Quiz: Geography of the United Kingdom - Motorways and Roads

Starting out just south of the city of Exeter, this road makes its way northeast along the Severn estuary, passing by Bristol and skirting along the Cotswolds before turning north near Gloucester. From here it continues through the countryside, passing Worcester before entering the urban Sprawl of Birmingham where it terminates at its junction with another major road.

M42

M40

Starting out at the Dartford Crossing and heading south, this road quickly turns west near Sevenoaks in the Kent Downs before heading towards Merstham and passing along the Surrey Hills AONB. From here it moves north, passing near Woking, Thorpe Park, Heathrow Airport and then heading towards Watford as it once again turns - this time East. Following the route past various hamlets and towns, it gradually turns south before making the Crossing again, where junction 31 connects to junction 1a - all the while you have kept one colossal city on your right.

A329(M)

M25

This road starts out somewhere near Bangor, before snaking its way south through the foothills of Snowdon and cutting through the town of Betws-y-Coed. From here it leaves Snowdonia National Park and heads east, reaching the England/Wales border south of Wrexham. Once in England, it passes Oswestry before half-circling Shrewsbury to begin heading towards Telford. Somewhere near Telford, just north of the Wrekin, this road sort of disappears, before reappearing about 4 miles away where it leaves Telford and becomes straight as an arrow pointing directly towards Cannock. It curves south of the town, snaking its way along the M6 toll and past Tamworth all the while it gradually turns southeast to make its way down the country. Many towns pass nearby, but this road will mostly stay out in the sticks until it arrives at Milton Keynes. It continues a little way until it once again disappears somewhere around Luton but it still hasn't finished, it reappears somewhere near Edgware, and makes one last long straight run into the English capital, finally giving up somewhere near Hyde Park.

A1(M)

A38

Our journey begins somewhere near Chiswick, leaving London and passing by Heathrow Airport before skirting south of Slough and Reading before cutting through the middle of the North Wessex Downs AONB. It skirts south of Swindon and eventually reaches the Severn estuary just north of Bristol, where crosses multiple other major routes before crossing the water and heading towards Newport. From here, it does a tour of some major Welsh settlements, including Cardiff, Bridgend, Port Talbot and Swansea before briefly turning north and terminating somewhere near the town of Fforest.

M48

A55

This journey starts out at Mansfield, heading southwest briefly before turning more southwardly towards Derby. It quickly passes Derby and continues on its trajectory, passing by Burton-upon-Trent and Lichfield before joining up along the M6 toll for a while and turning sharply west to head into Birmingham. Navigating the Gravelly Hill Interchange, or Spaghetti Junction, this road becomes the main artery into the city centre before leaving on its south/south-westwardly route past Bromsgrove. This road disappears somewhere near Worcester, only briefly resurfacing briefly as the Gloucester bypass but not properly appearing again until around Bristol. From Bristol, the road carries traffic down through the Mendip Hills, before disappearing again somewhere around Bridgwater - but it still isn't done! It re-appears as the Devon Expressway at Exeter, heading southwest along the boundary of Dartmoor National Park before cutting through Plymouth and reaching its terminus at Bodmin.

A38

A30

Another journey beginning from London, this time heading due north. This road begins somewhere near the City Of London, before passing through Islington and East Finchley before leaving the urban sprawl near Chipping Barnet. This road heads through the likes of Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage and Letchworth Garden City as it makes its way north - It mostly spends time in the countryside, passing by the likes of Peterborough and Newark-on-Trent before meeting Doncaster prior to continuing around Leeds. It continues between the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors from which it passes Darlington and makes its way into Newcastle upon Tyne. That marks the last major stop in England, the road crosses the border north into Scotland, following the coast all of the way into Edinburgh where it ends somewhere in the heart of the city.

A68

A74(M)

M11

A1(M)

This road begins at the meeting of many major roads in the heart of Belfast, it heads north and turns west to quickly leave the city and head out towards the northern shores of Lough Neagh at Antrim where it briefly disappears. It starts again at Ballymena, but it barely exists for 4 miles before terminating completely just north of Ballymena. A short journey, but there are only so many major roads in Northern Ireland, and of the motorways are little more than spurs, making this the second longest on the land...

M12

Originating right on the England-Scotland border, this road bypasses Carlisle and makes its way south - bisecting the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales as it steams towards Lancaster. After Lancaster comes Preston, then skirting between Liverpool and Manchester via Warrington. This road continues south, snaking around various settlements before finally arriving at the industrial heartlands of the midlands - both Wolverhampton and Birmingham quickly pass by (or slowly, depending on your luck with the traffic) as this road turns east to pass above Coventry. From here it reaches its conclusion as it collides with another major road just north of Rugby.

A1(M)

M20

Starting just a stone's throw from Uxbridge, this road starts out heading mostly west past Beaconsfield and High Wycombe before entering the Chiltern Hills AONB. Before colliding with Oxford this road turns more northwardly - dodging Banbury and just touching the northern edge of the Cotswolds. Soon you will be whipping past Royal Leamington Spa and Warwick and just before reaching the urban sprawl of Birmingham it collides with another major motorway to reach its end.

M42

M40

A44

This major road starts just a hop, skip and a jump from Land's End and starts its journey heading northeast leaving the Penwith Heritage Coast and cutting through the Cornish countryside. After forming a bypass road around Penzance it jumps from the southern coast of Cornwall to the North to pass Hayle, Camborne and Redruth. You'll primarily be motoring through small towns and countryside all the way to Bodmin, first the town and then you cut directly through the middle of the moors. The road cuts through the middle of the leg of Britain before moving back towards the southern coast, first passing Launceston then forming the northern edge of Dartmoor before circling Exeter and heading into the Blackdown Hills AONB where it all but disappears for a while (other roads continue its route). This road will resurface again, at junction 8 of the M3 from which it travels north-east through Basingstoke and turns east along a collection of little towns and larger settlements including Camberley, Sunningdale, and Egham before colliding with another major road and entering the dense urban sprawl of the capital. It circumnavigates the reservoirs and Heathrow Airport before reaching its conclusion somewhere near Hounslow.

A30

A303

A39

Geography of the United Kingdom - Motorways and Roads

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