A query on the prof forum interested me. How to get across London to a surrounding county? So on a stormy Sunday morning how did we get across various cities, or even to them 40, 50 or more years ago before the full Motorway network and traffic bans made them more or less obsolete? I’ve come up with half a dozen alternatives relevant today to the OP’s query.
To kick off for the 1970’s I’ll begin with another from Kent to the M1 Starting from the A2 Sun in the Sands which of course offerred an alternative over Blackheath.
M 102 A102 to Blackwall Tunnel (assuming height OK) under the river and A 102 Tunnel Approach to the M102 just north of the railway bridge at Bow. Off at Old Ford onto Wick rd alongside Victoria Park,1st right Brookfield rd to the lights. Left Wick rd/ Morning Lane to the lights and right onto Mare st. Then 50yds left at lights onto Graham rd, over lights and onto Dalston Lane, again Balls Pond rd/St Pauls rd and more sets of lights to Highbury Corner. 3rd exit A1 Holloway rd, over several lights and crossing over Seven Sisters rd to Archway r/a. Up A1 Archway/… Falloden Way to the North Circular cross over the Finchley rd and fork right at the lights to rejoin the A1 again Great North rd which ran onto the M1 just before Scratchwood Services… and you were on your way.
Get the grey cells working again then!
Southampton Docks to London mid/late 70s : Past Central Station and up The Avenue, or Teboura Way and join The Avenue further up. Beware slow speed rollovers on the Chilworth roundabout. Up to the Winchester by-pass, (did we really run through Chandlers Ford?), Hockley lights, Spitfire bridge. Kings Worthy split right for A33 London rather than A34 Newbury. Up past Popham Cafe, join M3. M-way to Sunbury and onto A316. Choice of routes here, could go from Richmond (Old Deer Lorry Park) up to A205 Sth Circular, but my normal one was a left turn to go past Kew Gardens. Over Kew Bridge, rt onto A4. Past Fullers Brewery towards Earls Court. At lights turn rt back towards the river. Along the Embankment, then over Vauxhall Bridge. Elephant and Castle (lorry park there too) over Tower Bridge (Tooley St lorry park). Now by Tower of London another choice, either up to Aldgate (lorry park) and onto A13 there, or right past Royal Mint and join A13 at Limehouse. A13 is then a straight run past Isle of Dogs, Blackwall Tunnel turning, Silvertown (Tate and Lyle), inland clearance or liftoff, for Seatrain boxes at the docks there. Parking outside on old railway lines beside the Ram Tavern. Meal in Tate and Lyles canteen.
Run past turnoff for Woolwich Ferry (that`s where you come if running sth circular from Richmond). Past Ford Dagenham with a stink of paint. Past Rainham (timber dock? Frog Island??). Purfleet, Noakes Cafe and DJV Transport for backloads.
Tilbury Docks. Overnight parking inside allowed. Eat at dockies canteen and walk outside for local pubs.
cav551:
A 102 Tunnel Approach to the M102 just north of the railway bridge at Bow. Off at Old Ford onto Wick rd alongside Victoria Park,1st right Brookfield rd to the lights. Left Wick rd/ Morning Lane to the lights and right onto Mare st. Then 50yds left at lights onto Graham rd, over lights and onto Dalston Lane, again Balls Pond rd/St Pauls rd and more sets of lights to Highbury Corner. 3rd exit A1 Holloway rd, over several lights and crossing over Seven Sisters rd to Archway r/a. Up A1 Archway/… Falloden Way to the North Circular cross over the Finchley rd and fork right at the lights to rejoin the A1 again Great North rd which ran onto the M1 just before Scratchwood Services… and you were on your way.
That brings back memories, Cav! Did that route (in reverse) and back every night for over ten years when on the Tate and Lyle midland link from Derby to Thames Refinery. Nearly thirty years ago now, but reading your post I can still see every bloody inch of it!
cav551:
A 102 Tunnel Approach to the M102 just north of the railway bridge at Bow. Off at Old Ford onto Wick rd alongside Victoria Park,1st right Brookfield rd to the lights. Left Wick rd/ Morning Lane to the lights and right onto Mare st. Then 50yds left at lights onto Graham rd, over lights and onto Dalston Lane, again Balls Pond rd/St Pauls rd and more sets of lights to Highbury Corner. 3rd exit A1 Holloway rd, over several lights and crossing over Seven Sisters rd to Archway r/a. Up A1 Archway/… Falloden Way to the North Circular cross over the Finchley rd and fork right at the lights to rejoin the A1 again Great North rd which ran onto the M1 just before Scratchwood Services… and you were on your way.
That brings back memories, Cav! Did that route (in reverse) and back every night for over ten years when on the Tate and Lyle midland link from Derby to Thames Refinery. Nearly thirty years ago now, but reading your post I can still see every bloody inch of it!
Aah… the old days!!!
Steve
Well traveled path, although I didn’t know the name of some of the roads! Weren’t there a bad foreign lorry crash on that route, someone killed?
I only ever went through London from our area when I was a fitter to tow trucks back to our quarry that expired in the Capital! That was in the late 70’s which involved M1/M10 then down through Potters Bar, Cockfosters and over the North Circular onto the A10 down through Stamford Hill and Clapton Common, around Hackney Hospital and then through the spout! It was fun coming back with a Gardner 180 engined Foden S80 tipper with ten tons on its back towing a fully laden Foden eight legger and pedestrians walking between them and tripping over the tow bar when you stopped at traffic lights etc. The 1 in 5 hill out of Ashbourne made the Gardner work hard pulling 50+ tonnes as well.
When I lived in Reading I travelled to Waterden Road, Hackney most fridays in the early 70’s but I can’t remember the route now.
I can vividly remember using the Woolwich ferry when loaded with Massey Ferguson spares from Trafford Park and tipping at numerous London docks.
Another favourite destination was Felixstowe,usually with a Seatrain 40ft box on,bound for USA,the old A14 was a pleasure to take from the A1 in those days.
Hi all
I will always remember leaving the yard at Leven Road, Poplar and picking up the North Bound carriageway of the A12 heading North until the exit for Wick Road. Then along the A106 Victoria Park Road until the junction with the A107 Cambridge Heath Road. Turn right up the A1107 until the left turn at Graham Road A1207. Keep going along Dalston Lane until the Dalston Junction and turn right onto the A10 Kingsland Road/Stoke Newington Road and all the way up to Stamford Hill, left on to Amhurst Road and on to the A503 Seven Sisters Road until the junction with the A1 Holloway Road. Then turn right and head the usual way up to Archway and the steep climb up the A1 Archway Road. Then it was “forever North” to The Watford Gap for breakfast and a half hour power nap before continuing North.
Those were the days.
Happy memories.
GS
In the 70’s I used to drive for an Admiral based in Portsmouth. A lot of our journey’s involved going up to the Navy HQ at Northwood. The route I seem to remember was up the A3 to Petersfield then via A325 to Farnham, Windsor, Slough then the A412. Pig of a trip that seemed to take forever.
Hi all,Franglais i used to do that route most days around 1970/71 started from Fareham up through Wickham, Bishops Waltham ,Hockly lights but only went as far as Silvertown load animal feed in Spillers then 2 or 3 drops on the way back down. Good old day’s had a brand new seven and half ton Bedford TK ,4 oclock start every day.
Hi all ,all those routes into LONDON from the north, TOO ALL THE DOCKS down ARCHWAY ,to go over tower bridge, or left to canning town,silver town to the royal docks,or Whipps cross down towards Blackwall tunnel.past the turning to Stratford lift,now there was a place…
The other entrance to the royal docks,before the Dgenham FLYOVER past the old prefab houses over the swing bridges,custom house , around by prince regent lane [i think]
Over Dagenham fly over,going to greys- or TILBURY, or the tunnel years before the Dartford bridge …what a lot of memories, who mentioned the Noaks,what a ■■■■■■■■■■■■ with a [40foot] merriworth single axel ,tractor-trailer ,or case cars .in the 1970s
yes life was easier,all about gettings digs and having a few beers every day-ish. 4pm finish around LONDON. that got the grey matter working.pdb
I’ve been struggling with this one because it doesn’t look much sense on a modern map, so the only reason I can think is that the North Circular was nothing like it is today but carried the same traffic. We went to Keymarkets at Brandon a lot, particularly load and go so getting away mid morning or midday. Start at Paddock Wood.
Join the A 228 at Beltring go through East Peckham and up Seven mile Lane to the A20. Grind up the old Wrotham Hill and follow the A20 to Cliftons r/a at Eltham; right Westhorne ave and South Circular from Well Hall r/a and over the Woolwich Ferry. A117 and what is now South Woolwich Manor Way up to East Ham, left and very short right up East Ham High st to join the A116 across Wanstead Flats to Leytonston. Then A114 Whipps Cross rd across the bottom of Epping Forest to meet what is now the A104 but then IIRC it was the A11 Lee Bridge rd, and follow the A11 all the way through Epping Forest past Harlow and Bishops Stortford and turn off for Brandon at Mildenhall. ISTR that there was a good cafe on the A11 somewhere between passing Stanstead Muntfitchet and Saffron Walden?
cav551:
I’ve been struggling with this one because it doesn’t look much sense on a modern map, so the only reason I can think is that the North Circular was nothing like it is today but carried the same traffic. We went to Keymarkets at Brandon a lot, particularly load and go so getting away mid morning or midday. Start at Paddock Wood.
Join the A 228 at Beltring go through East Peckham and up Seven mile Lane to the A20. Grind up the old Wrotham Hill and follow the A20 to Cliftons r/a at Eltham; right Westhorne ave and South Circular from Well Hall r/a and over the Woolwich Ferry. A117 and what is now South Woolwich Manor Way up to East Ham, left and very short right up East Ham High st to join the A116 across Wanstead Flats to Leytonston.
Seems like a drastic alternative assuming Dartford Tunnel was an option.
The A310 Twickenham,Isleworth and B454 Syon Lane and Windmill Lane past AEC at Southall then A4127 through Greenford and A404 and A409 through Harrow and Wealdstone and A411 through Elstree to A41 was the default choice from Surrey and South West and West London to the M1 not the North Circ.I’d guess most of these old routes were probably handed down from the days when narrower more street friendly 8 wheeler rigids were the max weight trucks of the day and before ‘traffic calming’ became the default solution to discourage such through traffic on those old A road routes.While probably more a case of routes to avoid these days for that reason.
Farm lorry delivering load of potatoes to london from north of Scotland …stops and asks first point duty policeman …“is this London ■■?” yes driver he says “right then whaur de ye want yer load o tatties !!!”…I know I was that driver …!!!1
gerbil sb152:
Hi all,Franglais i used to do that route most days around 1970/71 started from Fareham up through Wickham, Bishops Waltham ,Hockly lights but only went as far as Silvertown load animal feed in Spillers then 2 or 3 drops on the way back down. Good old day’s had a brand new seven and half ton Bedford TK ,4 oclock start every day.
Was it a palletised load going on?
Bet it wasn’t coming off!
No all handball but wasn’t that bad only carried three and a half ton but good training i was only 17/18 when i was 21 and took class 1, i then had an AEC mandator doing fertilizer from ICI Avonmouth to farms that was all handball and very often on your own arrive on farm to find a sign " driver put fertilizer in here" not always easy with 20 ton on and no power steering. But good training.
Cav used to do your first route but in reverse twice a week some weeks delivering cars to south london and kent, had to make sure height was well down that sewer pipe was only 15’3" (I think). Usually about 10 in the morning, all those road junctions very rarely held up by traffic,should hate to try nowadays.
cav551:
I’ve been struggling with this one because it doesn’t look much sense on a modern map, so the only reason I can think is that the North Circular was nothing like it is today but carried the same traffic. We went to Keymarkets at Brandon a lot, particularly load and go so getting away mid morning or midday. Start at Paddock Wood.
Join the A 228 at Beltring go through East Peckham and up Seven mile Lane to the A20. Grind up the old Wrotham Hill and follow the A20 to Cliftons r/a at Eltham; right Westhorne ave and South Circular from Well Hall r/a and over the Woolwich Ferry. A117 and what is now South Woolwich Manor Way up to East Ham, left and very short right up East Ham High st to join the A116 across Wanstead Flats to Leytonston.
Seems like a drastic alternative assuming Dartford Tunnel was an option…
Yes it does seem very strange now but the M25 and M11 hadn’t been built in the early and mid '70s so from the Dartford Tunnel to go roughly North you needed to either go east first to the A128 and up through Brentwood which we did when going to Halstead or go up through Beacontree Heath which we did as an alternative to a Woolwich ferry route when going to Hainault (Pricerite?? or was it Macfisheries??). Otherwise it would have been A13 to Barking then Ilford, Gants Hill, Chigwell. We only really used the Dartford Tunnel for Essex and East Anglia.
Don’t remind me of the nightmare of the old North Orbital, coming off M1 and having to go through Garston Watford Ricky Denham Slough skirting Windsor to get to the south west side, that whole route could be at walking pace, if you were under height you might slip down through Langley past Ford’s truck plant, or you might even risk the 7.5 ton limit at Harefield on the way back up.
Or taking North Circ then via Richmond Kingston Reigate to work your way down to Gatwick and the south coast west of Brighton.
Is it my imagination, North Orbital the other way, the then A6 ending up in a T junction, i kid you not, turning right onto the single carriageway A1 heading down to london?
It doesn’t seem possible now.
Bushey Arches, you’d try and park somewhere near Jaques of Watford (was that how it was spelled, doesn’t look right) low loader site and nip into the little hut cafe for a cup of tea and a dog roll.
All of these fully loaded in them old motors with constant mesh boxes, bloody Gardner engines and no power steering…and we wonder why everything aches.
The 1 in 5 hill out of Ashbourne made the Gardner work hard pulling 50+ tonnes as well. 
