The A10 (in certain sections known as ''Great Cambridge Road'' or

Old North Road Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London (''Londinium'') to Lincoln (''Lindum Colonia'') and York (''Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earningas'' ...

) is a major road in England. Its southern end is at

London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It re ...

in the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas ...

, and its northern end is the

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

port town A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, nor ...

. From London to

Royston Royston may refer to: Places Australia *Royston, Queensland, a rural locality Canada * Royston, British Columbia, a small hamlet England *Royston, Hertfordshire, a town and civil parish, formerly partly in Cambridgeshire * Royston, South Yorks ...

it chiefly follows the line of Roman

Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London ('' Londinium'') to Lincoln ('' Lindum Colonia'') and York ('' Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earn ...

. The main route to

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

is now via the

M11 motorway The M11 is a motorway that runs north from the North Circular Road (A406) in South Woodford to the A14, northwest of Cambridge, England. Originally proposed as a trunk road as early as 1915, various plans were considered throughout the 1960 ...

, however non-motorway traffic still uses the A10.

Route

Within the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, the route of the A10 comprises King William Street, Gracechurch Street,

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into ''Bishopsgate Within'', inside the line wall, and ''Bisho ...

and

Norton Folgate Norton Folgate is a short length of street in London, connecting Bishopsgate with Shoreditch High Street, on the northern edge of the City of London. It constitutes a short section of the A10 road, the former Roman Ermine Street. Its name is a ...

. It then becomes

Shoreditch High Street Shoreditch High Street is the old main street of Shoreditch, London. It is part of the A10 road and connects Norton Folgate to the south with Kingsland Road to the north. It constitutes a segment of the Roman Ermine Street, which ran directl ...

Kingsland Road Kingsland Road is the name given to an East London stretch of the A10 road within the London Borough of Hackney in England. The A10 was originally a Roman Road better known as Ermine Street or sometimes the Old North Road. The name ''Kingsland ...

, Kingsland High Street and Stoke Newington Road. It runs through

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...

as Stoke Newington High Street and then becomes

Stamford Hill Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about 5.5 miles north-east of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a sub-district of Hackney, the major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the ...

, through

until

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...

. In July 2013, the Tottenham Hale

gyratory A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford Eng ...

was removed and the A10 now follows the route of

Tottenham High Road Tottenham High Road is the main thoroughfare through the district of Tottenham, in the London Borough of Haringey. It runs from Edmonton in the North (where it becomes Fore Street) to Stamford Hill in the South (where the road becomes Stamford H ...

in both directions. North of Tottenham, the A10 leaves its historical route of

/Hertford Road (now A1010) to join the Great Cambridge Road via Bruce Grove and The Roundway. The Roundway is the southern end of a long

dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

section of the A10, which extends to just south of

Buntingford Buntingford is a market town and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire and county of Hertfordshire in England. It lies next to the River Rib and is located on the historic Roman road, Ermine Street. As a result of its location, i ...

. This dual carriageway section bisects the

London Borough of Enfield The London Borough of Enfield () is a London borough in North London. It borders the London boroughs of Barnet to the west, Haringey to the south, and Waltham Forest to the southeast. To the north are the districts of Hertsmere, Welwyn Hat ...

, skirting the Enfield fringes of

Enfield Town Enfield is a large town in north London, England, north of Charing Cross. It had a population of 156,858 in 2018. It includes the areas of Botany Bay, Brimsdown, Bulls Cross, Bullsmoor, Bush Hill Park, Clay Hill, Crews Hill, Enfield High ...

before crossing the

M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 the lon ...

at junction 25, near

Waltham Cross Waltham Cross is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England, located north of central London. In the south-eastern corner of Hertfordshire, it borders Cheshunt to the north, Waltham Abbey to the east, and Enfield to the sou ...

. Until the late 1970s, the Great Cambridge Road passed through the towns of

Broxbourne Broxbourne is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Hoddesdon, in the Broxbourne district, in Hertfordshire, England, north of London, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 I ...

Hoddesdon Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River. Hoddesdon ...

and Warealong what is now the A1170 road. Since then, an all-purpose road from

Cheshunt Cheshunt ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London on the River Lea and Lee Navigation. It contains a section of the Lee Valley Park, including much of the River Lee Country Park. To the north lies Broxbourne and Wormley, ...

by-passes these towns. The Kingsmead Viaduct takes the A10 high over the Lea Valley between

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a ford on the River Lea, n ...

and Ware and the

Hertford East Branch Line The Hertford East branch line is a railway line in Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom, running between Hertford East and . The line follows the route of the Lea Valley, serving intermediate towns and villages. It branches off the West Anglia Ma ...

railway. North of Ware, a further by-pass scheme was opened in late 2004, taking the A10 around the

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

villages of Wadesmill,

Thundridge Thundridge is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is about two miles away from the town of Ware and about seven miles away from the large town of Hertford, the county town o ...

, High Cross, and Collier's End. The bypass would have opened sooner, but the lime-stabilised subsoil heaved and cracks opened up in the road surface. A substantial portion of the road surface had to be relaid. Further north, there is another section of 1970s dual carriageway road between

Puckeridge Puckeridge is a village in East Hertfordshire, England with a population of 3,561 ( 2011 Census). It is in the civil parish of Standon. History The earliest known settlement was founded by the Catuvellauni, Celts from northeastern France. Th ...

and

, the contract for which was awarded to Meres Construction Ltd in April 1972.

was by-passed in the 1980s, however this is only

single carriageway A single carriageway (British English) or Undivided highway (American English) is a road with one, two or more lanes arranged within a one carriageway with no central reservation to separate opposing flows of traffic. A single-track road has a s ...

. From Buntingford, the road runs through the villages of Chipping, Buckland and

Reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * ...

, before reaching the edge of Hertfordshire in the market town of

. Once in Cambridgeshire, the topography changes from undulating hills to flat agricultural and fenlands, round the villages of

Melbourn Melbourn () is a large, clustered village in the far south-west of Cambridgeshire, England. Its traditional high street is bypassed by the A10, intersecting the settlement's other main axis exactly northwest of the traditional focal point of R ...

and Foxton (the road going over a

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term a ...

adjacent to

Foxton railway station Foxton railway station serves the village of Foxton in Cambridgeshire, England. It is from . The station is operated by Great Northern. It is located adjacent to the busy A10 level crossing, which is monitored from the nearby signal box. ...

), through

Harston Harston is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, located around 5 miles (8 km) south of Cambridge. In 2011, it had a population of 1,740. Village Sign The village sign was erected in the Queen's Silver Jubilee ye ...

and up to the

at junction 11, near

. A10 traffic is signposted to travel north on the M11, skirting round the top of Cambridge on the A14; however, the former course of the A10 turns into the A1309 and heads for the city centre. The original A10 went through the heart of the city, past the major colleges along

King's Parade King's Parade is a street in central Cambridge, England.Midsummer Common Midsummer Common is an area of common land in Cambridge, England. It lies northeast of the city centre on the south bank of the River Cam. The common borders the River Cam and houseboats are often moored on the common's bank. The boathouse ...

. The A10 reappears to the north of Cambridge at the Milton Interchange of the A14 and heads north, crossing the

River Great Ouse The River Great Ouse () is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the W ...

and approximately following the river downstream towards

The Wash The Wash is a rectangular bay and multiple estuary at the north-west corner of East Anglia on the East coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire and both border the North Sea. One of Britain's broadest estuaries, it is fed by the riv ...

. It bypasses Ely, Littleport and

Downham Market Downham Market, sometimes simply referred to as Downham, is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It lies on the edge of the Fens, on the River Great Ouse, approximately 11 miles south of King's Lynn, 39 miles west of Norwich and 30 ...

before reaching

in Norfolk, where the road ends at a junction with the A47 and A149 Coast Road.

Future improvements

, there have been proposals for the A10 between Cambridge and Ely to be turned into a

. So far, the improvements have been estimated to cost £260 million, with a smaller cost, £38 million has been placed for junction upgrades. Junction improvements for the

Junction 25 have started, with a widening of the southbound entry, widening the eastbound and westbound slip lane, maintaining the footpaths under the junction, widening of the roundabout northbound and a separate lane for northbound traffic from the M25.

References

External links

Society for All British Road Enthusiasts entry for the A10Road to Nowhere – A10M25 Junction 25 improvements/
{{DEFAULTSORT:1-0010 Streets in London Transport in the City of London Roads in England Roads in Cambridgeshire Roads in Hertfordshire Roads in London Transport in the London Borough of Enfield Transport in the London Borough of Hackney Transport in the London Borough of Haringey Streets in the London Borough of Enfield