A3066

Horn Hill Tunnel, Beaminster

The A3066 is a medium-length A-road in the West Country. Originally the B3161, it gained its current number in the late 1920s.

The road starts on the A30 just to the north of the village of Haselbury Plucknett. It heads south through this village and the next one, North Perrott, where it turns south west. It passes under the West of England Main Line before crossing the A356 at a crossroads (that road has priority) to the east of Misterton. It then crosses into Dorset, passing through Mosterton before turning sharp left at Whetley Cross, where the B3164 turns right to Broadwindsor. This junction has been improved, providing a curved cut-off to the A3066.

Running south east now, we pass through the Horn Hill Tunnel then briefly multiplex with the B3163 through the pretty village of Beaminster (pronounced Bemster), which has a wide and spacious square in the middle. The road now follows a generally southerly route through Melplash and Bradpole to Bridport. Here, it used to run down St Andrew's Road and Barrack Street to meet the A35 on East Street, but as part of that road's bypass scheme, the A3066 was diverted along the route of the old railway to meet the A35 and B3162 (East Street) at a roundabout, where the A35 picks up the railway's southerly line.