The A345 is a secondary A road in

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 ...

, England running from

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 ...

Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...

and the A4. The road is a main south–north link across

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, but st ...

, which is renowned for its rich archaeology, and passes many ancient points of interest along its way.

Route

The road begins in

at the Castle roundabout and travels north out of the city, passing close to Old Sarum Castle, taking a predominantly straight line to

Boscombe Down MOD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the south-eastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the D ...

and then

Amesbury Amesbury () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is known for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is within the parish. The town is claimed to be the oldest occupied settlement in Great Britain, having been first settl ...

before meeting the

A303 The A303 is a trunk road in southern England, running between Basingstoke in Hampshire and Honiton in Devon via Stonehenge. Connecting the M3 and the A30, it is part of one of the main routes from London to Devon and Cornwall. It is a prima ...

at Countess roundabout, where it shares Countess Services with the major road. At this point it passes within of the

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric Megalith, megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, to ...

. Continuing north, the road passes near to

Woodhenge Woodhenge is a Neolithic Class II henge and timber circle monument within the Stonehenge World Heritage Site in Wiltshire, England. It is northeast of Stonehenge, in Durrington parish, just north of the town of Amesbury. Discovery Woodhen ...

and the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

Royal School of Artillery The Royal School of Artillery (RSA) is the principal training establishment for artillery warfare in the British Army. Established in 1915, it is based at Larkhill, Wiltshire, on the south edge of the Salisbury Plain Training Area. The school is t ...

base at

Larkhill Larkhill is a garrison town in the civil parish of Durrington, Wiltshire, England. It lies about west of the centre of Durrington village and north of the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge. It is about north of Salisbury. The settlement ...

. This part of the route can be hazardous as there are often

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

s crossing and the road is susceptible to

subsidence Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope mov ...

. The next significant places are

Netheravon Netheravon is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Avon (Hampshire), River Avon and A345 road, about north of the town of Amesbury in Wiltshire, South West England. It is within Salisbury Plain. The village is on ...

, and then Upavon where the road briefly separates into a one-way system around the village, running concurrently with the A342 to

Devizes Devizes () is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-cent ...

. From here the A345 goes to

Pewsey Pewsey is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, about south of Marlborough, Wiltshire, Marlborough and west of London. It is within reach of the M4 motorway and the A303 and i ...

, where the Pewsey White Horse is best viewed, and then continues on to

, ending at a roundabout leading to the High Street which is the A4 road.

History

Originally, the A345 continued north from Marlborough to a junction with the A419 at Commonhead, southeast of

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

, and then through Swindon to meet the A419 again at

Blunsdon Blunsdon is a civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, in Wiltshire, England, about north of the centre of Swindon, with the A419 forming its southern boundary. Its main settlement is the village of Broad Blunsdon, with Lower Blunsdon nearby; ...

. When the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingdom, running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh ele ...

was opened, the section from Marlborough to junction 15 of the motorway became a northern extension of the A346. From the motorway to Commonhead, the road became part of the A419, and the route through Swindon was renumbered A4259 and A4311. Between Amesbury and Durrington, a section of the A345 was realigned further east away from the Woodhenge

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

in 1968, crossing to a further west alignment and incorporating a new roundabout at its junction with the A3028. The southern terminus was originally further south along Castle Street at Salisbury market square, but with the opening of the Salisbury Inner Ring Road in 1969 the southern section was declassified.

References

External links

SABRE page for the A345
{{DEFAULTSORT:3-0345 Roads in England Roads in Wiltshire