London–Milton Keynes Starting at
Marble Arch in
London, the A5 runs northwest on the
Edgware Road through
Kilburn and
Cricklewood. The A5 number disappears at the
A41 near
Edgware but the original road continues as the
A5183 through
Elstree,
Radlett,
St Albans,
Redbourn and
Dunstable.
Milton Keynes–Hinckley On entering the
City of Milton Keynes, the road becomes an (almost) fully
grade-separated dual carriageway and passes through Milton Keynes. This stretch was opened in 1980, replacing the original route along Watling Street. From just north of the city, after entering
Northamptonshire, the road resumes as a single carriageway that continues through
Towcester where it crosses the
A43 dual carriageway just north of the town. The road accompanies the
Grand Union Canal and the M1 motorway through the
Watford Gap. It then bridges the
M45 motorway and continues to
Kilsby. As it passes close to
Rugby, the road is diverted slightly around the
Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal and then passes the remains of the
Rugby Radio Station. The next phase north-west-bound takes it under the
M6 motorway and passing close to
Lutterworth. Along this stretch, the road frequently alternates between being a single and a dual carriageway. After meeting the
M69 motorway at a roundabout, with the motorway passing above, the A5 runs between Nuneaton and
Hinckley.
Hinckley–Shrewsbury After this section the road continues to run through the northern fringes of
Nuneaton and then on to
Tamworth. At Tamworth, the road follows a more recent dual carriageway bypass, permitting the original alignment to become a local road in the town. From this point the road is a grade separated dual carriageway up until its junction with the
A38 and
M6 toll. After this junction it passes just to the south of
Cannock and then, after its final junction with the
A41, enters
Telford, where it loses its identity and route-shares with the
M54 motorway from junction 5. At junction 7 the motorway ends and the A5 continues to
Shrewsbury as dual carriageway, on its new alignment. (The original route through Telford, and then via
Atcham to Shrewsbury, is unclassified through
Oakengates and as the B5061 through
Wellington and the B4380 through Atcham). At the cutting through Overley Hill is an exposure of
bedrock called
Uriconian rhyolite formed from volcanic lava. The route runs around Shrewsbury as the town's southern bypass (still as dual carriageway), combining for a stretch with the
A49. (The route once ran through the town, but was first bypassed in the 1930s, then by-passed again in the early 1990s).
Shrewsbury–Bangor After Shrewsbury, the A5 continues as single-carriageway except for the
Nesscliffe bypass. It then multiplexes with the major
South Wales–
North Wales road
A483 and forms part of the
Oswestry bypass, running to the east of that town. Shortly after, it crosses the
River Ceiriog and enters Wales to continue from
Chirk. The A5 continues through to
Snowdonia via
Llangollen,
Corwen,
Capel Curig and through the centre of
Bangor.
Bangor–Holyhead From Bangor the road crosses the
Menai Suspension Bridge to
Anglesey and then runs roughly parallel to the
A55 expressway to the outskirts of the village of
Valley where the A5 continues onto the
Stanley Embankment. The A5 from Valley to Holyhead is named London Road running through to the
Port of Holyhead. The A5 traditionally terminated at
Admiralty Arch (1822–24) on Salt Island, which was designed by
Thomas Harrison to commemorate a visit by King
George IV in 1821 en route to Ireland and marks the zenith of Irish Mail coach operations. The A5 currently terminates at the junction of the
A55 near the
Port of Holyhead. ==Junction list==