A354 Dorchester to Salisbury in Hampshire

[WHBM]

Just came today along one of my more favourite roads, the A354 from Dorchester to Salisbury. Even with the summer traffic overload and jams down on the A35 around Dorchester, once you get onto this road, summer or winter, as today, it's a great, easy, straight, invariably traffic free run at 50mph or more across the uplands. It's mostly in Dorset, with the Salisbury end in Wiltshire.

But for a couple of miles it cuts through a far western little salient of Hampshire, just inside the border. There's no settlement of consequence there, and no other connection to Hampshire apart from working south-eastwards through some back lanes. And yet the Hampshire bit was upgraded, by the look of the design standards some time in the 1960s, to dual carriageway. But none of the rest of the road.

Any idea why Hampshire might have done this isolated dualling on a route otherwise quite irrelevant to the county ?

[RichardA35]

Any idea why Hampshire might have done this isolated dualling on a route otherwise quite irrelevant to the county ?

A story told to me some time ago by a parish councillor at Martin, just beside the dual carriageway, was that there was a three way agreement of a programme to improve the A354 along its whole length but that Hampshire were the only authority to actually commit any funding, hence the short stretch. By the time the Blandford bypass came along, I presume funding was far more difficult to achieve.

[BaggieBoy]

When I joined SABRE I was asked for my favourite road, I said the A354. In the mid 70's I used to travel from the Reading area to Blandford quite often on business and loved this section. Quite easy to exceed the speed limit on some sections. One of my colleagues got done for doing 100+, the police measured the time he crested two sections and calculated the average speed.

[DavidB]

I loved the A354 too when I was young. Every year we went on holiday from Reading to Weymouth and the road was my favourite part of the journey. I was always intrigued by the section through the part of Hampshire, I used to wonder how that was possible when surely the county was much further to the east? One sight I always looked out for was the fingerpost to '6D Handley' and my Dad would often take a short diversion in Blandford Forum to go underneath the old Somerset & Dorset railway viaduct. Finally I'd anticipate the end of the road at Puddletown as that meant that Dorchester and the final leg of the journey was very near.

[Vierwielen]

When my in-laws were alive, I used to often drive along the M3, past Basingstoke and on to Bournemouth. I tried the A354 on the odd occasion, but found that the hold-up going through Salisbury was not worth it.

[Berk]

When my in-laws were alive, I used to often drive along the M3, past Basingstoke and on to Bournemouth. I tried the A354 on the odd occasion, but found that the hold-up going through Salisbury was not worth it.

Does Salisbury suffer from rush-hour traffic?? To an outsider, it wouldn’t appear to...

[JDY777]

Salisbury just suffers from traffic! Admittedly it is worse at peak times, but have seen 20min+ delays any time of the day

[andrewwoods]

I've been commuting from Oxford to Poole once a week for 15 years.
Until recently the A34-M3-M27-A31 was the best route unless there was an actual incident.
Over the last year, I've found that the A30, A354, A350 is much quicker and more reliable.

Salisbury is just a bottleneck, but it's rarely more than a few minutes to get through. (The A36 is a different matter, though).

Andrew

[WHBM]

Rather than just the A30, routing A303 to Andover then the A343 towards Salisbury seems more straightforward. In style, the latter is just like a continuation of the A354 northwards; it's a bit surprising they weren't numbered as one throughout. It has a notably stylish trumpet junction with the A303 at Andover.

[andrewwoods]

Rather than just the A30, routing A303 to Andover then the A343 towards Salisbury seems more straightforward. In style, the latter is just like a continuation of the A354 northwards; it's a bit surprising they weren't numbered as one throughout. It has a notably stylish trumpet junction with the A303 at Andover.

It does look better on a map, but the A30 is better on the ground - it's a straight road with easy overtaking.
The A303 is OK, but the A343 is quite slow.

[multiraider2]

I've used the A354 for several years now since discovering it on a trip to Weymouth. Such holiday started almost at breakfast time because of not understanding just how fast this route is. Subsequently as an alternative to the A303. Even the summer holidays don't seem to affect it and coming across a 50mph plodder alows easy overtaking opportunities because of its fantastic sight lines. I don't find Salisbury too bad in respect of the A354/A30 connection. So Bournemouth, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall trips have me using it. The short Hampshire dual carriageway is just icing on the cake.

Only the Dorset Steam Fair would have me avoiding it, unless I was going to that great event.

[A303Chris]

I loved the A354 too when I was young. Every year we went on holiday from Reading to Weymouth and the road was my favourite part of the journey. I was always intrigued by the section through the part of Hampshire, I used to wonder how that was possible when surely the county was much further to the east? One sight I always looked out for was the fingerpost to '6D Handley' and my Dad would often take a short diversion in Blandford Forum to go underneath the old Somerset & Dorset railway viaduct. Finally I'd anticipate the end of the road at Puddletown as that meant that Dorchester and the final leg of the journey was very near.

Small world, our family holidays were at Corfe Castle in the 70s and the chosen route for my father was A30, A354 then A350 to the B3075 cutting across to the A351 at Sandford. The A354 was and still is a great drive. I mentioned on here a couple of years ago that its AADT is only around 7000 / 8000 vehicles per day which is peanuts for a primary road these days!!!!

[SteveA30]

It is a quiet and straight road but, my enjoyment is often spoiled by those for whom 60 isn't fast enough. You can't do Salisbury to Blandford without someone catching up at some point. I hardly ever do the western section but, that is also quiet, if more bendy.
Even quieter are the A352 and A356. A352 also spoilt by tailgaters though. Central Dorset away from the coast is quiet even at this time of year. The A30 from Wilton to Sherborne is also a country lane most of the time. Then there are 3 miles of wonderful old fashioned D2 to Yeovil, where the fun stops and congestion takes over. Best to U turn at the first rbt (Starbucks on left) and return.

[andrewwoods]

I drove Oxfordshire to Dorset yesterday afternoon, in my 1966 Land Rover.
I have a maximum comfortable speed of about 50mph.

I used the A30/A354/A350 to avoid the motorway and the A31 across the forest.

I seemed to have two types of people behind me - those who HAD to overtake, straight away, even if there were double white lines or something coming, or both! - and those who would sit behind until there was a section of dual carriageway.

If I think that I'm holding people up, because there's a queue developing behind and there's no opportunity to pass me, then I'll pull over and have a short stop. If there's plenty of opportunity to pass and nobody does, then I'm not causing a problem!

[SteveA30]

Agreed. The worse types are those who given a clear gap to overtake, don't, whereas I would. If they don't have the nerve to perform a slick overtake then...don't drive fast. I often count 2,3,4 times that they could have gone. Highly annoying because they are just being a pest for longer than is necessary.

[Berk]

Worse still, tractor or tipper drivers who just DON’T pull in - even when there’s a layby to use. And make everyone crawl up the hill at their pace...

One thing I can’t understand though. The A36 near Deptford has a short dual section (running above the A303). Only that now has a 50 limit on it. Unless the next vehicle is a tractor or tipper, how on earth are you supposed to use it to overtake without speeding??

[Chris Bertram]

Worse still, tractor or tipper drivers who just DON’T pull in - even when there’s a layby to use. And make everyone crawl up the hill at their pace...

One thing I can’t understand though. The A36 near Deptford has a short dual section (running above the A303). Only that now has a 50 limit on it. Unless the next vehicle is a tractor or tipper, how on earth are you supposed to use it to overtake without speeding??

It's not for overtaking, it's for the local Talivan crew to pick off those unwise enough to try to make progress.

[Berk]

Oh there’s quite a few other spots along the way there for them to use.

I did go up to 70, but fully alert and watching just in case. Needn’t have worried though.

Slowed gently (back to 50) for the lights, and didn’t need to stop. Mr Angry driving a low-loader wanted me to speed up again!!