A437

This article is about the current A437, which runs from Heathrow Airport to part of Hillingdon.
For the original, a road that connected Gloucester to Newport, see A437 (Gloucester - Newport).

Route

The A437 is yet another road numbering anomaly brought about by re-using an old number.

The present A437 runs from the A4 near Heathrow along what was once the A312 and then via a couple of old B-roads to meet the A40.

Heathrow - North Hillingdon

The road has its origin amongst the airport hotels, and heads north through Harlington, another of the villages under threat from a third runway. We then cross the M4, where we run north as Station Road towards a T junction with the A437 (!) North Hyde Road in Hayes. From here, both a left and a right will take us on the A437, but I would describe the right turn as a spur as it leads a short distance to the A312. Therefore we must turn left to continue on our route. We pass some business premises, then reach a roundabout where we almost double back on ourselves, so we are heading north once again, now on the original line of the B464.

We continue through more industrial estates before crossing over the Grand Union Canal. Now the "scenery" improves a little as we move past residential areas on the right and the Stockley Park Golf Course on the left. Soon after, we cross the B465 West Drayton Road, giving a link to the A4020 Uxbridge Road to the east and the A408 to the southwest. There's a short stretch of dual carriageway, then a couple of roundabouts, then we continue north until we join the A4020 in Hillingdon. Although the angle of approach suggests that we must turn left on the A4020, to continue on the A437 we must take a right, along a short multiplex with the A4020, then turn left into Long Lane, a typical west London suburban scene. (Actually turning right onto the A4020 would be a banned turn so you must turn left then use a U-turning space in the middle of the road later on. If you did really want to get from Harlington Road to Long Lane the signposted route is via unclassified Lees Road. A bit strange). They were originally two separate roads though.

Long Lane in Hillingdon

Soon, we reach the A40 Western Avenue near Hillingdon Tube station, and the A437 puts out a long pair of slips to the A40 west, as well as from the A40 in the east. The sliproads here appear to be the old A40 prior to the construction of Western Avenue. Traffic heading to the eastbound A40 must continue ahead along the dual carriageway over the A40 then bear right at traffic lights onto the slip road. The road ahead is the B466 and this classification used to apply to the section of Long Lane we've already travelled as well until it was up-classified to an A-road.