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A603

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A603
Location Map ( geo)
Cameraicon.png View gallery (21)
From:  Bedford (TL055492)
To:  Cambridge (TL443577)
Distance:  29.9 miles (48.1 km)
Meets:  A5140, A5134, A421, A1, B1042, A1198, M11, A1134, A1307, A1134
Old route now:  B1042
Primary Destinations
Highway Authorities

Bedford  • Cambridgeshire  • Central Bedfordshire

Traditional Counties

Bedfordshire • Cambridgeshire

Route outline (key)
A603 Bedford - Sandy
(B1042) Sandy - Ermine Street
A603 Ermine Street - Cambridge

The A603 is a road in two halves, split by 12 miles of the B1042.

Route

Bedford - Sandy

Willowhill

The modern road begins on the south side of Bedford at a roundabout on the A5140, and heads east along Cardington Road until it meets a GSJ with the A421 at Cardington Cross. (If you turn off the roundabout here and head for the village you can find your way to the airship base - about a mile. The airships are long gone but the huge hangars remain.) The A603 continues along what is now the Cambridge Road through Willington and Moggerhanger until it reaches the A1 dual carriageway roundabout west of Sandy, where the A603 disappears.

Ermine Street - Cambridge

Barton

The A603 reappears on the A1198 Ermine Street to the south of Wimpole Hall (the B1042 links the two halves). The road heads north east along the line of another Roman road to Cambridge, passing Orwell, the Eversdens and Barton, and intersecting with the M11 at junction 12. Within the City of Cambridge it is the Barton Road, the Newnham Road, then multiplexes briefly with the Ring Road A1134 along Fen Causeway (built in the 1930s: an absolutely essential link road), after which it proceeds up Lensfield Road, Gonville Place, and East Road, thus forming the eastern section of the Ring Road. It ends at the Newmarket Road roundabout back on the A1134.

History

The A603 started life as the Bedford to Cambridge road. The current Primary route between the two towns is the A421 and A428 via the St. Neots and a short part of the A1. This change has occasioned downgrading of a central section between the A1 and the A1198 (former A14) to a 'B' road, to dissuade its use as a through route. Curiously, however, the DfT list from c2002 only lists the eastern, Cambridge section as being part of the A603, although there is no evidence that the western end was ever downgraded.




A603
Junctions
Roads
Places
Related Pictures
View gallery (21)
M11 Junction 12 - Coppermine - 8043.jpgM11 Junction 12 - Coppermine - 8042.jpgM11 Junction 12 - Coppermine - 8039.jpgWillowhill Cottages (C) Jeff Tomlinson - Geograph - 426093.jpgPICT0198.JPG
Other nearby roads
Bedford
NCN51 • A6 • A418 • A421 • A422 • A428 • A600 • A4280 • A5134 • A5140 • A5141 • A6002 (Bedfordshire) • A6172 (Bedford) • B530 • B531 • B557 • B560 • B561 • B562 • B563 • B564 • B659 (Bedford) • B660 • B5379 • C4 (Bedford) • C5 (Bedford) • C8 (Bedford) • C11 (Bedford) • C12 (Bedford) • C15 (Bedford) • C22 (Bedford) • C26 (Bedford) • C28 (Bedford) • C32 (Bedford) • C40 (Bedford) • C43 (Bedford) • C44 (Bedford) • C45 (Bedford) • C46 (Bedford) • C47 (Bedford) • C53 (Bedford) • C54 (Bedford) • C56 (Bedford) • C70 (Bedford) • C79 (Bedford) • C81 (Bedford) • C82 (Bedford) • C94 (Bedford) • C127 (Bedford) • C156 (Bedford) • C208 (Bedford) • C402 (Bedford) • C405 (Bedford) • C425 (Bedford) • C501 (Bedford) • C510 (Bedford) • C511 (Bedford) • C512 (Bedford) • C515 (Bedford) • C519 (Bedford) • C523 (Bedford) • C524 (Bedford) • C531 (Bedford) • C545 (Bedford) • C546 (Bedford) • C551 (Bedford) • C553 (Bedford) • C560 (Bedford) • C561 (Bedford) • C562 (Bedford) • E24 • E28 (Birmingham - Ipswich) • T12 (Britain) • T45 (Britain)
Cambridge
NCN51 • A10 • A14 • A45 • A130 • A132 (Colchester - Huntingdon) • A428 • A604 • A1120 (Cambridge) • A1131 • A1132 • A1134 • A1301 • A1303 • A1307 • A1309 • B1045 • B1046 • B1046 (Cambridge) • B1047 • B1047 (Cambridge) • B1048 (Cambridge) • B1049 • C194 (Cambridgeshire) • C195 (Cambridgeshire) • C200 (Cambridgeshire) • C201 (Cambridgeshire) • C202 (Cambridgeshire) • C213 (Cambridgeshire) • C233 (Cambridgeshire) • C234 (Cambridgeshire) • C235 (Cambridgeshire) • C237 (Cambridgeshire) • C248 (Cambridgeshire) • C279 (Cambridge, Cambridgeshire) • C280 (Cambridgeshire) • C281 (Cambridgeshire) • C286 (Cambridgeshire) • C287 (Cambridgeshire) • C289 (Cambridgeshire) • C290 (Cambridgeshire) • C291 (Cambridgeshire) • C292 (Cambridgeshire) • C294 (Cambridgeshire) • C296 (Cambridgeshire) • E15 • E24 • E28 (Birmingham - Ipswich) • E112 (Old System) • M11 • T31 (Britain) • T45 (Britain)
A600-A699
A600 • A601 • A602 • A603 • A604 • A605 • A606 • A607 • A608 • A609 • A610 • A611 • A612 • A613 • A614 • A615 • A616 • A617 • A618 • A619
A620 • A621 • A622 • A623 • A624 • A625 • A626 • A627 • A628 • A629 • A630 • A631 • A632 • A633 • A634 • A635 • A636 • A637 • A638 • A639
A640 • A641 • A642 • A643 • A644 • A645 • A646 • A647 • A648 • A649 • A650 • A651 • A652 • A653 • A654 • A655 • A656 • A657 • A658 • A659
A660 • A661 • A662 • A663 • A664 • A665 • A666 • A667 • A668 • A669 • A670 • A671 • A672 • A673 • A674 • A675 • A676 • A677 • A678 • A679
A680 • A681 • A682 • A683 • A684 • A685 • A686 • A687 • A688 • A689 • A690 • A691 • A692 • A693 • A694 • A695 • A696 • A697 • A698 • A699
Defunct Itineraries & Motorways: A601(M) • A604(M) • A613 • A622 • A627(M) • A632 • A635(M) • A638(M) • A648 • A666(M) • A687 • A695(M) • A696(M)


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