B3226
B3226 | |||||||
Location Map ( geo) | |||||||
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From: | King's Nympton Station (SS662171) | ||||||
To: | South Molton By Pass (SS699281) | ||||||
Via: | South Molton | ||||||
Distance: | 10.8 miles (17.4 km) | ||||||
Meets: | A377, B3227, A361, A399 | ||||||
Former Number(s): | B3228, A361 | ||||||
Old route now: | A399 | ||||||
Highway Authorities | |||||||
Traditional Counties | |||||||
Route outline (key) | |||||||
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Route
The B3226 is a rural B-road in mid-Devon.
It starts on the A377 at King's Nympton railway station. Before the 1950s this station was called South Molton Road, which is apt given our destination. After cutting the corner the B3226 heads northwards following the valley of the River Bray upstream. The river is crossed after less than a mile.
The B3226 crosses the river again at Clapworthy, after which it leaves the river and continues as an S2 country road to South Molton. It passes through the town with its narrow streets, has a very short multiplex with the B3227, and sets off again signposted Barnstaple.
The B3226 runs as far as the South Molton bypass and terminates at a roundabout there. The other roads are the A361 and A399.
History
None of the above was numbered B3226 in the 1922 Road Lists with the exception of the extreme northernmost section. The road started on the then-A373 (numbered A361 in 1935) between South Molton and the present northern end of the B3226 and proceeded along what is now the route of the A399 as far as Blackmoor Gate where it ended on the A39 (which in those days took preference).
In 1935, the B3226 was extended south via a multiplex along the A361 into South Molton and then along the entire route of the B3228 to King's Nympton, giving the road the majority of its current route.
In the 1980s with the construction of the A361 North Devon Link Road the B3226 took over the old A361 north of South Molton. Round the same time the A399 was extended south to meet the new road, taking over the original section of the B3226.