B3172

Looking east across the River Axe bridge

The B3172 is the main road into the Devon coastal town of Seaton from both east and west.

From north-east of the town, the B3172 leaves the A3052 at Boshill Cross and heads south as an S2 through fairly flat country via Axmouth to reach the estuary of the River Axe. After sticking close to the river's left bank for a kilometre south of Axmouth the route then swings westward and bridges the estuary just before reaching the coast. A new bridge was built in 1990, the old bridge is still in place. From this point it runs, at first one block inland from the beach, into Seaton town centre.

A few twists and turns – and three roundabouts – later, we meet the first of the B3174's eastern end-points (at the north end of Fore Street), then the second (at traffic signals at the north end of Queen Street). Here our route doglegs: first right into Harepath Road, then left (some 125 metres later) into Seaton Down Road.

The B3172 now begins its climb back out of town, eventually reaching the top of Seaton Down Hill and ending back on the A3052 shortly after passing the Tower Services petrol station on the right.

The road originally ended end-on with the B3173 in the centre of Seaton. In 1935 the road was extended along part of that road (the rest became an extension of the B3174) and presumably the whole of the B3336 to end at sea level in Beer; this section was later cut back. It was not until the 2000s that the road gained its present length.