Great North Road

As this ancient highway passes within just a few hundred metres of where I live, I thought that I would make some effort to learn more about it.

Most (all?) of its route has been by-passed from London to just north of here at Baldock, so it should be easy to access, on foot or by bicycle.

To begin with I just took a few photos. There are lots of leaves on the trees as they were taken in October.

Two shots of the Red Lion. My favourite Stevenage High Street pub, and a former coaching inn.

White Lion. Another former coaching inn. 

Two former coaching inns at the north end of the High Street. Now private residences.

Former farrier's. now a florist.

Looking south, then north along a section of the Great North Road now used as car parking for Stevenage Leisure Centre

The former (I'm using that word a lot) line of the road adjacent to the police station. As can be seen an underpass was built before this section went out of use.

This is Lytton Way which bypasses the Great North Road in the centre of Stevenage. Here the roads cross at an acute angle. The old road is in the dead centre of the picture behind the fence.

The famous Six Hills. They are thought to be Romano-British burial mounds.

And finally, at a fork in the road, the Roebuck Inn. To the right of the picture is the Great North Road leaving the town southwards on its way to Knebworth.  On the left is the road to Hertford.