The A422 is an "A" road for east–west journeys in south central

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 ...

, connecting the county towns of

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

and

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

by way of

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

Brackley Brackley is a market town and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. It is on the borders with Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, east-southeast of Banbury, north-northeast of Oxford, and ...

Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...

and

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

. For most of its length, it is a narrow single carriageway.

Route (east to west)

The eastern end of the road is at Bromham on the outskirts of Bedford, where it branches off the A428. Its route then crosses into the

City of Milton Keynes The City of Milton Keynes is a Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is the northernmost district of the South East England Regions of England, Regio ...

. It briefly merges with the A509 to bypass

Newport Pagnell Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area. The town is separated from the rest of the u ...

. Passing over the M1, it crosses through the northern part of the Milton Keynes urban area as a dual carriageway, known locally additionally as the H3 Monks Way grid road. Upon meeting the A5 in Milton Keynes, the A422 multiplexes northbound with it for as far as Old Stratford in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

where it regains its identity (and single carriageway status). Resuming its east–west orientation, it bypasses Deanshanger, goes through the centre of

, around

, on into

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

just before crossing the M40 at Junction 11 and then into

. From the A422/ B4525 roundabout, on the western edge of

Middleton Cheney Middleton Cheney is a large village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The village is about east of Banbury in Oxfordshire and about west-northwest of Brackley. The A422 road between Banbury and Bra ...

(east of Junction 11), the road is dualled until it meets the A423 and resumes as a single carriageway. From there to

, it is a minor road crossing into

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

at the

Battle of Edgehill The Battle of Edgehill (or Edge Hill) was a pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill, Warwickshire, Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642. All attempts at constitution ...

site, where it descends steeply down the Sunrising Hill

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. Due to the similarity, the term '' scarp'' may mistakenly be incorrectly used inte ...

and then across the

Fosse Way The Fosse Way was a Roman road built in Britain during the first and second centuries AD that linked Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) in the southwest and Lindum Colonia ( Lincoln) to the northeast, via Lindinis ( Ilchester), Aquae Sulis ( Bat ...

. From the western side of Stratford-upon-Avon, the road multiplexes with the A46 until its junction with the A435 trunk road at Oversley on the outskirts of the historic market town of

Alcester Alcester ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire, England. It is west of Stratford-upon-Avon, and 7 miles south of Redditch. The town dates back to the times of Roman ...

. At that roundabout junction, the A422 heads briefly north to cross the River Arrow before heading west into the village of Arrow. In the village the road takes a right hand turn at the old Toll House, heading for the border with Worcestershire and passing through the village of

Inkberrow Inkberrow is a village in Worcestershire, England, often thought to be the model for Ambridge, the fictional setting of BBC Radio 4's long-running series ''The Archers''. In particular, The Bull, the fictional Ambridge pub, is supposed to be ba ...

, said to be the village that was the inspiration for Ambridge, (the setting for the long-running BBC radio series ''

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a British radio soap opera currently broadcast on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word Radio broadcasting, channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now pr ...

''). The last section to

is narrow and winding until it terminates at the A44 just south of M5 junction 6. The road is long.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:4-0422 Roads in England Transport in Bedfordshire Transport in Buckinghamshire Transport in Northamptonshire Roads in Oxfordshire Roads in Warwickshire Roads in Worcestershire Transport in Worcester, England Roads in Milton Keynes Roads forming part of the Milton Keynes grid road system