A6136

The A6136 is a somewhat roundabout road serving Catterick Garrison in north Yorkshire. Originally unclassified the road came into existence around 1935, presumably to serve the garrison.

The road starts at a roundabout on the A6108 on the edge of Richmond town centre and appears to head along the back streets. It starts by heading east along Dundas Street before bending sharply right into Frenchgate then even more sharply left into Station Road. We then descend through parkland to cross the River Swale and pass the old station, now a community centre.

We follow the edge of the valley downstream for a few hundred yards then bear sharply right and climb Longwood Bank. We head south once more and it's not long before we reach the military town of Catterick Garrison. The town has the air of a New Town, with housing estates off to the side and the main road not particularly built-up. After the first roundabout we become lined with houses on the left. At the second roundabout, after crossing a stream, we turn left to head eastwards.

Crossing the A1, before the A1 became a motorway

We remain semi-urban until we pass the hospital after which we reenter the open fields (but still with some military buildings off to the sides). It's not long before the next settlement, Colburn, after which we descend once more into the valley of the River Swale. Soon after we reach the eastern end of the A6136, where the A6055 TOTSOs ahead.

The road to the left, now the A6055 is the old pre-motorway route of the A6136, which used to go over the A1 at a bridge that seems wider than necessary; this was because the old railway line to Catterick Garrison ran alongside the road here and both crossed the same bridge. The road then passed Catterick Racecourse to reach a T-junction. This is the original eastern end of the A6136, where it ended on the A1. Later, however, the road took over that road's pre-bypass route in both directions. The road to the north is now the A6055 whilst the road to the south is unclassified.

Turning left to head north the road crossed the ancient Catterick Bridge to enter Brompton-on-Swale. The B6272 and B6271 were met in quick succession, the latter at traffic lights, and it's not long before the A6055 crosses the A1(M), with the road ahead being the former southbound sliproads whilst traffic needs to turn off to continue northbound.

The other, now unclassified branch of the former A6136 heads south from Catterick Bridge around the other side of the racecourse. At the far end we enter Catterick itself and run through town along the High Street. On the far side of town we reach the A6055, which was routed along the former A1, to meet the A6136 further north. Before the upgrade of the A1 to motorway, there was a full access junction here, this one seemed to have been stretched to fit into the available space and also provided access to an unclassified road to the west, which with the upgrade to motorway was re-routed to meet the A6055 slightly further north.