Ipley Cross

Ipley Cross is a rural crossroads in the New Forest between Lyndhurst and Hythe. An ornate metal fingerpost marks the junction and indicates its name.

The crossroads from a nearby hill, showing the angle at which the roads meet

The arms of the crossroads are directly opposite one another, but offset slightly from 90 degrees. It is this arrangement that has made the junction hazardous for cyclists as car traffic heading from the Lyndhurst direction towards Hythe can have a cyclist obscured on approach behind the car's "A pillar", meaning that at a certain relative speed, the cyclist is not visible to the driver on approach to the junction while at the same time, the car is effectively approaching from behind the driver, so the cyclist is also unable to see the driver.

As the New Forest area as a whole is popular with cyclists, the junction was re-marked from "Give Way" to include "Stop" markings in 2017, and cycle signs painted on the road to try and reduce the possibility of further accidents occurring.

The junction layout after works to convert junction to a staggered crossroads

In 2020, Hampshire Council announced that they were going to spend £457,000 to alter the layout to a staggered junction, by making the western arm give way at an angle of 90 degrees, 50 metres south of the current junction. These works were complete by January 2022.

Routes

Route	To	Notes
	Colbury
	Beaulieu
C97	Lyndhurst, Beaulieu Road Station
Error: C97 (Hampshire) does not exist
C97	Hythe, The Waterside
Error: C97 (Hampshire) does not exist

Videos

Tom Scott - Why this British Crossroads is so Dangerous

Ipley Cross, in the middle of the New Forest, is one of the most dangerous road junctions in Britain. Why?

Watch video > >

Links

• Single Track World: Ipley Cross - Why This Type Of Road Junction Will Keep Killing Cyclists  January 2018