1.
River Wye
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The River Wye is the fifth-longest river in the UK, stretching some 215 kilometres from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn estuary. For much of its length the river forms part of the border between England and Wales, the Wye Valley is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Wye is important for conservation and recreation. The Wyes Latin name is Vaga, an adjective meaning wandering, the Tithe map references a Vagas Field in both Whitchurch and Chepstow. The modern Welsh name Gwy may be derived from old Welsh Gwybiol or Gwyr, the source of the Wye is in the Welsh mountains at Plynlimon. Its total length is 134 miles, the lower 16 miles of the river from Redbrook to Chepstow forms the border between England and Wales. The River Wye forms two Sites of Special Scientific Interest, one covering the Upper Wye above Hay-on-Wye, and one covering the Lower Wye downstream to Chepstow. The criteria for inclusion of the river as an SSSI include geology, topography, flora, mammals, invertebrates, fish and birdlife, as the river, the Wye abuts a range of other SSSIs in England and Wales, including the Upper Wye Gorge and Lower Wye Gorge. It is also a Special Area of Conservation and one of the most important rivers in the UK for nature conservation and it is an important migration route and wildlife corridor, as well as a key breeding area for many nationally and internationally important species. The river supports a range of species and habitats covered by European Directives, in Powys the river lies within the Radnorshire Environmentally Sensitive Area. Much of the valley is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Lower Wye has been designated as a salmonid fishery under the EC Freshwater Fish Directive, the Wye is largely unpolluted and used to be considered one of the best rivers for salmon fishing in the United Kingdom, outside Scotland. In the 1980s and 1990s salmon in the Wye declined dramatically, in 1967 the Wye rod catch was 7,864, and as recently as 1988 it was 6,401, but by 2002 it was only 357. It is now recovering from this low in response to the extensive habitat improvement work carried out by the Wye and Usk Foundation, set up to restore the spring salmon runs. In 2015 the five-year average once again climbed above 1,000 and it is now the third best salmon river in England and Wales, surpassed only by the Tyne and Wear. The Wye was particularly famous for its large spring salmon that had spent three or more years at sea returning to spawn. The last recorded 50 lb rod-caught salmon from the Wye was taken in 1963 by Donald Parrish, since the early 2000s the spring catch has been steadily recovering and salmon of over 35 lb have been reported every year since 2011. The Romans constructed a bridge of wood and stone just upstream of present-day Chepstow, the River Wye was and still is navigable up to Monmouth at least since the early 14th century
2.
A49 road
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The A49 is an A road in western England, which traverses the Welsh Marches region. The stretch between Ross-on-Wye and the A5 at Shrewsbury is a road, maintained by the national Highways England. From the A6 at Bamber Bridge, south of Preston, the road parallel to the M6 motorway. Through Ashton in Makerfield and Newton-le-Willows, reaching Warrington via Winwick, from junction 9 of the M62, there is a dual-carriageway through Warrington, as far as Loushers Lane. During this section, it passes under the Liverpool to Manchester Line railway, then has the Cockhedge Green roundabout with the A57 and passes to the east and it passes over a roundabout with the A5061 situated on the River Mersey, then goes past Priestley College. It passes over the Manchester Ship Canal, Cheshire Ring Canal Walk, at Pewterspear there is the Owens Corner roundabout. The road has crossroads with the B5356 at Stretton and meets the A559 at junction 10 of the M56, the road enters Cheshire West And Chester. There is crossroads with the A533 and the crosses the Cheshire Ring Canal Walk. The three-mile £6m Weaverham Diversion opened in September 1992, the old route is now the B5144, passing near Weaverham High School. The road passes over the West Coast Main Line railway after the Weaverham Roundabout, the section from Weaverham to Cuddington is a new much-straightened section. In Cuddington it crosses the Mid-Cheshire Line near Cuddington railway station, there is the Oakmere Crossroads with the A556 south of Cuddington, before the road crosses the Whitegate Way. It then crosses the A54 near Abbots Moss Hall, and the passes through Cotebrook. The two-mile £3. 8m Tarporley Bypass opened in September 1986, Tarporley Community High School is near here. The road leaves the A51 to the west at Four Lane Ends near the Red Fox, the road travels over the Shropshire Union Canal and under the Welsh Marches Line railway south of Tiverton. It crosses over the River Gowy north of Bunbury next to the Beeston Castle, the road briefly overlaps the A534 Wrexham Road from the junction at Ridley and crosses over the River Weaver. At Cholmondeley there is Cholmondeley Castle, at the crossroads of Bickerton Road and Wrenbury Road, there is the Cholmondeley Arms. Moving from the parishes of Cholmondeley to Bickley east of Moss Wood, it moves back into Cheshire West. It crosses the Shropshire Union Canal again at Tushingham cum Grindley, the road enters into Shropshire and is crossed by the South Cheshire Way near Hinton
3.
A40 road
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The A40 is a major trunk road connecting London to Goodwick, Wales, and officially called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road in all legal documents and Acts. The road still begins and ends in the places, but a number of changes have been made to its route. The first change dates from 1935, between Ross-on-Wye and Abergavenny, the original route of the A40 was via Skenfrith, this road was renumbered the B4521. Subsequently, the A40 was rerouted within west London, Western Avenue dates from the 1930s, but was originally opened as the A403. After the Second World War, the A40 was rerouted along part of the A219, the old route was renumbered the A4020. For the A40 in London, see A40 road, in central London it is named High Holborn, then Oxford Street. At Marble Arch it joins the A5 Edgware Road as far as the Marylebone Flyover to become Westway, formerly classified A40 as an elevated motorway and it takes the A40 to meet Western Avenue. With two exceptions, Western Avenue forms a grade-separated motorway standard dual-carriageway between Paddington and the M40 motorway, which continues towards Oxford and Birmingham, the two at-grade intersections are Gypsy Corner and Savoy Circus, both of which are traffic light controlled. For the greater part, the road is six lanes wide, at Denham Roundabout, the six lane Western Avenue flows into the M40. The A40 branches off Denham roundabout and runs alongside the M40 as a dual carriageway, after the A413 branches off the A40 becomes single carriageway, still roughly following the route of the M40, passing through the towns of Beaconsfield and High Wycombe. Beyond Stokenchurch the road is much quieter, when meeting the B4009, east of Oxford the A40 becomes a busy dual carriageway again, carrying traffic from the M40 to Oxford and beyond. The route forms the eastern section of the Oxford ring road, crossing the A44, after the road passes under the A34, the A40 reverts to single carriageway for 10 miles. It then turns to dual carriageway again to form the Witney bypass, the dual carriageway then finishes at a roundabout. For the rest of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire until Cheltenham, other than for a few short stretches and this section has the highest point of the entire A40 which is 250 m above sea level, located 5 km west of the A429 junction. Before Andoversford the A436 breaks off to the west to try to take away from descending into the centre of Cheltenham itself. The road travels through Cheltenham town centre along at least two parallel routes, afterwards it becomes dual carriageway out of Cheltenham and has a junction with the M5 motorway. The junction is a three-level stacked roundabout, where neither road is interrupted, in February 2015, the Witney Oxford Transport Group proposed the reopening of Yarnton railway station as an alternative to improvements to the A40 road proposed by Oxfordshire County Council. There is a case to reopen the railway given the severe traffic congestion on the roads to
4.
Roads in the United Kingdom
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Roads in the United Kingdom form a network of varied quality and capacity. Road distances are shown in miles or yards and UK speed limits are indicated in miles per hour or by the use of the speed limit symbol. Some vehicle categories have various lower maximum limits enforced by speed limiters, enforcement of UK road speed limits increasingly uses speed guns, automated in-vehicle systems and automated roadside traffic cameras. A unified numbering system is in place for Great Britain, whilst in Northern Ireland, the earliest specifically engineered roads were built during the British Iron Age. The road network was expanded during the Roman occupation, some of these survive and others were lost. New roads were added in the Middle Ages and from the 17th century onwards, certain aspects of the legal framework remain under the competence of the United Kingdom parliament. Although some roads have much older origins, the network was subject to development from the 1950s to the mid-1990s. From then, construction of roads has become controversial with direct action campaigns by environmentalists in opposition. In the UK, vehicles drive on the left and on multi-lane carriageways drivers are expected to keep to the left lane except when overtaking, in Great Britain, the Highway Code applies to drivers. In Northern Ireland, the Highway Code for Northern Ireland applies, UK speed limits are shown in mph. With a few exceptions, they are in multiples of 10, unless a lower speed limit is posted on a road, the national speed limit applies, which varies between class of vehicles and the type of road. In a built-up area, unless signs indicate otherwise, a limit of 30 miles per hour applies, other limits are shown in the table. For a road to be classed as a carriageway, the two directions of traffic flow must be physically separated by a central reservation. Roads in the UK are classified as M, A, or B roads, as well as categories of more minor roads, for internal purposes. These numbers follow a zonal system, there is no available explanation for the allocation of road numbers in Northern Ireland. The majority of the major routes are motorways, and are designed to carry long distance traffic. The next category is the A roads, which form the route network. A primary route is defined as, primary destinations are usually cities and large towns, to which, as a result of their size, a high volume of traffic is expected to go
5.
Monmouth
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Monmouth is a traditional county town in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow meets the River Wye, the town is 30 miles northeast of Cardiff, and 113 miles west of London. It is within the Monmouthshire local authority, and the constituency of Monmouth. According to the 2001 census, its population was 8,877, the town was the site of a small Roman fort, Blestium, and became established after the Normans built a castle here after 1067. Its mediaeval stone gated bridge is the one of its type remaining in Britain. The castle later came into the possession of the House of Lancaster, in 1536, it became the county town of Monmouthshire. Monmouth later became a tourist centre at the heart of the Wye Valley and it now acts as a shopping and service centre, and as a focus of educational and cultural activities for its surrounding rural area. The name Monmouth is an English contraction of Monnow-mouth, the Welsh name for the river, Mynwy, which may originally have meant fast-flowing, was anglicised as Monnow. The town was known in Welsh as Abermynwy, replaced by Trefynwy by the 1600s. Excavations undertaken by the Monmouth Archaeological Society on sites along Monnow Street have uncovered a wealth of information about the history of the town. Indeed, the Council for British Archaeology have designated Monmouth as one of the top ten towns in Britain for archaeology, the excavations later revealed the remains of a Neolithic crannog. The dwelling was constructed on stilts on an island away from the lake shore in water up to 10 feet deep. Timbers from the structure were dated to 4867 years before present. The first recorded settlement at Monmouth was the small Roman fort of Blestium and this was connected by road to the larger Roman towns at Glevum and Isca Augusta. Archaeologists have found Roman pottery and coins within the town centre. After the end of Roman rule in Britain, the area was at the edge of the Welsh kingdom of Ergyng. The only evidence of continuing settlement at Monmouth is a record of a 7th-century church, at a location within the town. Initially it would have been a motte and bailey castle, later rebuilt in stone, and refortified and developed over time
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M48 motorway Junction 2
Media related to A466 road (Great Britain) at Wikimedia Commons
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