B6254

Route

The B6254 is a long, U-shaped B-road in northwest England.

Section 1: Carnforth - Kirkby Lonsdale

The B6254 at its junction with the A601(M)

The road starts at traffic lights in the centre of Carnforth and heads east through town, soon crossing the Lancaster Canal at a narrow bridge with flow controlled by traffic lights. Just after leaving town the road goes over the M6 and quickly meets the infamous Carnforth Link which, since downgrading in 2020, is now the B6601. The link is about a km of high quality single carriageway which opened in 1987 and provides access to M6 J35.

The road then begins to climb away from the coastal plain. It goes through Over Kellet and continues across the gently undulating terrain of this part of Lancashire. The next place of any size, Arkholme, does not appear for a few miles - and the road only skirts the edge of the village. The Leeds to Morecambe railway line is then crossed, by the closed Arkholme station.

The road is now once again at fairly low altitude: it is in the valley of the River Lune although the river remains some distance to the right. The road goes through Newton and Whittington before going round Sellet Bank to reach Kirkby Lonsdale and the A65. Originally the road ended here but it had been extended by the mid-1920s to provide a loop off the A65, more than doubling the length of the B6254.

Section 2: Kirkby Lonsdale - Kendal

The B6254 looking back towards Kirkby

After crossing the A65 the B6254 meets the B6446 in the centre of Kirkby Lonsdale, and between them they make a partially one-way box around the historic town centre. This sees the B6254 have a spur along Mitchelgate, although thanks to the one-way system it is only possible to drive down it onto the mainline! At the bottom of the hill, we reach Market Street, and the road then heads northwest out of the town through Queens Square and onto Fairbank, which climbs out of town.

We are now in typical 'northern' upland territory, with rolling hills scattered with farmhouses, barns and occasionally hamlets but no places of any size. It is, however, a fun road to drive, with crests, bends and short straights whilst never particularly narrow. Eventually the M6 is reached; the road dives underneath, and so into the strung-out village of Old Hutton. Beyond the village, the road is somewhat tamer, as it makes the final approach into Kendal. The railway line has disrupted the original course of the road (early maps suggest that the B6254 originally crossed the line at a level crossing at the station itself) and so a sharp double-bend takes us around Oxenholme Station and so along Oxenholme Road to return to the A65 in Kendal, and journey's end.