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| Route information | |
| Length | 58.6 mi[1] (94.3 km) |
| Major junctions | |
| Southeast end |  A259 inHastings50°51′40″N0°33′30″E / 50.8611°N 0.5582°E /50.8611; 0.5582 |
| Major intersections |  A229 nearHurst Green
 A205 inCatford |
| Northwest end |  A20 inLewisham,London51°27′25″N0°00′49″W / 51.4569°N 0.0135°W /51.4569; -0.0135 |
| Location | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Counties | East Sussex,Kent,Greater London |
| Primary destinations | Bromley Sevenoaks Royal Tunbridge Wells |
| Road network | |
TheA21 is atrunk road inSouthern England, one of several which connectLondon and variouscommuter towns to the south coast. It provides a link toHastings,East Sussex and parts ofKent. Half of the distance covered is over gently undulating terrain, with some hills and bends. Traffic is often is slow-moving, particularly on weekdays on the shortsingle carriageway stretches; and in summer with holiday traffic.[2][3][4][5][6]Because of this, people have described the A21 as "a joke" and businesspeople have been reported to "hate coming down the A21".[2] There have been many proposals to upgrade parts of the A21 in response to this.
Parts of the A21 follow the historicturnpike roads: for example the section fromSevenoaks toTunbridge Wells, opened in 1710;[7] other sections of the road were similarly dealt with later in the century. It is also the location of the first wildlife overbridge in the United Kingdom, near Lamberhurst.The road between theM25 and Hastings is designated atrunk road, and is maintained and managed byNational Highways.
The A21 is used for the 55 miles (89 km)Maydayrun toHastings in which motorcyclists ride from south London to the Hastings seafront. It claims to be the largest non-organised event in the UK,[3] attracting over 20,000 bikers.
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Parts of the A21 follow theturnpike roads: one being the section fromSevenoaks toTunbridge Wells, opened in 1710;[7] other sections of the road were similarly dealt with later in the century.
South ofJohns Cross, the A21 originally followed the present dayA2100 road passingMountfield and heading throughBattle and approachingSilverhill viaHollington. The A21 was later rerouted to the east along what was formerly the B2091,A229 andA28.
Sections of the A21 were upgraded to a dual carriageway standard in stages in the 20th century.
The Sevenoaks Bypass opened in 1966.
It was followed by the Tonbridge bypass and associated Medway Valley viaduct in July 1971.[8]
The Pembury bypass opened in 1988,[9] followed by the Robertsbridge bypass in 1989.
The Lamberhurst Bypass was opened on 23 March 2005 to a cost of £18 million. The A21 used to have steep inclines into the village and the valley of theRiver Bewl. Included in the scheme is Britain's first[10]land bridge atScotney Castle which facilitates safe migration of wild animals over the road.[11] The scheme was constructed byMay Gurney who planted 50,000 trees on the new road.[12]
Between 1988 and 2017, the Tonbridge bypass and the Pembury bypass were separated by a 1.7 miles (2.7 km) section of 7.3 m wide single carriageway with no footways or verges. Severe congestion was frequent[13] as this stretch carried an average of 35,000 vehicles each day, significantly higher than its original capacity, and the number of accidents occurring on this road was above the national average. There were proposals to upgrade this section of A21 to a dual carriageway standard following the Pembury bypasses completion, however they were delayed multiple times.[14][15] In the 2000s, an upgrade scheme was proposed by theHighways Agency, and in 2013 it underwent public enquiry.[16] The scheme layout followed the existing carriageway and involved the construction of a pedestrian and cycle route along its whole length, as well as upgrading the Longfield Road roundabout into agrade-separatedRoundabout interchange. £92million of government money was made available to the scheme in July 2013.[17] Preparatory works started in September 2014,[18] which involved nine hectares of ancient woodland being removed. Trees and shrubs were relocated to adjacent land and nesting boxes were installed to protect endangered species such as the dormouse. As a result of the widening of the carriageway a number of buildings were demolished, including aGrade 2 listed 18th century barn. Completion of the scheme was delayed in late 2016 after the discovery of asbestos contamination.[19] The improved road opened in September 2017.[20]
The A21 begins inLewisham, about 5.9 miles (9 km) southeast of the centre of London. Passing throughCatford,Bromley andFarnborough, 20 miles (32 km) from the start of the journey, it reaches the Kent border and the open countryside. Shortly afterwards the M25 is reached, with which it multiplexes for about 5 miles (8.0 km). At this point, the road becomes atrunk road, a distinction it has held since April 1977.[21] The continuation through Kent heads south east for around 26 miles (42 km). This section is mostly a dual carriageway; but there are a few short stretches ofsingle carriageway, resulting in frequentcongestion, especially in peak periods.Beyond the East Sussex border, the road is entirelysingle carriageway, sometimes with steep gradients.Another bypass takes the A21 around the narrow road throughSalehurst andRobertsbridge. Immediately before Hastings is the final hill, almost 4 miles (6.4 km) in length.
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The A21 starts inLewisham in London at a junction with theA20 known as "Loampit Vale Junction". From there the road uses various roads inCatford, where theA205 (the South Circular Road) crosses the A21; it runs south east upBromley Hill to enter theLondon Borough of Bromley, where there are sections of dual carriageway, on the town'sgyratory system (part of which is calledKentish Way) .
UpMasons Hill the road reachesBromley Common, the first large-scale open space negotiated; briefly, just before Farnborough, the road becomesHastings Road. The original A21 went through the suburb, the High Street is now the B2158. Until now the road has been in a south-easterly direction, but afterGreen Street Green it turns eastwards towards the valley of theRiver Darent, and it is at this point that the road pattern makes a complete change from its original route.
The A21 originally entered Kent here and climbed to the scarp of theNorth Downs at Polhill, and then descended throughDunton Green and up the valley of theRiver Darent toSevenoaks; through the town centre and then down into theMedway valley viaHildenborough to Tonbridge. TheLondon Road at the north of the town is now the B245; it continued through the long High Street, over the many bridges of the river (during which time it was also part of theA26 fromMaidstone ). As the road began to climb out of the valley it took a left fork; shortly after this the route of the modern A21 is rejoined.
_heading_south_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1701549.jpg)
Where the new A21 begins, and also where theA224 joins from the north, the road is called theSevenoaks Road; atKnockholt (Hewitts Roundabout), the road entersKent near its junction with a spur from theM25 motorway. The A21 actuallymultiplexes with the M25 and descends the North Downs Scarp here. The M25 then has to use a slip road in the left lane and the A21 takes priority although is still technically a motorway until the junction with theA25 toSevenoaks and theM26. The oddness of Junction 5 is due to the M26 once being part of the M25.[citation needed]Before the M25 was built, the A21 was the modern A224 near Polhill and then became the dual carriagewaySevenoaks bypass.
This section of the road is a grade separated dual carriageway with two lanes in each direction (aside from a three lane section northbound climbing Hubbards Hill). The road passes to the west of the town, running through a nearby valley until it meets theA225 and B245 at Morley's Interchange nearSevenoaks Weald. The next section bypasses the original route of the A21 along the B245 throughHildenborough,Tonbridge High Street, and Pembury Road to join the current route near the second A26 junction.
BetweenLeigh and Haysden the road crosses theRiver Medway by means of a two-span viaduct. Around this point, the road enters theHigh Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The A21 then meets the two junctions with theA26, providing access to Tonbridge andSouthborough.
After the end of the Tonbridge bypass, the A21 climbs Castle Hill as thePembury Bypass as it reaches the North Farm interchange with the flyover for non-stop traffic. The next junction is with theA264 road toTunbridge Wells and theA228 toMaidstone. The road later meets the original alignment at an at-grade junction (leaving a brief gap in the central reservation) not long before it meets a double roundabout atKippings Cross where another section of single carriageway starts.The next section of A21 is a major bottleneck, being a single carriageway with frequent bends. In October 2005 the "Preferred Route" to upgrade this 3 miles (4.8 km) section was announced.[22]However, the scheme has since been suspended.[23]
After a junction with theA262, the road returns to a dual carriageway standard along the 2-mile (3.2 km)Lamberhurst bypass where the A21 skirts to the east of the village on a road through various farms until eventually it gets to Scotney Castle where the dual carriageway ends at a roundabout.
The next section of road is a single carriageway which travels pastBewl Water and Kilndown until it once again becomes a dual carriageway for 1.2 miles (1.9 km). However it has been reduced to one lane in each direction to reduce speeding.As the dual Carriageway ends, the road entersEast Sussex and meets theA268, taking traffic to/fromRye. The A21 then travels through numerous conjoined villages includingHurst Green where it meets theA265 fromHeathfield. After a hill descent, the road reaches a roundabout where theRobertsbridge bypass begins, taking traffic away from the main street in the village.This is built to a single carriageway standard. The road then regains the original route before meeting the A2100 at a roundabout in the hamlet ofJohns Cross.
After Johns Cross roundabout, the A21 takes a relatively straight, though undulating, journey, throughWhatlington and passesSedlescombe before climbing a four-mile (6.4 km) long hill to enterHastings where the first junction reached is the Baldslow Interchange where currently the A28, A2100 and B2093 roads all terminate. The A21 then heads through northern Hastings where the road is known asSedlescombe road North with access to sub-urban streets until eventually it meets the A2101 which heads for the Town Centre. The A21 then entersSilverhill where it gets to a junction which is sometimes a major bottleneck. Afterwards the A2102 heads for St Leonards and the A21 becomes the high street of Bohemia where the road is narrow. The route then heads down with access to various emergency services and then enters the town centre. From here the original A21 cut through the town centre to meet theA259 at a roundabout near Pelham Crescent however since the town centre has beenpedestrianised the A21 heads down on the sub-urban streets to the east. The next section of the A21 heads around partly on a one-way system near therailway station and the Priory Quarter business development. From here, the southbound stretch of A21 is reserved for buses only and terminates on the A259.
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Sussex | Hastings | 0.0 | 0.0 | A259 (Denmark Place / Carlisle Place) –Folkestone,Brighton | Southeastern terminus |
| 1.5 | 2.4 |  A2102 south (St Matthew's Drive) –St Leonards | Northern terminus of A2102 | ||
| 2.3 | 3.7 |  A2101 south-east (St Helen's Road) –Hastings | A2101 signed southbound only; north-western terminus of A2101 | ||
| 3.5 | 5.6 |  A2100 toA259 –Battle,Folkestone | Information signed northbound only | ||
| 3.7 | 6.0 |  A28 north-east (Westfield Lane) –Ashford,Westfield,Tenterden | Tenterden signed southbound only; south-western terminus of A28 | ||
| Mountfield | 9.6 | 15.4 | A2100 south-east (London Road) –Battle,Bexhill | Information signed northbound only; north-western terminus of A2100 | |
| Hurst Green | 13.8 | 22.2 |  A265 west (Station Road) –Lewes | Eastern terminus of A265 | |
| 14.2 | 22.9 | A229 north (Merriments Lane) –Hawkhurst,Maidstone | Southern terminus of A229 | ||
| Flimwell | 16.7 | 26.9 |  A268 east (Hawkhurst Road) / B2087 (High Street) –Hawkhurst,Ticehurst | Western terminus of A268 | |
| Kent | Lamberhurst | 21.8 | 35.1 |  A262 east / B2162 –Goudhurst,Horsmonden,Lamberhurst | Western terminus of A262 |
| Royal Tunbridge Wells–Pembury boundary | Begin freeway | ||||
| 26.9 | 43.3 |   A228 north /A264 west to B2161 –Tunbridge Wells,Pembury,Maidstone,Paddock Wood | Maidstone signed northbound only, To B2161 and Paddock Wood southbound only; southern terminus of A228; eastern terminus of A264 | ||
| 27.6– 28.1 | 44.4– 45.2 | Pembury | |||
| Pembury–Capel boundary | 28.3– 28.7 | 45.5– 46.2 | Capel | ||
| Capel–Tonbridge boundary | 29.7– 30.2 | 47.8– 48.6 |  A26 north-east –Tonbridge | ||
| Tonbridge | 31.1 | 50.1 | A26 –Southborough,Tubridge Wells | South-east exit and north-west entrance | |
| Sevenoaks Weald | 35.6– 36.2 | 57.3– 58.3 |  A225 north / B245 –Sevenoaks,Hildenborough,Sevenoaks Weald | B245 signed south-east only; southern terminus of A225 | |
| Chevening | 39.9– 40.3 | 64.2– 64.9 |  A25 –Westerham,Sevenoaks,Riverhead | ||
| 40.5– 41.7 | 65.2– 67.1 |      M25 west toM23 /M3 /M4 –Gatwick Airport,Heathrow Airport | To M3 signed north-west only; south-eastern terminus of M25 concurrency; M25 junction 5 | ||
| Shoreham | 44.5– 45.0 | 71.6– 72.4 |    M25 east toM20 /M11 /M1 –Stansted Airport,Central London,Maidstone | Stansted Airport and Central London signed north-west only, Maidstone southeast only; north-western terminus of M25 concurrency; M25 junction 4 | |
| 45.0 | 72.4 | End freeway | |||
| Kent–Greater London boundary | Shoreham–Bromley boundary | 45.8 | 73.7 |  A224 (Orpington By-Pass) / Hewitts Road / Wheatsheaf Hill –Dunton Green,Orpington,St Mary Cray,Badgers Mount,Chelsfield,Halstead,Well Hill | |
| Greater London | Bromley | 48.1 | 77.4 |  A223 north (High Street) / Cudham Lane North –Orpington,Green Street Green,Cudham | Southern terminus of A223 |
| 50.4 | 81.1 |  A232 (Crofton Road / Croydon Road) –Orpington,Croydon,Locksbottom,Biggin Hill,West Wickham,Hayes | Biggin Hill, West Wickham, and Hayes signed north-west only | ||
| 51.4 | 82.7 | Oakley Road (A233 south) | Northern terminus of A233 | ||
| 53.6 | 86.3 |   A222 (Widmore Road) toA234 –Chislehurst,Sidcup,Elmstead,Beckenham,Croydon | Beckenham and Croydon signed south-east only | ||
| 53.9 | 86.7 |  A2212 north (College Road) –Grove Park | Information signed south-east only; southern terminus of A2212 | ||
| Lewisham | 55.7 | 89.6 | Beckenham Hill Road (A2015 south-west) | North-eastern terminus of A2015 | |
| 55.9 | 90.0 | Southend Lane (A2218 west) / Whitefoot Lane | Eastern terminus of A2218 | ||
| 57.1 | 91.9 | A205 (South Circular Road) –Clapham Junction,Woolwich | Brief concurrency | ||
| 58.6 | 94.3 |  A20 toA2211 –Central London,Peckham,New Cross,Woolwich,Lee Green,Greenwich | North-western terminus | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Large portions of the A21, through Kent mostly, are dual carriageway with intervening stretches of single carriageway.There have long been plans are to upgrade some of the remaining stretches ofsingle carriageway to alleviate congestion, safety and accessibility problems in the villages along the route.[2][4][24]
Safety is a particular concern because a 2002 report stated that a 14 mi (23 km) section of the A21 south ofFlimwell was the most dangerous road in thesouth east outside London, and the 38th most dangerous in the country,[25] however it has since been overtaken by theA259 betweenPevensey andBexhill-on-Sea.[26][27][28][29][30][31]
When the Pembury bypass ends atKippings Cross, the next section of A21 is a low quality single carriageway road with several steep gradients across theWeald. There are few major centres of habitation on the roadand limited or no footpaths.There are many houses next to the route and the road has very frequent bends.The Kippings Cross to Lamberhurst section has a high accident rate and congestion occurs particularly at peak times.[32]
It is proposed that this section should be turned into a two-lane dual carriageway with footpathsand is proposed to be completely off-line, although mainly following the existing route, and haveimprovements to theA262 roundabout.[33]The Bypass is said to cost £40 million.[34]
This scheme has since been suspended following the 2010 spending review.[23]
Plans have been published for a new road between the southern end of the Flimwell bypass and the beginning of theRobertsbridge bypass. The 5.5-mile (8.9 km) improvement will bypass the villages of Flimwell, Hurst Green and Silver Hill.[35] The improvement will commence at the B2079 junction (Lady Oak Lane) on the short section of existing dual carriageway north of Flimwell and terminate at the roundabout at the northern end of the Robertsbridge Bypass.Although part of the road will be brought up to a dual carriageway standard, parts will become a "wide single carriageway".[36][37] This scheme has been postponed until 2015 at the earliest and currently route protection is being lifted.[citation needed]
Since theHastings-Bexhill Link Road opened, more traffic has started to use the already congested road from theA2100/A28 to the A21 at Baldslow Interchange, Hastings.Construction is underway to build a short link road to the A21 south of the interchange and bring more of the A21, from there up past to a new roundabout in an area north of the interchange, todual carriageway standard.Another option was to realign the A2100 north of the junction, but this option was less favourable due to environmental concerns.[38][39]
Schemes to upgrade the following sections have also been proposed:[40]
Lamberhurst to Flimwell
Robertsbridge to Baldslow
A roads in Zone 2 of theGreat Britain road numbering scheme | ||
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