The A27 is a major

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

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 ...

. It runs from its junction with the A36 at

Whiteparish Whiteparish is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the A27 road, A27 about southeast of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The village is about from the county boundary with Hampshire. The parish includes the hamlets of Co ...

(near

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

) in the county of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, follows the south coast of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

and

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

, and terminates at

Pevensey Pevensey ( ) is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Wealden District, Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The main village is located north-east of Eastbourne, one mile (1.6 km) inland from Pevensey Bay. The ...

(near

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 ...

and Bexhill) in

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 ...

. It is the westernmost road in Zone 2 in the UK road numbering system. Between

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and

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 ...

, it is one of the busiest

trunk road A trunk road is a major highway with a specific legal classification in some jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom, Sweden and formerly Ireland. Trunk roads are planned and managed at the national-level, distinguishing them from non-trunk ro ...

s in the UK.

History

Historically, for longer distance movement along the south coast, the M25 in combination with the M2, M20, M23 / A23, A3 / A3(M) and M3 has provided an attractive alternative to the actual south coast route of A259, A27 and M27. In 2002 an offpeak journey between

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...

and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

via the M25 took 2 hours 30 minutes, and via the coastal route using the A259, A27 and M27 took 3 hours 50 minutes. The reason the coastal route is so much slower than the M25 alternative is largely due to a series of bottlenecks on the A27. These include

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

Arundel Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much la ...

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

and

Polegate Polegate is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Wealden District, Wealden District of East Sussex, England, United Kingdom.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampt ...

. The British government announced, in its 2013 spending review, that it would go ahead with improvements to the Chichester bypass. The Highways Agency said that the proposals would be subject to public consultation in July 2015. The preferred route would then be announced in September 2015 and the plan would be to start construction in February 2018 with a completion date of December 2019. However the timescales were then revised. There was a six-week public consultation period during Spring 2016. The proposed construction would then commence in March 2019 with a completion date of March 2021. After five options were published and two dropped the government cancelled the whole project on 28 February 2017, citing lack of support from local authorities as the main reason. Chichester Bypass is now scheduled to be included in "RIS3". A proposed scheme to bypass Lancing and

Sompting Sompting is a village and civil parish in the coastal Adur District of West Sussex, England between Lancing and Worthing. It is half grassland slopes and half developed plain at the foot of the South Downs National Park. Twentieth-century est ...

(as well as other sections) was dropped in 1988. A proposed scheme to bypass Arundel was dropped in 2003, although the junction at the end of the dual carriageway has been partly made into an underpass. However, the scheme was relaunched in Spring 2018 when

Highways England National Highways (NH), formerly Highways England and before that the Highways Agency, is a government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving motorways and major A roads in England. It also sets highways standards us ...

announced their preferred route, choosing a "a modified version of Option 5A". Although the document claims 48% of respondents support this option, there are worries that the new road may damage ancient woodland in the

South Downs National Park The South Downs National Park is England's newest national parks of England and Wales, national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in t ...

. With protests about the western end destroying an ancient woodland, Highways England consulted further in October 2019 and in October 2020 announced a new preferred route that is long and avoids the South Downs National Park and ancient woodland entirely. Plans were deferred until 2025-2030, before being dropped in 2025. At

, where the possibility of a bypass has often been discussed since 1967, even getting as far as passing the inspector's report at a public inquiry, the plan was dropped in 1996 following rising costs. Arundel and Worthing are both areas of known

traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s, resulting in m ...

during times of peak usage. The proposed improvements for Worthing would have begun in 2025 and be completed by 2027, but the scheme has been dropped. A bridge over the level crossing at

Beddingham Beddingham is an English village and civil parish in the Lewes (district), Lewes district of East Sussex, at the junction between the London–Newhaven (A26 road, A26) and south coast (A27 road, A27) roads south-east of Lewes. The parish council ...

was completed on 22 August 2008. The original proposal called for a dual carriageway standard link with a bridge over the crossing. However, the actual project involved improving the original single carriageway road by providing two lanes westbound and one lane eastbound between the Southerham and Beddingham roundabouts. Despite the limited improvements to the A27, it is still substantially quicker (usually more than an hour difference) to travel from Southampton to Margate via the M25 route compared to the coast route of A259, A27 and M27. Because of all the delays along its route, according to West Sussex County Council, the A27 is the most unreliable all-purpose trunk road in England. Further, it is widely considered by businesses on the coast to cost money and inhibit economic performance due to its unreliability and frequent congestion. Highways England commissioned a report by "

Transport Focus Transport Focus is the statutory watchdog for transport passengers and road users in Great Britain, with offices in London and Manchester. It was named the Rail Passengers Council until January 2006 when renamed Passenger Focus. It was renamed ag ...

" to undertake road user priorities. The South Central route, that is largely the A27, was one of the lower rated routes with 50% of users experiencing problems. Out of a list of strategic routes across the whole of England only two were rated worse than the South Central route: the M25 to Solent route (61%) and the London Orbital and M23 to Gatwick (58%). Further Highways England identified the A27 between Lancing and the A24; between Arundel and the A284; between the A23 and Polegate; also around Chichester as being some of worst performing links in the country for safety issues. One accident victim was Actor

Desmond Llewelyn Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn (; 12 September 1914GRO Register of Births: DEC 1914 11a 490 NEWPORT M. – Desmond W. Llewelyn, mmn = Wilkinson – 19 December 1999GRO Register of Deaths: JUN 2000 A70E 247 EASTBOURNE – Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn, D ...

, who portrayed Q in a large portion of the

James Bond film series James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

and was fatally injured in a car accident on the A27 in 1999, at Firle, on the A23 to Polegate section. There are several sections of the A27 that fall inside the Highways Agency nationwide top 250 collision rankings: * A27 between Shoreham-by-Sea and Southwick – ranking 123 * A27/A23 junction Brighton – ranking 158 * A27 near the junction with the A2025 near Lancing – ranking 158 * A27 Chichester By-Pass east of the city – ranking 202

Serious incidents

Shoreham Airshow crash

At the Shoreham Airshow on 22 August 2015, a

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet propulsion, jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly dev ...

crashed into the A27 at Lancing, striking several vehicles and killing eleven people. The road was completely closed for eight days and did not fully reopen until 16 September 2015.

Flooding

In November 2022, during the outbreak of flooding, the road near Chichester, Emsworth and Havant was extensively covered with floodwater. 20 cars were trapped on this section of the road.

Description

The road starts at its junction with the A36 at Whiteparish. It runs through

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a town in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. The town is situated northwest of Southampton, southwest of Winchester and southeast of Salisbury. It sits on the outskirts of the New Forest, just over northeast of ...

, Chilworth, at which point it follows a Roman Road,

Swaythling Swaythling is a suburb and electoral ward of the city of Southampton in Hampshire, England. The ward has a population of 13,664. Swaythling is predominantly residential in character, and noted for its large student population due to its proxi ...

, West End and

Bursledon Bursledon is a village on the River Hamble in Hampshire, England. It is located within the borough of Eastleigh. Close to the city of Southampton, Bursledon has a railway station, a marina, dockyards and the Bursledon Windmill. Nearby villages ...

. It then closely parallels the south coast and travels on via

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufac ...

Cosham Cosham ( or ) is a northern suburb of Portsmouth lying within the city boundary but off Portsea Island, in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 along with Drayton and Wymering (mainland) an ...

Havant Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England. Nearby places include Portsmouth to the south-west, Southampton to the west, Waterlooville to north, Chichester to the east and Hayling Island to the south. The wider borough ...

, Lancing,

Shoreham-by-Sea Shoreham-by-Sea (often shortened to Shoreham) is a coastal town and port in the Adur District, Adur district, in the county of West Sussex, England. In 2011 it had a population of 20,547. The town is bordered to its north by the South Downs, to ...

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

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 ...

Falmer Falmer is a small village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Lewes (district), Lewes District of East Sussex, England, lying between Brighton and Lewes, approximately five miles (8 km) north-east of the former. It is also ...

and

where it then terminates at

. A section of the A27 running from the eastern end of the M27 to the end of the road at Pevensey forms part of, what was known as, the ''South Coast Trunk Road''. Much of the road has been improved to dual carriageway standard, with the westernmost section of the trunk portion even having as much as four lanes plus a hard shoulder in each direction, and on a

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

alignment with grade-separated junctions. This is perhaps a reflection that the M27 was once proposed to run as far as Chichester. The road runs east from Portsmouth to

then on to the

Warblington Warblington is a suburb of Havant, in the county of Hampshire, England. Warblington used to be a civil parish, and before that was part of the Hundred of Bosmere. Etymology In Saxon times there was a farm ( OE: ) possibly owned by a woman ...

Emsworth Emsworth is a town in the Borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England near the border with West Sussex. It lies at the north end of an arm of Chichester Harbour, a large and shallow inlet from the English Channe ...

exit. Beyond Warblington the dual carriageway east has no junctions in it until it reaches Chichester, where the by-pass has five

roundabouts A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types 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 junct ...

and one traffic signal controlled junction, that disrupt the mainline flow of the road. The Chichester by-pass is regularly subject to congestion and although a public inquiry has proposed improvements, those improvements are currently on hold. East of Chichester the road largely retains a two-lane dual-carriageway standard. There are, however a couple of sections of single-carriageway; at Arundel and at

. These are both areas of known

during times of peak usage. At the junction of the A27 and the A24, the A27 has a brief section where the road is designated 'A27' and 'A24' before continuing from the 'Grove Lodge' roundabout where the road is named "Upper Brighton Road". After

, the A27 passes

on the Sompting Bypass before passing through Lancing where there are traffic lights and a roundabout which disrupt traffic flow. Just before the road crosses the

River Adur The Adur () is a river in Sussex, England; it gives its name to the Adur district of West Sussex. The river, which is long, was once navigable for large vessels up as far as Steyning, where there was a large Saxon port, but by the 11th centur ...

near Shoreham via the 'Shoreham flyover' (constructed 1968-70), there is a traffic light-controlled intersection close to

Lancing College Lancing College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18 in southern England, UK. The school is located in West S ...

and the headquarters of Ricardo plc which was the scene of the multiple-fatality

Shoreham Airshow crash On 22 August 2015, a warbird, former military aircraft crashed onto a main road during an aerial display at the Shoreham Airshow at Brighton City Airport, Shoreham Airport, England, killing 11 people and injuring 16 others. It was the deadlies ...

in 2015. After the 'flyover' over the Adur, the A27 then runs past the Holmbush interchange (Shoreham-by-Sea) and on through the Southwick Hill Tunnel, at that point entering the City of

Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority area, ceremonially in East Sussex, England. There are multiple villages alongside the seaside resorts of Brighton and Hove in the district. It is administe ...

, traditionally (though no longer administratively) part of

. Later, it passes

— where it is known as the Brighton Bypass — and around the

South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the ...

. The junction of the A23 and the A27 is often slow in the morning rush hour. It then passes around Falmer with this section of road having three lanes in each direction but loses the third lane later. When

Brighton and Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gro ...

play at home this section can become congested due to its proximity to

Falmer Stadium Falmer Stadium, currently known as the American Express Stadium for sponsorship reasons and more commonly referred to as the Amex, is a association football, football stadium in Falmer, Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. With a capacity o ...

. The road passes into

proper just to the west of the Falmer junction. Afterwards, it passes south of

where it meets the

A26 road The A26 road is a primary route in the southeast of England, going from Maidstone to Newhaven through the counties of Kent and East Sussex. The road is almost entirely single carriageway with one lane on each side, although parts of the road a ...

Newhaven Newhaven is a port town in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England, lying at the mouth of the River Ouse. The town developed during the Middle Ages as the nearby port of Seaford began drying up, forcing a new port to be established. A ...

. Here, the road becomes a

single carriageway A single carriageway (British English) is a road with one, two or more lanes arranged within a one carriageway with no central reservation, central reservation/median strip to separate opposing flows of traffic. A single-track road is a type of ...

standard and formerly crossed a level crossing until it was bypassed by a bridge which opened in 2008. The South Coast Multi-Modal Study (SoCoMMS) recommended a dual carriageway, but the Highways Agency built it to a cheaper single-carriageway standard. Plans are still proposed for upgrading this later. The road afterwards reverts to a dual carriageway with access to the A22, which provides links to

and

Hailsham Hailsham is a town, a civil parish and the administrative centre of the Wealden district of East Sussex, England.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Dat ...

. The road then once again becomes a single carriageway near Pevensey, where the road ends, and the South Coast Trunk Road transfers over to the

A259 The A259 is a road on the south coast of England passing through Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex, and Kent, and is the longest Zone 2 A road in Great Britain. The main part of the road connects Brighton, Peacehaven, Eastbourne, Hastings, ...

; this coast road starts in

and shadows the route of the A27.

Bexhill to Hastings link road

Work on the contentious Bexhill to Hastings link road commenced in early 2013 and was completed in late 2015. The road provides a more direct link from the A27 to the

A28 road The A28 is a primary route in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in south east England, connecting Margate, Canterbury, Ashford and Hastings. Starting at the seaside resort of Margate at the north-east point of Kent, the A28 runs inland an ...

via the

A259 road The A259 is a road on the south coast of England passing through Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex, and Kent, and is the longest Zone 2 A road in Great Britain. The main part of the road connects Brighton, Peacehaven, Eastbourne, Hastings, ...

Landmarks on the route

Adur flyover road junction aerial photo Aug2009

Spinnaker Tower The Spinnaker Tower is a landmark observation tower in Portsmouth, England. It is the centrepiece of the redevelopment of Portsmouth Harbour, which was supported by a National Lottery grant. The tower's design was chosen by Portsmouth reside ...

Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of th ...

Arundel Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Our Lady and St Philip Howard is located in Arundel, West Sussex, England. Dedicated in 1873 as the Catholic parish church of Arundel, it became a cathedral at the foundation of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton in 1965 ...

Arundel Castle Arundel Castle is a restored and remodelled medieval castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England. It was established by Roger de Montgomery in the 11th century. The castle was damaged in the English Civil War and then restored in the 18th and earl ...

* The

Shoreham Airport Brighton City Airport , also commonly known as Shoreham Airport, is located in Lancing, West Sussex, Lancing near Shoreham by Sea in West Sussex, England. It has a Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom), CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence tha ...

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

Lewes Castle Lewes Castle is a medieval castle in the town of Lewes in East Sussex, England. Originally called Bray Castle, it occupies a commanding position guarding the gap in the South Downs cut by the River Ouse and occupied by the towns of Lewes and Cl ...

* Mount Caburn * Firle Beacon *

Long Man of Wilmington The Long Man of Wilmington or Wilmington Giant is a hill figure on the steep slopes of Windover Hill near Wilmington, East Sussex, Wilmington, East Sussex, England. It is northwest of Eastbourne and south of Wilmington. Locally, the figure w ...

Proposed developments

The National Highways Agency state on their website that the A27 is the only east–west trunk road south of the M25 and it serves a population of more than 750,000 people along the south coast. They also say that safety is a problem along the A27 with many accidents and incidents along its length. To improve its safety and serviceability they intend to make improvements to the road. This includes: *Arundel Bypass (RIS3)Plans were originally deferred until 2025-2030, but have now been cancelled. *Worthing & Lancing ImprovementsImprovements to junctions in the urban areas of Worthing and Lancing to increase capacity and improve safety. Proposed improvements would have begun in 2025 and be completed by 2027, but have been cancelled by the government. *Chichester Bypass (RIS3)The National Highways Agency intend to hold a comprehensive public engagement programme in 2023, where people will be encouraged to have their say.

Junctions

{, class="plainrowheaders wikitable" , - !scope=col, County !scope=col, Location !scope=col, mi !scope=col, km !scope=col, Coord !scope=col, Destinations !scope=col, Notes , - ,

, — , 0 , 0 , , -

, , - , rowspan="20",

, rowspan="2",

, 8.5 , 13.7 , , -

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

, Ringwood,

Ower Ower is a hamlet in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest towns are Totton – approximately to the southeast, and Romsey – around to the north-east. Ower lies on the A36 road northwest of Totton. It lies most ...

Cadnam Cadnam is a village situated in Hampshire, England, within the boundaries of the New Forest National Park. The village has existed since the medieval period, when it was (and still is) an important crossroads between Southampton and the towns of ...

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, , - , 9.3 , 15.0 , , -

, Stockbridge , , - , — , 10.3 , 16.6 , , -

Nursling Nursling is a village in the civil parish of Nursling and Rownhams, in the Test Valley district, in Hampshire, England, about north-west of the city of Southampton. Formerly called Nhutscelle (in an 8th-century life of Saint Boniface), then N ...

, Rownhams, Lordshill , , - , rowspan="4" ,

, 15.1 , 24.3 , , -

M3 -

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 ...

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

, , - , 16.6 , 26.7 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , , bgcolor="ffdddd" , -

, Southampton Center , bgcolor="ffdddd" , Detour along Stoneham lane and the A335 is required to continue along the A27 , - , 19.9 , 32.1 , , -

Bitterne Bitterne is an eastern suburb and ward of Southampton, in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Bitterne derives its name not from the similarly named bird, the bittern, but probably from the bend in the River Itchen; the Old English w ...

, Botley,

Hedge End Hedge End is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Hampshire, England. Situated to the east of the Southampton, City of Southampton, it adjoins the districts of West End, Hampshire, West End and Botley, Hampshire, Botley. Hedge ...

, , - , 21.2 , 34.2 , , -

- Woolston , , - , rowspan="5" ,

Park Gate Park Gate is a village in the Fareham district in Hampshire, England. It borders Locks Heath to the south, Segensworth to the east and Sarisbury to the west. Park Gate has two churches, Duncan Road Church and St Margaret Mary R.C. It also has ...

, 24.5 , 39.4 , , - Botley , , - , 24.8 , 39.9 , , -

Titchfield Titchfield is a village and former civil parish in the Borough of Fareham, Fareham district, in southern Hampshire, England, by the River Meon. The village has a history stretching back to the 6th century. During the medieval period, the villa ...

Warsash Warsash is a village in southern Hampshire, England, situated at the mouth of the River Hamble, west of the area known as Locks Heath and south of Sarisbury. Boating plays an important part in the village's economy, and the village has a sail ...

, Road splits into two branches , - , colspan="5" bgcolor="d3d3d3" align="center", ''North branch'' , - , 25.2 , 40.6 , , -

, , - , colspan="5" bgcolor="d3d3d3" align="center", ''South branch'' , - , rowspan="5" ,

, 29.1 , 46.8 , , -

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hampshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 70,131 and the district had a pop ...

, , - , 29.7 , 47.3 , , -

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) * Alton (surname) Places Australia * Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario * Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zeala ...

, Wickham , Road splits into two branches , - , colspan="5" bgcolor="d3d3d3" align="center", ''North branch'' , - , 30.3 , 48.3 , , -

, Alton, Portsmouth, Brighton , , - , colspan="5" bgcolor="d3d3d3" align="center", ''East branch'' , - , rowspan="3" ,

, 33.3 , 53.1 , , -

Paulsgrove Paulsgrove is an area of northern Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Initially a small independent hamlet for many centuries, it was admitted to the city limits in 1920 and grew rapidly after the end of the Second World War. History Paulsgrove ex ...

Waterlooville Waterlooville is a town in the Borough of Havant in Hampshire, England, approximately north northeast of Portsmouth. It is the largest town in the borough. The town had a population of 64,350 in the 2011 Census. It is surrounded by Purbrook, ...

, , - , 34.3 , 54.6 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , , bgcolor="ffdddd" , -

Hilsea Hilsea is a district of the city of Portsmouth in the English county of Hampshire. Hilsea is home to one of Portsmouth's main sports and leisure facilities – the Mountbatten centre. Trafalgar School (formerly the City of Portsmouth Boys' Scho ...

, bgcolor="ffdddd" , no access from M27 to A27 going west and vice versa , - , 35.6 , 57.3 , , - Farlington,

Drayton Drayton may refer to: People * Drayton (surname) Legal cases * '' United States v. Drayton'', 536 U.S. 194 (2002) Places Australia *Drayton, Queensland, a locality in the Toowoomba Region *Shire of Drayton, a former local government area in Quee ...

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea began as a f ...

Fratton Fratton is a residential and formerly industrial area of Portsmouth in Hampshire, England. Victorian style terraced houses are dominant in the area, typical of most residential areas of Portsmouth. Fratton has many discount shops and "greasy sp ...

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Notes

External links

Society for All British Road Enthusiasts Route Description - A27

TAB-MSAS: Roads Photos: A27

BBC News article on new subway at Falmer

BBC News article on speed trap at Falmer

Traffic delays on the A27

Highways Agency A27 projects page

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2-0027 Roads in East Sussex Roads in Hampshire Roads in West Sussex Roads in Wiltshire Roads in England Roads in Brighton and Hove