084 to the A487 at Cross Foxes near Dolgellau. When the A470 was extended, the A458 was cut back to Mallwyd.
Videos
Driving round Stourbridge Ring Road when it first opened
This is the final section of the video footage from 1969, driving round the ring road when it first opened. some parts look much the same as they do today but it is interesting to see some of the old buildings that have long gone, and the cars!
_where_it_crosses_the_M5_Motorway,_Quinton_-_Geograph_-_1103846.jpg)
