B2177

B2177	Bedhampton – Wickham
(A32)	Wickham (E)
(A334)	Wickham – Shedfield Common
B2177	Shedfield Common – Fisher's Pond
B2177	branch: Bedhampton – A3(M) jnc 5
B2177	branch: A3, Cosham – Portsdown Hill

The B2177 is a nice little drive over the top of Portsdown Hill and then down in to Fisher's Pond.

Route

Section 1: Bedhampton - Wickham

Junction B2150 and B2177

The road starts in the centre of Bedhampton, with the B2149 and the B2150, and from here heads west. At a mini-roundabout it sends a short spur down to A3(M) J5, the A2030 and the A27. This section of the road would have formed part of the A27 before Havant was bypassed.

From here it crosses the A3(M) on a large bridge, unfortunately famed for its suicides, and it runs past the forts until it has 3/4 of a cloverleaf junction with the A3, not bad for the crossing of two S2 roads. I think that in the '70s the road would have beared left on to the A3 and ended here, but I can't be sure. To this day there is a stub to the A3. Nonetheless it continues over the A3 today, reaching a roundabout with another spur road, this one down to the A3 outside Queen Alexander Hospital. The road involves a steep hill as it descends from Portsdown Hill and is now quite congested thanks to the expansion of the hospital and shrinking of its car park. This is where the A333 would have come up, the route of which we take over for a while.

The roundabout is also home to James Callaghan Drive, the main road along Portsdown Hill, and a very good burger van. We bear right to stay on the B2177 and turn rural, reaching the outskirts of Southwick and North Boarhunt with their silly speed limits. Despite this, the road is still good, as it runs through the Forest of Bere and eventually ends on the A32 in the centre of Wickham.

This section, before becoming part of the A333, was numbered B3033.

Section 2: Wickham - Fisher's Pond

On the other side of Wickham, and it's only a small village, the A334 continues the route of the A333. Eventually the road TOTSOs and the B2177 reappears, still serving as the former route of the A333. It runs through Bishop's Waltham, meeting the B3035 and then passes the Marwell Zoological Park, the main attraction along the route. The road finished at the B3354 junction, which consists of the former A3051 and where the A333 used to continue. Both this and the A333 were downgraded after the completion of the M27 and the M3, but the B2177 is probably a better drive.