The A4074 is a British

A road A roads may be *motorways or freeways, usually where the local word for motorway begins with A (for example, ''Autobahn'' in German; ''Autostrada'' in Italian). * main roads or highways, in a system where roads are graded A, B and sometimes lower c ...

from the

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

suburb of Caversham to the Heyford Hill roundabout on the

Oxford Ring Road The Oxford Ring Road circles the city of Oxford, England. It is a dual carriageway ring road for most of its length apart from a short section between Woodstock Road and Banbury Road in the north of the city. The severe restrictions on traf ...

. The road starts from a junction with the

A4155 List of A roads in zone 4 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the ...

close to the northern side of

Caversham Bridge Caversham Bridge is a bridge across the River Thames between Caversham and the town centre of Reading. The bridge is situated on the reach above Caversham Lock, carrying the A4155 road across the river and also providing pedestrian access to ...

(over the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

) before climbing through the up-market residential area of

Caversham Heights Caversham Heights is a residential area within Caversham in the borough of Reading in Berkshire, England, located to the east of the centre of Caversham. Until 1911, Caversham was part of Oxfordshire, and it remains a part of the historic cou ...

. Crossing the Reading Borough boundary, the road proceeds through the small community of

Chazey Heath Chazey Heath is a hamlet in Oxfordshire, England, about north of Reading, Berkshire. It is situated on the A4074 road, between Caversham and Oxford, at its junction with the rural road to Goring Heath and Goring-on-Thames. For local governme ...

, where it enters thick woodland for several miles before emerging near the village of

Woodcote Woodcote is a village and civil parish in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, about southeast of Wallingford and about northwest of Reading. It is in the Chiltern Hills, and the highest part of the village is above sea ...

. From here it crosses the more exposed ground of the

Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills or the Chilterns are a chalk escarpment in southern England, located to the north-west of London, covering across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire; they stretch from Goring-on-Thames in the south- ...

before bypassing both

Wallingford Wallingford may refer to: People Surname * Darcy Wallingford (fl. 1980s), Canadian swimmer * Jesse Wallingford (1872–1944), British sport shooter and New Zealand army officer * Sidney Wallingford (1898–1978), British-born aviator and New Zeal ...

and

Crowmarsh Gifford Crowmarsh Gifford, commonly known as Crowmarsh, is a village in the civil parish of Crowmarsh, in the South Oxfordshire district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is beside the River Thames opposite the market town of Wallingford, th ...

on the Wallingford bypass. It then passes by Benson, passes through

Shillingford Shillingford is a hamlet on the north bank of the River Thames in Warborough civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England. It lies on the A4074 between Oxford and Reading, at the junction with the A329. History Roads and ford At various ti ...

, bypasses Dorchester and passes through

Nuneham Courtenay Nuneham Courtenay is a village and civil parish about SSE of Oxford. It occupies several miles close to the east bank of the River Thames. Geography The parish is bounded to the west by the River Thames and on other sides by field boundaries. ...

. The road becomes dual-carriageway as it passes

Sandford-on-Thames Sandford-on-Thames, also referred to as simply Sandford, is a village and Parish Council beside the River Thames in Oxfordshire just south of Oxford. The village is just west of the A4074 road between Oxford and Henley. Early history In 108 ...

and remains so to its terminus on the Oxford Ring Road at the Heyford Hill roundabout. The road was designated in the 1980s , when the B479 between Caversham and Crowmarsh Gifford was renumbered. In 1990 the A423 from Crowmarsh to Heyford Hill was renumbered the A4074, and the road became the primary route between Reading and

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

in place of the A329 along the

. The short stretch of the Oxford Ring Road between Heyford Hill and the Hinksey Hill interchange was not renumbered A4074, and remains an isolated fragment of the A423. The poor safety record of a particular stretch of this road, roughly between Chazey Heath and Woodcote, is highlighted in its local nickname, ''The 13 Bends of Death''. Its accident rate of 53 per 100 million vehicle kilometres is nearly 70% higher than average for roads of its type. A half-hourly bus service, branded as river rapids and operated by

Thames Travel Thames Travel is a bus operator serving the southern part of the English county of Oxfordshire. It is based in Didcot and is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group's Oxford Bus Company operation alongside Pearces Coaches, also of Oxfordshire, Carou ...

, owned by Go-Ahead like its sister company the

Oxford Bus Company The City of Oxford Motor Services Limited, trading as Oxford Bus Company, is a bus operator serving the city and surrounding area of Oxford, England. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. History Horse trams and horse buses The City of Oxf ...

, runs between Reading and Oxford along the A4074, albeit passing through the centre of Wallingford rather than using the by-pass. Alternate bus X40, with the X40 also diverting from the main road to serve Woodcote.

References

External links

* *BBC radio feature
"around the A4074"SABRE – A4074
{{DEFAULTSORT:4-4074 Roads in Berkshire Roads in England Roads in Oxfordshire