A4251
A4251 | |||||||
Location Map ( geo) | |||||||
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From: | Kings Langley (TL075014) | ||||||
To: | Wigginton (SP935111) | ||||||
Distance: | 12.1 miles (19.5 km) | ||||||
Meets: | A41, M25, A414, A4146, B4505, A41, A416, B4506, B4635, A41 | ||||||
Former Number(s): | A41 | ||||||
Old route now: | B4635 | ||||||
Primary Destinations | |||||||
Highway Authorities | |||||||
Traditional Counties | |||||||
Route outline (key) | |||||||
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The A4251 is the old A41, bypassed by the A41(M) plan. Originally just the Tring section, it was extended when the Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead bypasses opened as part of the A41. The original Tring section has since been downgraded to become the B4635.
The road starts at M25 J20, where the A41 leaves its original route and the A4251 starts off by heading north. Soon there's a roundabout for an industrial estate and then we enter Kings Langley. The road runs through the centre of town before leaving along Hempstead Road. A brief rural section leads us to the village of Rucklers Lane, where we meet the eponymous lane at traffic lights just before we go under the West Coast Main Line.
We now pass along the narrow gap between the railway line and the Grand Union Canal through the suburbs. After Apsley station we go through a retail park with an old church unexpectedly off the road to the left. We soon cross the A414 at traffic lights; that road leads to the centre of Hemel Hempstead whilst we pass to the south of the town centre, even skirting a couple of fields. We soon meet the A4146 at another roundabout and head to the west out of town. After passing Hemel Hempstead station we go under the railway and the A41. The B4505 turns left at traffic lights and we begin to enter open country, although there are still some houses lining the road.
We then cross the A41 at a dumbbell GSJ and pass through the attractive village of Bourne End before returning to the fields for less than a mile to reach the outskirts of Berkhampstead. We run along the town's High Street and meet the A416 at traffic lights. Presently it's back to open country. We go through the unusually named Cow Roast before returning to the A41. The two roads run parallel for over a mile before a dumbbell GSJ is met where the A4251 terminates on the A41. The B4635, ahead, was once a continuation of the A4251.