A6079

The A6079 is a rural A-road heading north from Hexham.

It starts on the southern side of town in the same place it always has. Originally it started on the A69 but that road now runs along the bypass so now at this point the A695 morphs into the B6305. The A6079 then heads north to cross the railway line and the River Tyne before meeting the A69 Hexham bypass at a roundabout.

Before the building of the bypass, the A6079 continued along the river bank then turned north again. This road is still visible but is now a track. Now, the A6079 multiplexes west along the A69 before regaining its number at a gap in the central reservation. It heads north once more, passing through Acomb and Wall before crossing Hadrian's Wall (largely invisible at this point) and reaching the B6318 Military Road.

Old railway bridge

Continuing north, the A6079 follows the bank of the River North Tyne for a short distance before turning slightly east under a disused railway bridge before going through Chollerton. The road continues for another couple of miles across the fields and ends on the A68 in the middle of nowhere. Colwell, the next village, is about a mile straight ahead along the B6342.

History

Originally the A6079 continued north west beyond the A68, along what is now an extended B6342 to meet the A696 near Kirkharle. While the route was still complete in the 1970s, this northern end was subsequently downgraded.