A614

A614

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From:

Redhill (SK582476)

To:

Bridlington (TA164670)

Via:

Thorne, Driffield

Length:

97.6 miles (157.1 km)

Meets:

A60, A6097, A617, A1, A57, A1(M), A631, A638, A18, M180, A1146, M18, A1041, A645, B1228, M62, A63, B1230, A163, A1079, B1248, B1246, A164, A166, B1249, A165

Former Number(s):

A163, A166, A161, A1041, B1228, B1229

Now part of:

A6514, A1, A1041

Primary Destinations

Bridlington • Goole •

Highways Authorities

Nottinghamshire • Doncaster • East Riding of Yorkshire

Traditional Counties

Nottinghamshire • Yorkshire

Route outline (key)

A614	Redhill - A1/A57 Apleyhead
(A1)	A1/A57 Apleyhead - Blyth Services
A614	Blyth Services - Bawtry
A614	Bawtry - Hatfield Woodhouse
(A18)	Hatfield Woodhouse - M180 J1
A614	M180 J1 - M62 J37
A614	M62 J37 - Bridlington
A614	East Cowick - Selby

Route

The A614 has an epic journey through Nottinghamshire, South and East Yorkshire; a primary route for most of its length.

Redhill - Bawtry

The A614 starts north of Nottingham at the interchange with the A60 (known as Leapool) which has come from the City. This roundabout was built to cater for bigger things, with plenty of space in the southwestern quadrant to fit in the Redhill bypass, sadly canned in the early 1970s.

Junction with Station Rd.,Ollerton

The road heads north, a route confirmation sign giving us distances to places as far away as Doncaster, though in Nottingham this has recently been amended to Worksop on some signs. Shortly, we reach a signal controlled junction with the B684, which provides a route to the north of the city. This is the only signalised junction on our route towards the A1. Just beyond this is another road to the right, the B6386 which provides a good road to Southwell for those in the north of Nottingham. The road here is quite characteristic of the whole of the section in Nottinghamshire - wide and straight, mostly two lane carriageway, with wide shoulders. This is because large sections of the road were built as three lanes (S3). However none of these sections remain, but worn markings are occasionally glimpsed in several places.

Our next stop is for a roundabout with two unclassified roads, going to Ravenshead and Calverton. The roundabout replaced a standard crossroads for safety reasons owing to the fairly high speed traffic on the main road. There are still many crossroads in the next couple of miles, but none significant enough to warrant a roundabout, until we get to the A6097, which comes in from the right from Leicester and the A46. It is an odd junction, shaped like a egg, and traffic from Leicester must give way once to the southbound A614, and again for the northbound. The A614 need not stop here at all.

The road returns to its old ways again, following a rather straight line over the rolling farmland, until we drop down to the White Post roundabout, named after the pub and farm. In both directions here, there is an opportunity to overtake some slow traffic as climbing lanes have been provided heading away from the junction. Following a sharp right hand bend at the top of the hill, we reach the junction with the A617, known locally as Lockwell Hill roundabout.

A few miles pass by along a section that was in the mid 1970's going to be upgraded the dual carriageway, until we reach our next waypoint, Rufford Park. This forms part of the area known as The Dukeries, and we will see other old stately homes further on. There is quite a lot going on here, with Center Parcs hiding in the woods on the left, followed by a left turning for the B6034 (for Edwinstowe), then a right turn for the Rufford Estate (turn here for a drive through a ford!), and then out of the woods towards another 'B' road, this time the B6030, which heads back towards the B6034 that we just met. The road then bends around and under the Ollerton railway line.

It is worth noting that the road has managed to go for 15 miles without passing through a single named settlement until Ollerton, where the A616 and A6075 cross it at a roundabout. Motorists are well catered for here, as there is a pair of petrol stations, a Big Fish restaurant (ex-Little Chef) and a Tourist Information Point. This is the heart of Sherwood Forest, the bulk of which hugs the left hand side of the road, the right hand side offering views of farmland interspersed with small woods and old mine workings. This is possibly the fastest part of the road, with good sightlines and few junctions. However this is broken up by another new roundabout, with side roads heading to Bothamsall on the right, and Thoresby Hall (another one of the Dukeries) on the left. This junction can become busy at weekends owing to the car boot sales held at Thoresby. A mile or so beyond here and we reach another old estate, this time Clumber Park. The house is no longer there, but the grounds are enjoyed by walkers, cyclists and horse riders. A signalised crossing is provided across the road for the benefit of these groups, shortly before the first turning for the park, opposite the Clumber Hotel. A second entrance can be found about a mile further up the road, which passes under a gated entrance and along the longest lime tree avenue in the country.

The road gets as far as the Apleyhead Roundabout, which is a dumbbell roundabout arrangement with the A57 and A1. The A614 used to run along the course of the current A1 here, but the constructon of the Doncaster bypass in 1961 moved the course of the A1 from the Great North Road and onto its current alignment. To reach the next section of the route we must join the A1 and head north for a bit until forking right at Blyth services just before the A1 becomes an (M) again.

Bawtry - Goole

Leaving Nottinghamshire behind for South Yorkshire, our road picks up the Great North Road (masquerading as the A638) at another odd looking oval roundabout. Again the A614 doesn't have to give way here, and the turning from the A614 northbound to the A638 is a little tight, but this isn't a major movement. It then passes through the first major town on the route, Bawtry. This is quite an important location in the regional network, as it is the meeting of three primary roads, no less - the A638 which multiplexed with our road takes up the primary route and heads to Doncaster, and the A631 crosses our path in the centre of town. The A614 becomes non-primary at this point and tracks northeast into the flatlands of the Isle of Axholme.

You would think that in such an empty landscape the road would be flat and straight. It is indeed flat, but far from straight. There are short sections of straight road, followed by sharp turns, as if the road is following the field lines or one of the many drainage ditches in the area. On the left of the road is the former RAF Finningley, now Doncaster Robin Hood Airport, which the A614 has been rerouted to avoid. The terminal is accessed by the A638 and some back roads to the rear of the airport. Beyond the runway is the old village of Finningley, which throws up some more 90 degree turns and a level crossing before meeting the B1396 at a roundabout in Blaxton.

Beyond Finningley the road straightens out and continues north through some very empty landscape and meets the A18 to which it surrenders for nearly a mile. After this short length the M180 decides to throw up two slip roads to grab some traffic at J1.

History
Lesson

The offslip from the motorway at this junction was formerly the A18(M) - which terminated here before the M180 was built further east. You can still see the old westbound carriageway next to the offslip, now fairly overgrown.

Thorpe Rd.,Goole

At this junction we part company with the A18, which heads merrily east to Scunthorpe, leaving us with the A614 again, which heads north through Thorne. Before Thorne, the randomly numbered A1146 joins from the left and we pass under the railway. In Thorne, the road runs alongside the Stainthorpe and Keadby Canal, before bridging it in the centre of town. Many twists and turns later and the road leaves town and almost immediately meets the M18 at J6. At this point the road runs along a flood bank, and provides a clear vista of the flat farmland that are passing through. As we enter East Yorkshire, the road vaults the Aire And Calder Navigation over an imposing metal bridge. It crosses the M62 and meets the A1041 . We only have one more village to pass through before Goole, namely Rawcliffe. At a roundabout beyond Rawcliffe, we turn right as the A645 feeds in from the left.

The road is busy here, as we approach the M62 at J36, and a large service area has been provided on the road just before the dumbell roundabout junction. On the other side of the motorway, the road passes by warehouses that serve the port of Goole, which we enter as we join up with the A161 at a signal controlled T junction.

Goole - Bridlington

After Goole we cross the M62 and out towards Boothferry Bridge, an impressive Box Girder bridge over the River Ouse. After travelling through Boothferry village (and a roundabout with the B1228, we meet up with a spur of the A63. This road goes to J37 of the M62. We must multiplex with the A63 through Howden, which effectively forms a bypass of the main town. At the far end of the bypass, we reach a roundabout. Take the westbound A63 it you want to go to Selby (and on to York via the A19). The B1230 runs east from here, this is the old A63 towards Hull.

Near Bessingby

The A614 heads north-east to a town called Holme-Upon-Spalding-Moor. This was where the A614 terminated for many years. But, since 1996, it heads north-east again, on the former A163. This takes you past Market Weighton, onto the Wolds, through Middleton-on-the-Wolds and Bainton, past Kirkburn, and to the outskirts of (Great) Driffield, where it meets the (Great) Driffield bypass.

This was opened in 1983, and used to be numbered as A163 and A166. Now it is all the A614. The A614 now heads along the former A166 on to Bridlington, where it terminates on the A165.

Original Author(s): Paul Berry, Bob Henshaw, Paul, A614 & South West Philip

History

The A614 multiplex with the A1 was formerly just A614. The multiplex exists because the goverment wanted the A1 to By-Pass Retford.

The A614 also ran further into Nottingham, multiplexing with the A60 through Redhill and Arnold before turning off onto the Ring Road, now the A6514. The road originally terminated at the A52 but was extended slightly further to the A606 roundabout when the Clifton Bridge was built.

The A614 originally went to Selby along the A1041 with the stretch between the A1041 and A163 originally being the A161, B1228 and B1229, later becoming A1041 and then A614.

The A614 gained part of the A163 and A166 in 1996.