The A4008 is a local road in south east England.

Route

It starts at

Hatch End Hatch End is an area of North West London, situated within the London Borough of Harrow. It is located north west of Charing Cross. Attractions Hatch End is home to Harrow Arts Centre, a complex which centres on the 404-seat Elliott Hall and ...

in the

London Borough of Harrow The London Borough of Harrow () is a London boroughs, London borough in northwest London, England; it forms part of Outer London. It borders four other London boroughs London Borough of Barnet, Barnet to the east of ancient Watling Street, Watl ...

at a roundabout on the A410. It runs North from the roundabout and is known as Oxhey Lane. After it passes over the route of the Grims Dyke and Grimsdyke Golf Course is to the East. Very soon afterwards it passes in to

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. At the border a white post with the shield of London on it marks the

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

border. There is also a plate emblazoned with the name and arms of the former county of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. In the trees to the east, a BT microwave tower may be seen. The road continues northwards passing the estate of Carpenders Park on its western side. There is also a cemetery here. after crossing into Hertfordshire, the road enters the Borough of

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

. There is a pub, the Load of Hay on the western side and then a small green known as Watford Heath. The road swings eastwards and winds through the village of

Oxhey Oxhey is a suburb of Watford, under the jurisdiction of the Watford Borough Council in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is in the Oxhey ward of Watford Borough Council. The wider locations which comprise the modern Oxhey area are Oxhe ...

, now a suburb of

. At Bushey Station, the northbound traffic runs straight on, whereas southbound traffic is via Chalk Hill and right into Aldenham Road (passing the Victoria public house at a set of traffic lights). The road has now joined the A411 and passing under Bushey Arches at a roundabout and it becomes Lower Watford High Street. On the east of the road just after the roundabout there is a metal turnpike marker with a plaque commemorating it as the last of its type. A gyratory system takes the northbound traffic around a

retail park A retail park is a type of shopping centre found on the fringes of most large towns and cities in the United Kingdom and other European countries. Retail parks form a key aspect of European retail geographies, alongside indoor shopping centres, ...

, via Dalton Way and under Oxhey Arches. The southbound traffic is along Lower High Street. The two routes meet at a set of traffic lights and via a roundabout into Stephenson Way. On the west is a

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

Extra supermarket, on the east is the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

running on an embankment between

Bushey Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It had a population of 25,328 in the 2011 census, rising to 28,416 in the 2021 census, an increase of 12.19%. This makes Bushey the second most populated town ...

and

Watford Junction Watford Junction is a railway station serving the town of Watford in Hertfordshire, England. The station is on the West Coast Main Line (WCML), from and the Abbey Line, a branch line to St Albans. It is also the northern terminus of the Lion ...

. This section of the road dates from the late 1980s. On 23 January 1975, there was a train accident on this embankment and a locomotive and carriages rolled down onto what were then fields just by point at which the traffic lights mark the exit from the supermarket. The road leaves the route of the A412 at a roundabout at the end of Stephenson Way and heads east along a link road to join the A41 and M1 at junction 5, Berrygrove. At the start of this link road the route again passes under the railway, which is carried on the

Colne Viaduct The Colne Viaduct, also known as Five Arches Viaduct, carries the West Coast Main Line railway over the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne near Watford in Hertfordshire, Eastern England, just north-west of London. It was built in 1837 for the ...

. At this point, in the 1930s, an open-air pool was crafted into the course of the River Colne. The road is some in length.

History

The A4008 was originally numbered the B460. For a while, in the 1970s and 1980s, the route from Bushey Station to the A41 was along the Aldenham Road. This was originally the B462 and it reverted to this number after the opening of Stephenson Way and the M1 link.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:4-4008 Roads in England Roads in Hertfordshire Streets in the London Borough of Harrow Roads in London