B4217
| B4217 | ||||
| Location Map ( geo) | ||||
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| From: | Five Ways (SP056860) | |||
| To: | Acocks Green (SP114830) | |||
| Via: | Moseley | |||
| Distance: | 6 miles (9.7 km) | |||
| Meets: | A456, A4540, B4284, B4532, A38, A441, A435, A34, B4514, A4040, B4146 | |||
| Primary Destinations | ||||
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| Route outline (key) | ||||
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For the original B4217 in the Malverns, see B4217 (Malvern).
The B4217 is one of Birmingham's longer suburban B-roads, providing a link between some important suburbs, and is a slightly long way round from Five Ways to Acocks Green. The road was originally unclassified but was an early example of a recycled number as it came to the area in the late 1920s, albeit only west of the A42 (present A34); it was quickly extended east.
Starting at Five Ways, it leaves the busy roundabout heading SSW at first, down Calthorpe Road, which is one-way as far as St George's Church. This is a three-lane road, and is also part of the route to Harborne. After the traffic lights at St George's, it follows Church Road past the University halls of residence, and is now two-way. This Church Road actually links two churches, for at the other end is St Bartholomew's, also called Edgbaston Old Church.
At the roundabout by Priory School, we take Priory Road, which passes the Edgbaston Priory Club, where there is an annual ladies' international tennis tournament. Priory Road swings round to face ESE, and crosses the A38 Bristol Road at a set of traffic lights, then quickly meets the A441 Pershore Road at another set of lights.
Crossing Pershore Road, on our left we see Edgbaston cricket ground, home of Warwickshire CCC and a regular test match venue. We cross the River Rea via a bridge onto Edgbaston Road; Cannon Hill Park is on our right. The road proceeds uphill to a roundabout, carrying straight on, then bears right at a junction where Edgbaston Road bears left. We follow Salisbury Road uphill all the way to Moseley village centre, where we meet the A435 Alcester Road at a set of traffic lights.
Carrying straight on here, we are still going uphill past St Mary's church on St Mary's Row. At the top of the hill the road bears right onto Wake Green Road. Large houses and flats are on both sides all the way to the traffic-light junction with Yardley Wood Road. We continue straight on, until we reach a mini-roundabout junction where the B4217 turns left down College Road, past Moseley School. Near the bottom of the hill is a roundabout. The B4217 is the straight-on road here, but it's one-way westbound, and we're going east. We have to divert left along Springfield Road to the A34 Stratford Road, and follow that to the right at the traffic lights to rejoin our route. Travelling the other way, College Road diverges from the Stratford Road just after the bridge over the River Cole. For this short stretch back to the roundabout the route has a contraflow cycle lane.
After a short multiplex with the A34, the B4217 diverges again at the College Arms junction, another festival of traffic lights, though if travelling east a filter lane lets you avoid them. We are now on Shaftmoor Lane and we follow this across a roundabout to the junction with the B4514 Olton Boulevard East. We have priority here and continue into Summer Road, which meets the A4040 Fox Hollies Road at another junction where we do not have priority, next to Acocks Green bus garage.
That is the end of the B4217. Across from us is the B4146 to take us into Acocks Green.
