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A7 road (Great Britain)

Route map:
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A7 shield
A7
Route information
Length92.4 mi[1][2] (148.7 km)
Major junctions
North end A1 / A8 in Edinburgh
55°57′12″N 3°11′21″W / 55.9532°N 3.1891°W / 55.9532; -3.1891 (A7 road (northern end))
Major intersections A720 in Edinburgh
A72 in Galashiels
M6 (J44) in Carlisle
A69 in Carlisle
South end A595 in Carlisle
54°53′43″N 2°55′52″W / 54.8954°N 2.9311°W / 54.8954; -2.9311 (A7 road (southern end))
Location
CountryUnited Kingdom
Primary
destinations
Edinburgh, Galashiels, Hawick, Carlisle
Road network
A6 A8

The A7 is a major road, partly a trunk road, that connects Edinburgh in Central Scotland to Carlisle in North West England. The A7 meets the M6 motorway close to Carlisle, which connects to the English motorway network.

Route description

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Edinburgh to Hawick

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The northern terminus of the A7 is the junction at North Bridge with Princes Street in Edinburgh, also the northern terminus of the A1 and the southern terminus of the A900. The road passes Cameron Toll, before meeting the Edinburgh City Bypass at the Sheriffhall Roundabout. South of the bypass, the A7 continues through Midlothian past Newtongrange and Gorebridge. Continuing from Midlothian into the Scottish Borders, the road bypasses Heriot then passes through Stow to reach Galashiels. The A7 becomes a trunk road at the southern boundary of Galashiels.[3] It continues south to Selkirk; a bypass here has been proposed for years but not implemented.[4] This section of the A7 runs parallel to the Borders Railway which opened in 2015; Network Rail and MPs met during construction to mitigate the effect of works traffic on the road.[5]

Hawick to Langholm

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In Hawick the A7 continues along the north bank of the River Teviot to cross the river at the Albert Bridge and follows the south bank of the river towards Langholm, then bypasses Canonbie. South of Langholm the road has been improved, allowing for overtaking.[6]

England

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Continuing across the English border, the A7 goes through Longtown, before meeting the A689 and the M6 at the Greymoorhill Roundabout. The A7 becomes a dual carriageway close to the Kingstown Industrial Estate on the northern fringe of Carlisle. Continuing as a single carriageway road, the A7 crosses the River Eden over Eden Bridge. At Hardwicke Circus Roundabout in the centre of Carlisle, the A7 meets the A595 to the west and southern Cumbria, then continues to form part of Carlisle's one way system through the city centre, meeting the A69 and finally becoming the A6 near Carlisle railway station. The English section was detrunked in 2005.[7]

Safety

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In the late 1970s, the A7 was described as being slow and tortuous.[8] It was the 28th most dangerous UK road in 2017.[9] The A7 Action Group was founded in 1990, and continues to lobby for safety improvements to the road, including a bypass of Selkirk.[10]

Major junctions

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Note: Junctions are listed northbound from Carlisle to Edinburgh.

CountyLocationmi[1][2]kmDestinationsNotes
CumbriaCarlisle0.00.0Botchergate (A6 south)Southern terminus; northern terminus of A6
0.30.48 A69 east (Victoria Place) to M6Western terminus of A69
0.50.80 A595 south (Castle Way) – The West, City CentreNorthern terminus of A595
Carlisle city
boundary
2.94.7 M6 / A689 to A69 / A595 – Hexham, WorkingtonM6 junction 44
Longtown8.413.5 A6071 east (Albert Street) – Carlisle, BramptonSouthern terminus of A6071 concurrency
9.014.5 A6071 west to A74 – GretnaTo A74 signed northbound only; northern terminus of A6071 concurrency
Cumbria county—
Dumfries and Galloway
council boundary
11.919.2EnglandScotland boundary
Dumfries and Galloway
No major junctions
Scottish BordersHawick43.069.2 A698 north-east (Mart Street) / Mansfield Road – Jedburgh, Kelso, City centreSouth-western terminus of A698
Selkirk52.985.1 A699 east / The Loan – St Boswells, KelsoWestern terminus of A699
53.786.4 West Port (A707 north) to A72 / A708 – Peebles, MoffatSouthern terminus of A707
Galashiels58.594.1 A6091 east to A68 – Jedburgh, Melrose, Tweedbank, EdinburghEdinburgh signed northbound only; western terminus of A6091
60.196.7 A72 west (Bridge Place) – PeeblesEastern terminus of A72
MidlothianDalkeith85.4137.4 A6094 (Bonnyrigg Road / Eskbank Road) – Eskbank, Bonnyrigg
85.8138.1 A768 (Lasswade Road / Melville Dykes Road) – Eskbank, Lasswade, Loanhead
86.4139.0 A772 north-west / B6392 (Gilmerton Road) – Eskbank, GilmertonSouth-eastern terminus of A772
MidlothianEdinburgh boundaryEdinburgh boundary86.7139.5 A720 (Edinburgh City Bypass) / A6106 (Old Dalkeith Road / Millerhill Road) to A68 / A1 – Dalkeith, Edinburgh, Airport, Musselburgh, Leith, Dalkeith, Old Craighall, Forth Road Bridge, Glasgow, Stirling, Jedburgh, Berwick-upon-TweedEdinburgh, Airport, Musselburgh, Leith, and Old Craighall signed northbound only;
To A1, A68, Forth Road Bridge, Glasgow, Stirling, Jedburgh, and Berwick-upon-Tweed signed southbound only
EdinburghEdinburgh90.2145.2 A6095 east (Peffermill Road) / Lady Road to A701 – City centre, Penicuik, MusselburghCity centre signed northbound only; western terminus of A6095
91.3146.9 A700 north-west (West Preston Street) / A701 south (Newington Road) / A8 / A90 – Peebles, Penicuik, Glasgow, Forth Road Bridge, TollcrossNo direct access from A7 north to A7 north or from A7 south to A700; information signed northbound only; south-eastern terminus of A700; northern terminus of A701
92.4148.7 A1 south (Waterloo Place) to Princes Street (A8 west) / A900 / M8 / A90 – Berwick-upon-Tweed, Leith, Forth Road Bridge, GlasgowNorthern terminus; eastern terminus of A8; northern terminus of A1
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Bar Solo, 1 Botchergate, Carlisle CA1 1QP, United Kingdom to A7, Hawick TD9 7AD, UK to Simpsons Flowers, 2 Newington Road, Newington, Edinburgh, EH9 1QS, UK". Google Maps. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Chatterbox Restaurant, 1 E Preston St, Newington, Edinburgh EH8 9QQ, UK to Monument to Wellington, Wellington, Edinburgh, United Kingdom". Google Maps. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  3. ^ Transport Scotland. "Trunk roads" (PDF).
  4. ^ "Answers sought on A7 improvements". BBC News. 27 June 2007.
  5. ^ "Borders to Edinburgh railway: A7 impact discussed". BBC News. 2 December 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  6. ^ "A7 Auchenrivock improvement | Transport Scotland". www.transport.gov.scot.
  7. ^ "The A7 Trunk Road (Carlisle City Boundary to The Scottish Border) (De-Trunking) Order 2005".
  8. ^ A Bax; S Fairfield, eds. (1978). The Macmillan Guide to the United Kingdom 1978-79. Macmillan. p. 899. ISBN 978-1-349-81511-1.
  9. ^ "Revealed: The most dangerous roads in Scotland and the UK". The Scotsman. 1 February 2018.
  10. ^ Knox, David (13 January 2017). "A7 improvements announced with a further transport study on the way". Border Telegraph.
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