The A689 is a road in northern

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 ...

that runs east from the A595, to the west of

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, to

Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

. The road begins west of

, just outside the city at the A595. The initial stretch was recently constructed as part of the Carlisle Northern Development Route, a road bypassing

from west to north. Crossing the River Eden and 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 ...

, the road

intersects In set theory, the intersection of two sets A and B, denoted by A \cap B, is the set containing all elements of A that also belong to B or equivalently, all elements of B that also belong to A. Notation and terminology Intersection is writt ...

with Junction 44 of the M6 at Greymoorhill. From Junction 44 of the M6, the A689 runs roughly south-east to a

roundabout 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 ...

, with the B6264. From here, the A689 heads east, and crosses the

River Irthing The River Irthing is a river in Cumbria, England and a major tributary of the River Eden. The name is recorded as Ard or Arden in early references. For the first 15 miles of its course it defines the border between Northumberland and Cumbria. ...

at Ruleholme, then it meets the A69 at a roundabout junction. The A689 joins the route of the A69 around part of the

Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

bypass. Near the village of Milton, the A689 turns right, and continues through Milton and Hallbankgate before crossing the border into the county of

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

. The route continues roughly south-east, and re-enters the county of Cumbria just north of the small market town of Alston. After passing through Alston, the A689 eventually crosses the border into

, where the route still heads gradually south-east through

Weardale Weardale is a dale, or valley, on the east side of the Pennines in County Durham, England. Large parts of Weardale fall within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – the second-largest AONB in England and Wales. The u ...

. At Killhope Cross between Killhope and Nenthead the road reaches a height of , making it the highest A road and equal highest paved pass in England (or third highest paved road in England.A Compendium of High Roads and Road Passes in Great Britain, Alan Kind & Friends http://web.me.com/mondard/Hodology/Highest_Roads_files/Highest%20Roads%20Part%201.pdf) At a roundabout with the A68, the A689 briefly joins the route of the A690, before turning right in the town of Crook (for a few years has bypassed Crook town centre and now uses a new bypass). Heading south-easterly still, the A689 encounters the town of

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham, England, Durham. M ...

, where it temporarily heads north-easterly (where it merges with the A688), before setting off in an easterly direction north of Bishop Auckland. The A689 meets the A167 at the Rushyford

, then shortly comes across the

A1(M) A1(M) is the designation given to a series of four separate motorway sections in the UK. Each section is an upgrade to a section of the A1, a major north–south road which connects London, the capital of England, with Edinburgh, the capita ...

at Junction 58. The A689 by-passes the town of

Sedgefield Sedgefield is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It had a population of 4,986 in the 2021 census. It has the only operating racecourse in County Durham. Etymology The name ''Sedgefield'' is of Old English origin. It ...

, and becomes dual carriageway standard for the remainder of the route, after the section between Sedgefield and Wynyard was upgraded to dual carriageway in 2001. The A689 meets the A19 near

Wolviston Wolviston is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees (borough), Stockton-on-Tees and the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census w ...

, before turning north-east and eventually terminating close to the centre of

References

External links

A689 Carlisle-Hartlepool
– from SABRE's "Roads By 10". {{DEFAULTSORT:6-0689 Roads in Cumbria Roads in England Transport in County Durham Transport in Northumberland

See also

References

External links