B4495
B4495 | ||||||||||||||||
Location Map ( geo) | ||||||||||||||||
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Oxford Inner Circle | ||||||||||||||||
From: | Summertown (SP506085) | |||||||||||||||
To: | New Hinksey (SP518042) | |||||||||||||||
Via: | Headington, Temple Cowley | |||||||||||||||
Distance: | 7.1 miles (11.4 km) | |||||||||||||||
Meets: | A4144, A4165, B4150, A420, B480, A4158, A4144 | |||||||||||||||
Primary Destinations | ||||||||||||||||
Highway Authorities | ||||||||||||||||
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Route outline (key) | ||||||||||||||||
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The B4495 forms a rather ineffectual Oxford eastern bypass - as it runs through the suburbs and is entirely duplicated by the ring road it would never be used from end to end. The road was originally unclassified but came into existence around 1930, then only in the southeast corner between Cowley and Headington. The road had been extended in both directions to reach its present route by the mid-1980s.
The road starts in Summertown, to the north of the city centre, by turning east off the A4144 along Moreton Road. This is an ordinary suburban residential road with no hints it has Class II status at all. At the far end the A4165 is crossed at a signalised staggered crossroads and we run onto Marston Ferry Road. The houses are soon left behind as we pass schools and sports fields. The road now appears dual but the second "carriageway" is set aside for cyclists and pedestrians.
We cross the River Cherwell just to the south of the now-gone Marston ferry, after which the cycle path becomes hidden by a hedge. The road continues into Marston where the cycle path ends and we continue to a double mini-roundabout where the B4150 crosses. After continuing south along Headley Way we reach Headington and traffic lights on the A420. There's a multiplex left for over a third of a mile to another set of lights in the local shopping area.
After regaining its number the B4495 continues south along Windmill Road then on to another mini-roundabout by the Corner House pub, where we turn right onto Hollow Way. We pass the former Cowley Barracks, now partly student accommodation, and a golf course. At the end of the road are traffic lights on the B480 and there's a short multiplex to the right to the next set of lights.
Now heading west the B4495 follows the D2 Between Towns Road, which narrows as it reaches a shopping centre. The road then becomes residential again and we pass a cemetery before reaching another set of lights by a war memorial obelisk. Here we meet the A4158 and multiplex into the centre of town for about half a mile. At traffic lights we regain our number and westerly route as we pass along Donington Bridge Road. This moves into Weirs Lane as we cross the two channels of the River Thames on a road that has obviously been narrowed to allow a cycle path separated from the road by a kerb. The houses come back but it's not long before the end of the road is reached, at traffic lights back on the A4144.