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.
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| Route information | ||||
| Length | 92.4 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 | |||
 A720 in Edinburgh A72 in Galashiels M6 (J44) in Carlisle A69 in Carlisle | ||||
| South end |  A595 in Carlisle54°53′43″N 2°55′52″W / 54.8954°N 2.9311°W | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Primary destinations | Edinburgh, Galashiels, Hawick, Carlisle | |||
| Road network | ||||
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Route description
editEdinburgh to Hawick
editThe 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
editIn 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
editContinuing 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
editIn 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
editNote: Junctions are listed northbound from Carlisle to Edinburgh.
| County | Location | mi[1][2] | km | Destinations | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumbria | Carlisle | 0.0 | 0.0 | Botchergate (A6 south) | Southern terminus; northern terminus of A6 | |||
| 0.3 | 0.48 | A69 east (Victoria Place) to M6 | Western terminus of A69 | |||||
| 0.5 | 0.80 | A595 south (Castle Way) – The West, City Centre | Northern terminus of A595 | |||||
| Carlisle city boundary | 2.9 | 4.7 |  M6 / A689 to A69 / A595 – Hexham, Workington | M6 junction 44 | ||||
| Longtown | 8.4 | 13.5 |  A6071 east (Albert Street) – Carlisle, Brampton | Southern terminus of A6071 concurrency | ||||
| 9.0 | 14.5 |  A6071 west to A74 – Gretna | To A74 signed northbound only; northern terminus of A6071 concurrency | |||||
| Cumbria county— Dumfries and Galloway council boundary | | 11.9 | 19.2 | England—Scotland boundary | ||||
| Dumfries and Galloway |
No major junctions | |||||||
| Scottish Borders | Hawick | 43.0 | 69.2 |  A698 north-east (Mart Street) / Mansfield Road – Jedburgh, Kelso, City centre | South-western terminus of A698 | |||
| Selkirk | 52.9 | 85.1 |  A699 east / The Loan – St Boswells, Kelso | Western terminus of A699 | ||||
| 53.7 | 86.4 |  West Port (A707 north) to A72 / A708 – Peebles, Moffat | Southern terminus of A707 | |||||
| Galashiels | 58.5 | 94.1 |   A6091 east to A68 – Jedburgh, Melrose, Tweedbank, Edinburgh | Edinburgh signed northbound only; western terminus of A6091 | ||||
| 60.1 | 96.7 | A72 west (Bridge Place) – Peebles | Eastern terminus of A72 | |||||
| Midlothian | Dalkeith | 85.4 | 137.4 |  A6094 (Bonnyrigg Road / Eskbank Road) – Eskbank, Bonnyrigg | ||||
| | 85.8 | 138.1 |  A768 (Lasswade Road / Melville Dykes Road) – Eskbank, Lasswade, Loanhead | |||||
| | 86.4 | 139.0 |  A772 north-west / B6392 (Gilmerton Road) – Eskbank, Gilmerton | South-eastern terminus of A772 | ||||
| Midlothian—Edinburgh boundary | Edinburgh boundary | 86.7 | 139.5 |  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-Tweed | Edinburgh, 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 | |||
| Edinburgh | Edinburgh | 90.2 | 145.2 |   A6095 east (Peffermill Road) / Lady Road to A701 – City centre, Penicuik, Musselburgh | City centre signed northbound only; western terminus of A6095 | |||
| 91.3 | 146.9 |    A700 north-west (West Preston Street) / A701 south (Newington Road) / A8 / A90 – Peebles, Penicuik, Glasgow, Forth Road Bridge, Tollcross | No 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 | |||||
| 92.4 | 148.7 |   A1 south (Waterloo Place) to Princes Street (A8 west) / A900 / M8 / A90 – Berwick-upon-Tweed, Leith, Forth Road Bridge, Glasgow | Northern terminus; eastern terminus of A8; northern terminus of A1 | |||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
editReferences
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Transport Scotland. "Trunk roads" (PDF).
- ^ "Answers sought on A7 improvements". BBC News. 27 June 2007.
- ^ "Borders to Edinburgh railway: A7 impact discussed". BBC News. 2 December 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
- ^ "A7 Auchenrivock improvement | Transport Scotland". www.transport.gov.scot.
- ^ "The A7 Trunk Road (Carlisle City Boundary to The Scottish Border) (De-Trunking) Order 2005".
- ^ A Bax; S Fairfield, eds. (1978). The Macmillan Guide to the United Kingdom 1978-79. Macmillan. p. 899. ISBN 978-1-349-81511-1.
- ^ "Revealed: The most dangerous roads in Scotland and the UK". The Scotsman. 1 February 2018.
- ^ Knox, David (13 January 2017). "A7 improvements announced with a further transport study on the way". Border Telegraph.