The Acle Straight, also known as the Acle New Road, is a major road between

Acle Acle ( ) is a market town on the River Bure on the The Broads, Norfolk Broads in Norfolk, located halfway between Norwich and Great Yarmouth. It has the only bridge across the River Bure between Wroxham and Great Yarmouth.Ordnance Survey (2005). ...

and

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, England. It is part of the A47

trunk road A trunk road is a major highway with a specific legal classification in some jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom, Sweden and formerly Ireland. Trunk roads are planned and managed at the national-level, distinguishing them from non-trunk ro ...

History

The road was originally proposed as a turnpike on 3 May 1830 following an act of Parliament, the ( 11 Geo. 4 & 1 Will. 4. c. xxxix) and engineered by William Thorold. Its purpose was to provide quicker access between the two towns over the

Halvergate Marshes The Halvergate Marshes are an area of grazing marsh in the east of the English county of Norfolk. They form part of the area of The Broads and lie between the River Bure and the River Yare, bordering Breydon Water on the east. The marshes cove ...

. It was designed as two straight sections, connected by a bend halfway along which included a branch road between Seven Mile House and

Halvergate Halvergate is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, between the Rivers Bure and Yare. The civil parish also includes the hamlet of Tunstall. Halvergate is located south-east of Acle and east of Norwich. History ...

. This reduced the distance from Great Yarmouth to

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

by . The road was constructed by digging two parallel ditches, feet apart, with a surface comprising brushwood, gravel and soil from the ditches. It was largely complete by April 1831 and opened later that year. Tolls were removed from the road in 1861, though they remained on the Yarmouth Suspension Bridge over the

River Bure The River Bure is a river in the county of Norfolk, England, most of it in the Broads.Ordnance Survey (2005). ''OS Explorer Map OL40 - The Broads''. . The Bure rises near Melton Constable, upstream of Aylsham, which was the original head of ...

into the town centre until 1920. In 1882, the railway line between Acle and Great Yarmouth was built parallel to the Acle Straight. The

Stracey Arms Windpump Stracey Arms Windpump The cap assembly Stracey Arms Windpump is a windpump located at Tunstall in the civil parish of Halvergate, Norfolk, England. It is a grade II* listed building. It takes its name from a nearby public house A pu ...

was built in 1883 near the Halvergate branch road junction. It was Grade II* listed in 1982. A similarly named pub, the Stracey Arms, opened next door to the windmill. It subsequently became popular with boaters on the

Norfolk Broads Norfolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and east, Cambridgeshire to the west, a ...

as it sat directly between the Acle Straight and the River Bure and had private

mooring A mooring is any permanent structure to which a seaborne vessel (such as a boat, ship, or amphibious aircraft) may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to ...

s. In 2015, it was converted into a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

. The Acle Straight experienced problems with

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 ...

. In 1908, a deep pile was planned but was abandoned after testing found the ground was stable only up to a depth of .

Traffic

The road is a notorious accident spot, with numerous fatalities. As it runs through the middle of uninhabited wetlands, there is no practical alternative route, and detours can be up to . There have been proposals to widen the road to dual carriageway, but these have been rejected owing to environmental concerns.

Cultural references

Several ghost stories have featured the Acle Straight. A driver passing the turning to the Halvergate branch spotted a man walking out into the middle of the road. Unable to stop, he drove straight through him. There have also been reports of a horse and cart crossing directly in front of oncoming traffic, and drivers have reported wanting to perform an

emergency stop A kill switch, also known more formally as an emergency brake, emergency stop (E-stop), emergency off (EMO), or emergency power off (EPO), is a safety mechanism used to shut off machinery in an emergency, when it cannot be shut down in the usu ...

for no reason. The Acle Straight is mentioned in the song "Stuck In A Rut" by local band The Darkness. The lyrics refer to the group trying to get out of their hometown of

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...

, with the road as one possible escape route.

References

{{reflist, 30em Roads in Norfolk Turnpike roads in the United Kingdom