A684 and A65 going from South Yorkshire to Scotland

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Glenn A
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Re: A684 and A65 going from South Yorkshire to Scotland

Post by Glenn A »

19 years ago I decided to do Whitehaven to Sheffield on the A595, A66. A591, A65, A629 and A61. Halifax was a particular drag to get through, but Huddersfield was OK due to the D2 inner ring road. However, this was balanced out by the spectacular scenery in the Lakes, passing through Bronte country and the lack of traffic on parts of the A65 and A629.
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Re: A684 and A65 going from South Yorkshire to Scotland

Post by Owain »

belgarion wrote: Thu Jul 15, 2021 13:44 Ancient thread resurrection, and it was my first post on here back in 2007.

Reminded of this post because once again I will be heading up to Scotland soon, but the choices of roads are narrower now.
My wife insists we go up the A68 as she wants yet another photo of us at the border at Carter Bar, we have gone this way many times over the years so its to add to the history of our son growing up, this year he's 19 so may not be travelling as often with us on our journeys north.
I'd give a thumbs-up to the A68 too, although I'd suggest that using the A696 to get to it from the A1 is better than picking it up near Darlington.

We're going up too next week. The 'up' trip will take in the A75 and A77, because I've yet to add the first and last sections of A77 to my list of completed F99 roads. So, bit of a diversion there....

belgarion wrote: Thu Jul 15, 2021 13:44 Return journey is easy, M74, A66, A1, it seems to be the quickest route especially as it'll be all the way from Aberdeen, going north our initial destination is near Stirling.
Coming back, I'm thinking of taking in the A701 which looks very appealing. I'm also tempted by the A689-B6277 route from Carlisle to Barnard Castle, mentioned by another member.

That would make a change from the usual suspects, where I'm often torn between the A66-A1(M), which is certainly quick, and the A65 route which is more enjoyable but can be slow unless you drive it at night. What used to make the decision for me was whether I wanted to stop at the Tebay farm shop or not; the addition of a farm shop at Cairn Lodge services has removed this dilemma.

A little-known gem (well, not quite a gem, but still pretty good!) is the A629-A650 route between Skipton and Bradford, some of which is high-quality dual-carriageway. As I live on the western side of Leeds, I sometimes take this route, as it avoids the bottleneck at Ilkley, and the rather tedious grind through Menston, Guiseley and Rawdon into Kirkstall.
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Re: A684 and A65 going from South Yorkshire to Scotland

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Owain wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:51 A little-known gem (well, not quite a gem, but still pretty good!) is the A629-A650 route between Skipton and Bradford, some of which is high-quality dual-carriageway. As I live on the western side of Leeds, I sometimes take this route, as it avoids the bottleneck at Ilkley, and the rather tedious grind through Menston, Guiseley and Rawdon into Kirkstall.
Getting to Bingley is a royal PITA though. Once you're on the Aire Valley Road it is very plain sailing to Skipton, especially now the bottleneck at Hard Ings Road has been sorted. Just watch out for the new development roundabout on the Skipton Bypass.

I had a friend move to Bentham who I'd go pick up after work when I worked in Halifax, the A629/A65 was my route there, M6 back.
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Re: A684 and A65 going from South Yorkshire to Scotland

Post by belgarion »

Owain wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:51
belgarion wrote: Thu Jul 15, 2021 13:44 Ancient thread resurrection, and it was my first post on here back in 2007.

Reminded of this post because once again I will be heading up to Scotland soon, but the choices of roads are narrower now.
My wife insists we go up the A68 as she wants yet another photo of us at the border at Carter Bar, we have gone this way many times over the years so its to add to the history of our son growing up, this year he's 19 so may not be travelling as often with us on our journeys north.
I'd give a thumbs-up to the A68 too, although I'd suggest that using the A696 to get to it from the A1 is better than picking it up near Darlington.

We're going up too next week. The 'up' trip will take in the A75 and A77, because I've yet to add the first and last sections of A77 to my list of completed F99 roads. So, bit of a diversion there....

belgarion wrote: Thu Jul 15, 2021 13:44 Return journey is easy, M74, A66, A1, it seems to be the quickest route especially as it'll be all the way from Aberdeen, going north our initial destination is near Stirling.
Coming back, I'm thinking of taking in the A701 which looks very appealing. I'm also tempted by the A689-B6277 route from Carlisle to Barnard Castle, mentioned by another member.

That would make a change from the usual suspects, where I'm often torn between the A66-A1(M), which is certainly quick, and the A65 route which is more enjoyable but can be slow unless you drive it at night. What used to make the decision for me was whether I wanted to stop at the Tebay farm shop or not; the addition of a farm shop at Cairn Lodge services has removed this dilemma.

A little-known gem (well, not quite a gem, but still pretty good!) is the A629-A650 route between Skipton and Bradford, some of which is high-quality dual-carriageway. As I live on the western side of Leeds, I sometimes take this route, as it avoids the bottleneck at Ilkley, and the rather tedious grind through Menston, Guiseley and Rawdon into Kirkstall.
The A696 would be my usual route when going up the A68, I've done the A68 from Darlington and it did seem to drag on a bit.
I've done most of the A75/A77 when we stayed in Dumfries and Ayr, but not done it all, that is a bit of a diversion :D
I've also done the A629-A650 route - we were going to see the Ribblehead Viaduct on route to Dumfries, I need a decent way past Bradford for that one though, maybe it was the sat-nav in my Lexus, it did suggest some odd things at times.
Tebay is always worth considering a minor detour for, on a return form Aberdeen we once stopped there for a Sunday Dinner, better than a burger on the motorway.

Glad I resurrected this thread, certainly seems to have brought out a few suggestions.

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Re: A684 and A65 going from South Yorkshire to Scotland

Post by Owain »

belgarion wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 13:29The A696 would be my usual route when going up the A68, I've done the A68 from Darlington and it did seem to drag on a bit.
And, of course, the A697 through Coldstream is a lovely drive .... but you'd miss the point where the A68 crosses the border.

When I took that route southbound, the only bad thing was that I was surprised to discover how far north I was and how far I still had to go, when I joined the A1 around midnight!
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Re: A684 and A65 going from South Yorkshire to Scotland

Post by crb11 »

Owain wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:51
A little-known gem (well, not quite a gem, but still pretty good!) is the A629-A650 route between Skipton and Bradford, some of which is high-quality dual-carriageway. As I live on the western side of Leeds, I sometimes take this route, as it avoids the bottleneck at Ilkley, and the rather tedious grind through Menston, Guiseley and Rawdon into Kirkstall.
Slight diversion, but is there a good route from this to the M62E (or M1S)? I've gone this way to the Dales a couple of times and it's a great road, but then got snarled up trying to get round (or through) Bradford to or from the M606 or A650.
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Re: A684 and A65 going from South Yorkshire to Scotland

Post by stu531 »

Personally speaking, if I've been working in Leeds and wanted to head up towards the Dales (A65 way) I've gone up to Pool in Wharfedale, taken the B6161 for a couple of miles, then crossed over to the B6451 to the A59. That way you bypass Ilkley and the traffic around Menston. The A59 and B6451 are great drives as well.

So by extension, one route I'd recommend from Skipton back to the M62E would be: A59, B6451, Farnley Road, B6161, and then the A659 east to Collingham to pick up the A1 there before heading south.

If you're heading to the M1 itself then the A61 into Leeds from the A659 is IMHO a better route in than taking the A65 or A660 (through Headingley).
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Re: A684 and A65 going from South Yorkshire to Scotland

Post by Owain »

crb11 wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 01:26
Owain wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:51
A little-known gem (well, not quite a gem, but still pretty good!) is the A629-A650 route between Skipton and Bradford, some of which is high-quality dual-carriageway. As I live on the western side of Leeds, I sometimes take this route, as it avoids the bottleneck at Ilkley, and the rather tedious grind through Menston, Guiseley and Rawdon into Kirkstall.
Slight diversion, but is there a good route from this to the M62E (or M1S)? I've gone this way to the Dales a couple of times and it's a great road, but then got snarled up trying to get round (or through) Bradford to or from the M606 or A650.
Not that I'm aware, but stu531's suggestion above might help you. Alternatively, you could try sticking with the A629 through Halifax (although I haven't tried that yet!).

Personally, I've never found Bradford to be much of a problem. I get my cars services there, and I can invariably get from my house to the garage in about 15 minutes, even during morning rush hour. Whereas most cities have infrastructures that have been overrun by traffic levels that have increased tremendously since the 1960s, Bradford seems to have some roads that appear to have been more than capable of coping with that increase.
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Re: A684 and A65 going from South Yorkshire to Scotland

Post by FleetlinePhil »

Owain wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 09:12
crb11 wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 01:26
Owain wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:51
A little-known gem (well, not quite a gem, but still pretty good!) is the A629-A650 route between Skipton and Bradford, some of which is high-quality dual-carriageway. As I live on the western side of Leeds, I sometimes take this route, as it avoids the bottleneck at Ilkley, and the rather tedious grind through Menston, Guiseley and Rawdon into Kirkstall.
Slight diversion, but is there a good route from this to the M62E (or M1S)? I've gone this way to the Dales a couple of times and it's a great road, but then got snarled up trying to get round (or through) Bradford to or from the M606 or A650.
Not that I'm aware, but stu531's suggestion above might help you. Alternatively, you could try sticking with the A629 through Halifax (although I haven't tried that yet!).
Or come off the A629 at Denholme Gate onto the A644 through Queensbury and Shelf to Hipperholme. A left there onto the A58 will put you onto the M62 at J26. This will work slightly better southbound, due to the road layout at Denholme Gate, I suppose also avoiding a slow right turn at Hipperholme if heading north.

Alternatively, if you've got as far as Hipperholme, continue south through Brighouse and aim directly for J38 of the M1 using the B6118 from Bradley onto the A637 from Grange Moor. It's not especially fast but avoids some busy stretches of motorway if you have the time.
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Re: A684 and A65 going from South Yorkshire to Scotland

Post by crb11 »

Thanks all three of you: looks like some interesting options, and in that part of the world the scenery is more interesting off the motorways. I guess I must have been unlucky with Bradford: been through four times in the last couple of years, and three of those were basically nose to tail the whole way round (or inside) the ring road.
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Re: A684 and A65 going from South Yorkshire to Scotland

Post by Glenn A »

The A65 to the M6, if you join at Skipton, is a reasonably quiet stretch of S2. The old bottlenecks at Settle and Giggleswick have long since been by passed and progress is quite good, unless a tractor appears.
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Re: A684 and A65 going from South Yorkshire to Scotland

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Glenn A wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 15:03 The A65 to the M6, if you join at Skipton, is a reasonably quiet stretch of S2. The old bottlenecks at Settle and Giggleswick have long since been by passed and progress is quite good, unless a tractor appears.
I usually head up to Scotland by joining the A65 at Long Preston from the A682, but I take the A683/B6256/A684 to J37 rather than staying on the A65 to J36. As you say, the A65 allows for a pleasant run, and I find this takes just enough time to arrive at Tebay MSA for a pie stop!

Southbound, for no obvious reason, I've tended to stick to the M6 all the way back to the A59 or M65 before heading across to Burnley.
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Re: A684 and A65 going from South Yorkshire to Scotland

Post by Glenn A »

FleetlinePhil wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 17:30
Glenn A wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 15:03 The A65 to the M6, if you join at Skipton, is a reasonably quiet stretch of S2. The old bottlenecks at Settle and Giggleswick have long since been by passed and progress is quite good, unless a tractor appears.
I usually head up to Scotland by joining the A65 at Long Preston from the A682, but I take the A683/B6256/A684 to J37 rather than staying on the A65 to J36. As you say, the A65 allows for a pleasant run, and I find this takes just enough time to arrive at Tebay MSA for a pie stop!

Southbound, for no obvious reason, I've tended to stick to the M6 all the way back to the A59 or M65 before heading across to Burnley.
The A65 is a decent enough road, with by passes of the major settlements until you reach the A650, when it becomes non primary and is a total slog into Leeds, and the A650 is a far better.
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