B1396
| B1396 | |||||||
| Location Map ( geo) | |||||||
| |||||||
| From: | Bessacar (SE603022) | ||||||
| To: | Haxey (SK774997) | ||||||
| Via: | Blaxton | ||||||
| Distance: | 11.3 miles (18.2 km) | ||||||
| Meets: | A638, A614, A161 | ||||||
| Primary Destinations | |||||||
| Highway Authorities | |||||||
| Traditional Counties | |||||||
| Route outline (key) | |||||||
| |||||||
The B1396 is a cross-country B-road in the East of England. It was originally unclassified but gained its number by the time of the 1929-30 revision of the relevant OS Ministry of Transport Road Map.
The route starts at traffic lights on the A638 (former A1) in the Bessacar area of Doncaster and heads east through some leafy suburbs, passing over two roundabouts with unclassified roads on the way. There's a brief rural section as we go over the M18, after which we pass through Branton, the home of the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, followed almost immediately by Auckley, where we cross the River Tone. This first half of the route gets very busy with commuter traffic from the various dormitory villages to the east of Doncaster.
The road now passes through about a mile of open countryside, interrupted only by a set of traffic lights with one of Doncaster Airport's original link roads. Soon we cross the A614 at a roundabout in Blaxton, in the outermost reaches of the Doncaster commuter zone, before following a dead-straight road into the Fens. Now a much quieter road, the B1396 briefly enters Nottinghamshire (where it is the northernmost public road in the county) before it runs into Lincolnshire and we reach the village of Westwoodside.
At a mini roundabout (where heavy and longer-distance traffic is directed onto an unclassified road passing south of both Westwoodside and Haxey to meet the A161 further south) we must turn left to remain on the B1396. The reason for the diversion of non-local traffic becomes clear as our route becomes bendy once again and narrows sufficiently as we pass through the rest of Westwoodside for the road to lose its centre line.
A very brief run of countryside now separates us from Haxey, along a road that remains rather narrow. After passing the church the road splits. The mainline continues ahead through the centre of Haxey to end at a T-junction on the A161 while the left fork follows a slightly longer route and enters open country before meeting the A161 north of the village.
