C13 (Dorset)

This article is about the Class III road numbered C13 maintained by Dorset Council.
For other roads numbered C13, see C13.

The C13 is a class III road in Dorset that runs rather nicely from the B3081 to the B3082. At the Shaftesbury end, the B3081 has a junction with a short dual carriageway stretch of the A30. After 1 mile, the B3081 TOTSOs, and the C13 is born, carrying straight on. The road runs parallel with the A350 for most of its length - traffic counts in 2008 in fact showed that the C13 carries 60% more traffic than the parallel A road! And with good reason. While the A350 meanders its way under the Melbury Downs, and numerous 30 limits, the C13 starts life with a brief 20 mph speed limit and a set of traffic lights through Melbury Abbas. However, the road then climbs the prodigiously steep Spread Eagle Hill, with a very old school 1:6 warning sign.

Once up this climb the road blasts across the top of the downs to Blandford, managing a very gradual descent. While a lot of this road has a 50 limit, it still offers better progress than the A350. The road has bends enough to render overtaking difficult if there's any oncoming traffic, but some the corners on the A350 make them look tame by comparison.

The C13 meets the A350 at the Blandford Bypass' Sunrise Roundabout, before continuing into Central Blandford Forum. Salisbury Road seems to carry the number as well as Shaftesbury Road, so at the T junction between the two all three arms are the C13! The left arm as seen approaching from Shaftesbury meets back up with the A350 bypass, this time at Hill Top Roundabout with the A354. The right arm goes into the very centre of Blandford, ending on the B3082's one way system.