1. The A38.
No need to ask why, top notch sixties concrete fun. And then there's jcn 6 M6...
2. The Foss Way.
Formerly an unclassified road down to the A429 at Halford, now upgraded to a B road and numbered the B4455. At the beginning of the B4455, at the A5 junction near Leicester; there is a mileage sign that says "Cirencester 60 miles". Now how's that for fabbo travel? One of the UK's best kept secrets.
3. The A34.
Quick and groovy route to Southampton where my old company's car depot is. A stretch of this is what used to be the A42 (see the page dedicated to the A42 here). Pretty nasty around Oxford, and Newbury used to be unpleasant (apparently the badly sited bypass has taken away a lot of that problem - but I hate what was done there)
4. The A18.
This is the old Doncaster to Grimsby route, now superseded by the M180 (see below). This is the road where I was involved in the accident that robbed me of the use of my left leg, but I still love it. If you have an old atlas, check out the A18(M) which is now the beginning of the M180.
5. The A449.
I prefer the bit between Newport and the A40 - more concrete surfaced fun, plus it bypasses Usk, which my parents insisted on visiting every time we went to see the family. This involved loads of crappy old unclassified roads, with the A449 gleaming always just out of reach.
6. The M180.
Follows the same route as the A18. This links the M18 at one end, and the A15 (Humber Bridge) at the other. It was known in some quarters as "The Speedway" owing to the fact that some (less safe and careful) drivers would test out their new motors on it. It is nearly always empty, apart from the unbelieveable Scunthorpe bypass section, where (for the busiest stretch) one is forced down to 2 lanes instead of 3. This also occurs on the Doncaster bypass bit of the M18. Apparently, this was done to save money. Oh save us.
7. The M62.
The M62 is a marvel. I have never subscribed to the "man versus nature" dogma, mainly because as a Pagan, that phrase is meaningless crap to me. However, we should all be amazed that a road such as the M62 exists at all. The necessity of the route cannot be argued with, as some of the country's heaviest traffic is experienced on parts of the M62. If you have ever hit the Irwell valley section at about 8am and had to sit there for an hour, you will know what I mean. Be impressed. The Trans-Pennine stretch is marvellous, with beautiful views of the reservoir and Saddleworth Moor. I realise that the Manchester Orbital section of this, and the M63, and the M66(?) have now become the M60, but for some of us it shall always remain. Historical note: Did you know that by rights the M62 should actually be a "5", like M52 or whatever, seeing as it begins on the far side of the M6? When the first section was built, it was from the A580 to the A56, which later became the M63, and now is (phew) part of the M60. Since it was east of the M6, it followed that, yes, it should be a "6". However, once it was changed round and instead began in Liverpool, by rights that would make it a "5". More mindless trivia. Very soon I shall reveal how roads are numbered. I would stick around for that...
8. The A361.
This is without doubt a blessed road. How could it not be, taking in both Avebury (okay, a bit of nifty renumbering - A4361 there's wit - to deter people using it around Avebury) and Glastonbury. It is the road to the promised land. Actually, if you have a trawl through your favourite atlas, you will see that it is rather a long road, starting at the A39 in Glastonbury and ends at the A5 junction, just east of Rugby. Some distance. I love it, cos I'm going somewhere nice when I'm on it.
9. The B1392.
There are many types of B road. Many are the remains of important A roads, which have been superseded by a motorway or a nice new version of the road. Some have always been B roads, and these are generally local routes. The B1392 belongs in the latter category. If you look for it on a map (it lies between Keadby and Eastoft in Lincolnshire), you will notice it follows a very strange course and really doesn't go anywhere. The reason for its course is thus. The historical animosity between Yorkshire and Licolnshire meant that a person would try not to leave the county the lived in. Adlingfleet is in Yorkshire, Garthorpe (a mile away) is in Lincolnshire. The B1392 follows the course of the old River Don, on the Lincs side. It stays in Lincs, even though this involves doubling back on itself. Between Eastoft and Luddington there are some horrific bends for no reason whatsoever, unless you consider the old river, which it still follows. I know all about this cos I was brought up in Adlingfleet, where my parents still live. I know it inside out and backwards. So there.
10. The M56 & The M54.
Mmm. roads to exotic locations like Shrewsbury and North Wales... You can add the M50 to that as well.
11. The A19 from the A168 (A1 link) to Newcastle.
Most of this was built in 1972, and is very underused for travel to the North East. I just love the area around the A66 junction. The industry, which you see from a monstrous overpass is fantastic. No-one seems to appreciate this scenery except me!
1. The M1. All of it.
If the M1 had 3 more lanes each side I would be happy. I remember coming up on Friday nights from London to visit my parents and it would be empty. But try going back down on Sunday night oh no no aaaaghh!
2. The M25 between M40 and M4.
Oh the queues the queues...
3. The M42.
Horrible fake Brum orbital thing - bring back the A38.
4. The A15 from Jcn 4 M180 heading south towards Lincoln.
I can't stand the A15. We occasionally (difficult cos of my disability) attend the car boot sale at the old Air Force base at Hemswell and I always use the B1398 which runs parallel. This is because the A15 is straight, hilly, single carriageway (oh no) and consequently very dangerous. It's really made dangerous by the fact that the 60mph speed limit is nowhere near fast enough for some people and they insist on overtaking in almost split second heart stopping moves. Scary.
5. The M40.
The only real use is Rich Person Spotting in their huge gas guzzling motors. Boring.
6. The M11.
Essex man motorway, now bristleing with speed cameras. Decidedly unpleasant.
7. Any airport approach road.
Airports are such a novelty in our sad old country. The worst is the Heathrow Approach.
8. The M3, particularly Twyford Down.
Anyone with half a brain could see that the Twyford Down section was not a necessary route. More politics and more not listening to the public. The government really did deserve all it got for that, but the damage is done. And remember, I am a road lover. Even I can argue with policy when it doesn't respect the wishes of the public. Don't use it, find another route. The horrific fights between the thugs and the eco-warriors have cursed the route forever more and left the tarmac swamped with bad vibes. Of course, that is just my opinion, but there you are. Unpleasant and unhappy.
The M3 has upset me so much I don't want to carry on with my disliked roads. Bugger it.