A384
| A384 | |||||||||||||
| Location Map ( geo) | |||||||||||||
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| From: | Buckfastleigh (SX746668) | ||||||||||||
| To: | Dartington (SX786622) | ||||||||||||
| Distance: | 4.3 miles (6.9 km) | ||||||||||||
| Meets: | A38, A385 | ||||||||||||
| Former Number(s): | B3206 | ||||||||||||
| Old route now: | B3362, B3357, A385 | ||||||||||||
| Primary Destinations | |||||||||||||
| Highway Authorities | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Counties | |||||||||||||
| Route outline (key) | |||||||||||||
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Route
At one time a long road from Cornwall across Dartmoor to the south Devon coast, the A384 has gradually lost much of its length and is now a short road leading off the A38 Devon Expressway.
Buckfastleigh - Dartington
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The present A384 begins at a diamond interchange on the A38 near Buckfastleigh, and runs southeastwards through the steep-sided Dart valley, just uphill from the South Devon railway . A mile before we reach Dartington, we cross the railway followed immediately by the river. We then run into Dartington where the road terminates on the A385 at Shinner's Bridge, north west of Totnes.
History
The A384 is described in the 1922 Road Lists as Ashburton - Tavistock - Launceston (Lawhitton). The road started on the A388 to the south of Launceston. After crossing into Devon it reached to Tavistock where it crossed the A386. The road then ran across Dartmoor, passing to the north of Princetown and following the River Dart to Ashburton, where it ended on the A38.
In the early 1930s the road was extended east via a short multiplex along the A38 then along the entire route of the B3206 as far as Totnes, where it ended on the A385 in the town centre. By the 1970s the A385 had been rerouted west of Totnes, taking on the section of A384 from there to Dartington.
It was later decided that having a Class I road running across Dartmoor was not a good idea and the entire A384 west of the A38 was downgraded to Class II status, becoming the B3362 from Launceston to Tavistock and the B3357 from there to Ashburton, leaving the section between the A38 and Dartington as the sole remaining stretch of A384. Further numbering changes in Devon have rerouted the B3362 to avoid Tavistock and declassified the road from Dartmeet to Ashburton. As such these sections of road are unusual as being a former A-road that is now completely unclassified without a bypass having been built.
Original Author(s): Simon Davies
