Longest Straights

[B1040]

The Old North Road from Royston to Godmanchester (A1198) used to be cited.
It now has roundabouts and bypasses for Caxton and Papworth.
It's never felt like a "point the car in the right direction with the steering lock on and you'll get there" sort of road. Possibly the undulations between Arrington and Caxton make it feel curvier than it is.

[c2R]

The longest I've driven I think is I-80 east towards Salt Lake City - I think it was just shy of 80km in a dead straight line across the desert....

[Owain]

I’ve never been to Australia but I’m an avid fan of the TV series Outback Truckers, which several times features the longest straight in Australia (and apparently the world), the ‘ninety miles straight’ on the Eyre Highway crossing the Nullabor Plain.

Yep, you have to give Aus a special mention. I have driven much of it and straights less than 50km are not even going to make a top 50. It's crackers.

My favourite was this one in WA which is around 100km long:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/tDyfKw6Y6KYMvVCaA

Stunning.

Isn't the one across the Nullabor Plain considered dangerous because it is straight for so long. 140 km on a road with a limit of 110 km/h.

I discussed driving from Adelaide to Perth with an Australian I met at a conference, and he said "You can cruise most of it at a hundred miles an hour".

So, a bit like many of the autostrade then, except that it's S2 and if you get into trouble nobody's coming to help!

[exiled]

I discussed driving from Adelaide to Perth with an Australian I met at a conference, and he said "You can cruise most of it at a hundred miles an hour".

So, a bit like many of the autostrade then, except that it's S2 and if you get into trouble nobody's coming to help!

I seem to recall it is of the same issue as some North American roads.

A dead straight road, this case 140 km, through largely unchanging territory, the Nullabor (from the Latin for No Trees), is for a car doing the limit POV unchanging, in cars that are largely automatics, so it can be soporific to drivers.

Add in road trains on an S2 as well, and the journey from Adelaide in South Australia to Perth is 2700 km with the only compulsory stop being the checkpoint between WA and SA, it is not a recipe for a safe road. When the driving instructions include 'Stay on NH-1 for over 2,500 km' and 'set clocks back to local time' you know you have a long journey ahead!

[roadtester]

I discussed driving from Adelaide to Perth with an Australian I met at a conference, and he said "You can cruise most of it at a hundred miles an hour".

So, a bit like many of the autostrade then, except that it's S2 and if you get into trouble nobody's coming to help!

I seem to recall it is of the same issue as some North American roads.

A dead straight road, this case 140 km, through largely unchanging territory, the Nullabor (from the Latin for No Trees), is for a car doing the limit POV unchanging, in cars that are largely automatics, so it can be soporific to drivers.

Add in road trains on an S2 as well, and the journey from Adelaide in South Australia to Perth is 2700 km with the only compulsory stop being the checkpoint between WA and SA, it is not a recipe for a safe road. When the driving instructions include 'Stay on NH-1 for over 2,500 km' and 'set clocks back to local time' you know you have a long journey ahead!

Much of the drama on Outback Truckers revolves around heavily-laden multi-trailer road trains over-taking each other on long straights. Some of these last minutes and miles, and rely heavily on radio contact and co-operation between the drivers.

Amazing skills.

[AAndy]

Seven Mile Straight I measure as 6.9 miles - https://www.google.com/maps/@54.6797901 ... ?entry=ttu

Is the A15 north of Lincoln not renowned for being straight - albeit redirected for an RAF runway and a rounabout at Caenby Corner

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Caenb ... ?entry=ttu

Yes, according to the AA and the Guinness book of records it is sthe straightest bit of road in the UK.....and I've done a video of it here: https://youtu.be/-LNgNPgw3Jw?feature=shared

The flatest straightest bit of road (Flat does make more of a visual impact) in the UK 've come across is the A47 west of Great Yarmouth: https://youtu.be/JrDPavKmRw0?feature=shared

[wrinkly]

The flatest straightest bit of road (Flat does make more of a visual impact) in the UK 've come across is the A47 west of Great Yarmouth: https://youtu.be/JrDPavKmRw0?feature=shared

There's a slight typo in the heading in the still at the start of that video, though it vanishes the instant I click on the go symbol.

The straight west of Great Yarmouth is known as the Acle Straight - even the DfT/NH call it that - and is mentioned in the first post of this thread.

Are there any other straights in GB that are well known by name?

[rileyrob]

The straight west of Great Yarmouth is known as the Acle Straight - even the DfT/NH call it that - and is mentioned in the first post of this thread.

Are there any other straights in GB that are well known by name?

There are a few on the A82 I can think of, although none are very long, and some aren't very straight. Not sure any of them are referred to officially either.
There is the (Craig) Dunain Straight coming out of Inverness, then the Fort Augustus Straight and further south the (Loch) Lochy Straights along the shores of Loch Lochy. Either side of Bridge of Orchy are the Bridge of Orchy Straight and Auch Straight. The A828 has the Appin Straights between Duror and Appin.
Also on the A82, coming south out of Fort William the name Three Mile Water presumably originally referred to the River Kiachnish, but is now used to refer to the short straight. Also, between the roundabout and village, the 'Ballachulish Racetrack' is a pair of short straights. This last was named soon after it opened as the local youngsters would race up and down between Glencoe or Ballachulish and the roundabout! From what I've been told it wasn't easy for most of their cars to exceed the speed limit back then. Different story today of course.
All are well known as good overtaking opportunities which is presumably why they have become known by name.

I'm sure there must be hundreds of other straights that are well known locally, but perhaps not particularly widely.

[solocle]

The straight west of Great Yarmouth is known as the Acle Straight - even the DfT/NH call it that - and is mentioned in the first post of this thread.

Are there any other straights in GB that are well known by name?

There are a few on the A82 I can think of, although none are very long, and some aren't very straight. Not sure any of them are referred to officially either.
There is the (Craig) Dunain Straight coming out of Inverness, then the Fort Augustus Straight and further south the (Loch) Lochy Straights along the shores of Loch Lochy. Either side of Bridge of Orchy are the Bridge of Orchy Straight and Auch Straight. The A828 has the Appin Straights between Duror and Appin.
Also on the A82, coming south out of Fort William the name Three Mile Water presumably originally referred to the River Kiachnish, but is now used to refer to the short straight. Also, between the roundabout and village, the 'Ballachulish Racetrack' is a pair of short straights. This last was named soon after it opened as the local youngsters would race up and down between Glencoe or Ballachulish and the roundabout! From what I've been told it wasn't easy for most of their cars to exceed the speed limit back then. Different story today of course.
All are well known as good overtaking opportunities which is presumably why they have become known by name.

I'm sure there must be hundreds of other straights that are well known locally, but perhaps not particularly widely.

A bit of elevation makes the A82 ones really striking.

[Bryn666]

It undulates horrendously so driving fast is often destined to end in tears but the former A6025, now B6114, south of the Scammonden Bridge has two one mile straights with a single bend between them both.

[Owain]

One of my earliest posts on SABRE was about the potential dangers of long straight roads.

[Summers-lad]

Surely Aberdeen wins, they have a road called the Lang Stracht, which may have been longer at some point since the also have the Old Lang Stracht.

In either case its not actually that long so it wouldn't have won due to its length, but must win due to its name.

Vince

Yes, it was longer before the A944 was re-routed along it and given a new curve to meet its original route. Most of it was previously B983 but the western half mile or so was (and remains) an unclassified road.
It's a shame the western bit has the English "Old" and not the Scots "Aal" in its name, when the rest of its name is Scots.

[Summers-lad]

The straight west of Great Yarmouth is known as the Acle Straight - even the DfT/NH call it that - and is mentioned in the first post of this thread.

Are there any other straights in GB that are well known by name?

There are a few on the A82 I can think of, although none are very long, and some aren't very straight. Not sure any of them are referred to officially either.
There is the (Craig) Dunain Straight coming out of Inverness, then the Fort Augustus Straight and further south the (Loch) Lochy Straights along the shores of Loch Lochy. Either side of Bridge of Orchy are the Bridge of Orchy Straight and Auch Straight. The A828 has the Appin Straights between Duror and Appin.
Also on the A82, coming south out of Fort William the name Three Mile Water presumably originally referred to the River Kiachnish, but is now used to refer to the short straight. Also, between the roundabout and village, the 'Ballachulish Racetrack' is a pair of short straights. This last was named soon after it opened as the local youngsters would race up and down between Glencoe or Ballachulish and the roundabout! From what I've been told it wasn't easy for most of their cars to exceed the speed limit back then. Different story today of course.
All are well known as good overtaking opportunities which is presumably why they have become known by name.

I'm sure there must be hundreds of other straights that are well known locally, but perhaps not particularly widely.

The Lang Stracht in Aberdeen, mentioned already by Belgarion, is an obvious one.

[Summers-lad]

I'm just back from a trip to Caithness where there are some really long straights on the roads, many exceeding a mile and some stretching past 2 miles. This set me wondering where the longest straights of varying standards are around the British Isles.

I think as far as single carriageway A roads are concerned, the A846 on Islay at 6.6 miles must be the longest, and if you include the minor road beyond it is 7.2miles (The Acle Straight on the A47 is 'only' 4.5 miles). In Caithness, the A836 through Murkle between Thurso and Castletown exceeds 3 very hilly miles.
If you can ignore the give way at the crossroads, this unclassified, single track straight in Caithness is 4.1 miles. There are lots of ups and downs, but it's longer than anything else I've encountered on a single track road.
Both the B870 and B874 have single track straights extending to about 2 miles, which could be a record for a single track B road.

I'm guessing that the longest straight will be found on a motorway or new-build dual carriageway somewhere, but what other contenders are there?

The A96 used to have 5 miles dead straight west of Nairn, starting at the junction with the B9092. A good part of it remains but the Gollanfield flyover across the railway split the straight into two parts, and west of the flyover, upgrades slightly off the original line have further reduced the straight lengths.

[wallmeerkat]

There are a few roads near me that look straight on a map, but in practice you cannot overtake as they are like roller coasters in terms of undulations

https://www.google.com/maps/@54.4725059 ... ?entry=ttu

[Owain]

There are a few roads near me that look straight on a map, but in practice you cannot overtake as they are like roller coasters in terms of undulations

https://www.google.com/maps/@54.4725059 ... ?entry=ttu

If you want one that's undulation-free, this was always my favourite.

[wallmeerkat]

There are a few roads near me that look straight on a map, but in practice you cannot overtake as they are like roller coasters in terms of undulations

https://www.google.com/maps/@54.4725059 ... ?entry=ttu

If you want one that's undulation-free, this was always my favourite.

Given that neck of the woods I'd dare say a favourite of motorbikers?

[Owain]

There are a few roads near me that look straight on a map, but in practice you cannot overtake as they are like roller coasters in terms of undulations

https://www.google.com/maps/@54.4725059 ... ?entry=ttu

If you want one that's undulation-free, this was always my favourite.

Given that neck of the woods I'd dare say a favourite of motorbikers?

No, actually - I didn't used to see any when commuting along there. I guess because it's so straight, it might be too boring for them!