The A26 road is a primary route in the southeast of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, going from

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

to Newhaven through the counties of

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

and

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

. The road is almost entirely single carriageway with one lane on each side, although parts of the road are three lanes, with the middle lane switching sides for overtaking and right turns. The road runs for a total distance of some and provides access to the North Kent area and its industrial base with the

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

port of Newhaven. Consequently, it has a large Heavy Goods Vehicle usage.

History

The A26 was originally classified in 1922 due to the Ministry of Transport Act 1919, which in section 19 instructed the classification of all major roads. The original route went from

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, along part of what is now the A27. The part of the road going from

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

was later reclassified to the A27 between 1947 and 1951. The road was later extended along the B2109 to Newhaven after 1969.

Route

Maidstone to Tonbridge

The road starts as a non-primary route at a gyratory with the A20, in Maidstone, and then heads west to the A228, through Barming, Barming Heath, Teston, Wateringbury, and Mereworth where it becomes a primary route. It then turns southwest towards

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...

and shares the route of the A228 until the next roundabout with Seven Mile Lane. The A26 passes through Hadlow and the edge of Tonbridge. Since 1970SABRE https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Network_changes_-_1970s it has formed an eastern bypass of Tonbridge town centre, which terminates at the Vauxhall roundabout where there are slip roads to the A21 dual carriageway. From this roundabout, the A2014 Pembury Road runs into Tonbridge. The A26 route resumes at the west end of Pembury Road and heads south as Quarry Hill, forming a

grade-separated In civil engineering (more specifically highway engineering), grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights ( grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other tr ...

junction with the A21.

Tonbridge to Maresfield

South of Tonbride the A26 passes through Bidborough, Southborough,

Royal Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sand ...

, Eridge Green, and Boarshead. The road then passes through Crowborough, going past the B2100, and then goes towards Maresfield, where it is interrupted by the A22.

Ridgewood to Newhaven

Again heading south-west, the road meets with the A2029 in

after passing Little Horsted and leaves Lewes heading south via Cuilfail Tunnel until it is interrupted again, this time by the A27. After a short stretch of road where it is merged with the A27, it heads south, ending on the A259 in Newhaven, after passing Tarring Neville and South Heighton.

Distinguishing features

When entering Lewes from the direction of Uckfield, one is met with a view of the chalk cliffs at the very edge of the South Downs. Continuing, you enter the Cuilfail Tunnel, constructed in 1983, which leaves at the roundabout ''The Culfail Spiral'', a sculpture created by Peter Randall-Page.

Junctions

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, Ditton , , - , rowspan="3", — , 3.4 , 5.4 , , B2163 - West Farleigh, Coxheath , , - , 4.3 , 6.9 , , B2015 -

East Peckham East Peckham is a village and civil parish in Kent, England on the River Medway. The parish covers the main village as well as Hale Street and Beltring. History The Domesday entry for East and West Peckham reads:- :'' The Archbishop himse ...

, , - , 6.6 , 10.6 , , - Kings Hill,

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Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

, Sevenoaks
-

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B2260 -

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London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, bgcolor="ffdddd" , No eastbound entry to A21 or westbound exit from A21 , - , rowspan="4",

, 17.3 , 27.8 , , B2176 -

Penshurst Penshurst is a historic village and civil parishes in England, civil parish located in a valley upon the northern slopes of the Weald, Kentish Weald, at the confluence of the River Medway and the River Eden, Kent, River Eden, within the Seveno ...

, , - , 20.1 , 32.3 , , - Langton Green, Pembury , , - , 20.5 , 33.0 , , B2023 -

, , - , 25.6 , 33.1 , , -

Frant Frant is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, on the Kentish border about three miles (5 km) south of Royal Tunbridge Wells. When the iron industry was at its height, much of the village was owned by ...

, , - , rowspan="12",

Crowborough Crowborough is a town and civil parish in East Sussex, England, in the Weald at the edge of Ashdown Forest and the highest town in the High Weald AONB, High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is located south-west of Royal Tunbridge ...

, 27.2 , 43.7 , , B2100 - Rotherfield , , - , rowspan="2", — , 33.4 , 53.8 , , - Buxted , , - , 33.8 , 54.4 , bgcolor="ddffdd" , , bgcolor="ddffdd" , -

East Grinstead East Grinstead () is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the northeast corner of the county, bord ...

, bgcolor="ddffdd" , Continues as A22 , - , rowspan="2",

Uckfield Uckfield () is a town in the Wealden District, Wealden District of East Sussex in South East England. The town is on the River Uck, one of the tributaries of the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse, on the southern edge of the Weald. Etymology "Uck ...

, colspan="5" bgcolor="ddffdd" align="center", ''concurrency with the A22'' , - , 36.6 , 58.9 , bgcolor="ddffdd" , , bgcolor="ddffdd" , - Hailsham , bgcolor="ddffdd" , Continues from A22 , - , rowspan="3",

, 42.5 , 68.4 , , B2192 - Rotherfield , , - , 43.2 , 69.5 , , -

, , - , 44.0 , 70.9 , bgcolor="ddffdd" , , bgcolor="ddffdd" , -

, Worthing , bgcolor="ddffdd" , Continues as A27 , - , rowspan="2", — , colspan="5" bgcolor="ddffdd" align="center", ''concurrency with the A27'' , - , 45.5 , 73.2 , bgcolor="ddffdd" , , bgcolor="ddffdd" , -

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

, bgcolor="ddffdd" , Continues from A27 , - , rowspan="2", Newhaven , 49.9 , 80.3 , , B2109 - Newhaven , , - , 50.6 , 81.4 , , - Peacehaven, Seaford , , - *Ceremonial Counties ;Coordinate list

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:2-0026 Roads in England Transport in East Sussex Roads in Kent Road tunnels in England