B3178
| B3178 | ||||||||||
| Location Map ( geo) | ||||||||||
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| From: | Newton Poppleford (SY079895) | |||||||||
| To: | Exmouth (SY000810) | |||||||||
| Via: | Budleigh Salterton | |||||||||
| Distance: | 11.6 miles (18.7 km) | |||||||||
| Meets: | A3052, B3179, A376 | |||||||||
| Former Number(s): | A376 | |||||||||
| Old route now: | B3179 | |||||||||
| Primary Destinations | ||||||||||
| Highway Authorities | ||||||||||
| Traditional Counties | ||||||||||
| Route outline (key) | ||||||||||
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Route
The B3178 mostly runs on the former A376 in Devon.
It leaves the A3052 at Newton Poppleford and heads southwards. Just after East Budleigh, the road splits - one branch going towards the seafront at Budleigh Salterton, the other bypassing it inland. The former leaves town to the west and the two routes meet up again at Knowle, and head west towards the centre of Exmouth. The road ends at a roundabout by the bus station - the road ahead being the A376.
History
The B3178 has changed route numerous times, to the extent that none of the current road runs on its original line, except for a single point.
Originally it ran from what was the A376 just west of Knowle to the B3180 at Black Hill. By the mid-1920s, it had been extended back to cannon off the A376 back towards East Budleigh, bypassing Budleigh Salterton; this is the section of the road which exists today bypassing that town.
In 1935, the Knowle - Black Hill section was renumbered as an extension of the B3179, which it remains.
Today, the A376 east of Exmouth has also been downgraded, the route taking the B3178 number but leaving the earlier Knowle - east Budleigh route in place.
