The Heart of the UK

If there’s one part of the road network in the UK that almost everyone will be familiar with, it’s the M1. We’ve all been there at some stage in our life, sat there with all the other M1 traffic.

Connecting Newcastle to London, it sort of covers the length of England. It’s also sort of central in that if you draw a line in the middle of England from top to bottom here’s what you get – Also check Speedy Recovery

There’s plenty of history behind it with construction beginning in the 1950s and the first part of the motorway opening in 1959. This was a stretch of road between Watford and Rugby, or looking at it a different way, between what is now junction 5 to 18.

That was approximately 8 miles long in total. You could literally run a 10k race along it, and just add a bit more for completion. It’s amazing really but that’s really how it all began all those years ago.

As stated it’s vast running through Greater London, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. London, Brent Cross, Watford and St Albans.

In addition to Hemel Hempstead, Luton, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Rugby, Leicester, Loughborough, Nottingham, Derby, Mansfield, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Wakefield and Leeds.

It really is like a central artery running through the country. It then sort of morphs in and out of the A1 road, with parts actually called A1(M). This runs from London to Edinburgh with many major places on the way.

These include London, Hatfield, Stevenage, Biggleswade, Huntingdon, Peterborough, Stamford, Grantham, Newark-on-Trent, Retford, Doncaster, Pontefract, Leeds, Wetherby, Harrogate, Ripon, Scotch Corner, Darlington, Durham and Gateshead.

Not forgetting Newcastle upon Tyne, Morpeth, Alnwick, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Haddington and Edinburgh. Combined, that’s a fair few places mapped across the UK! There’s probably no other motorway like it, especially M1 traffic.

Traffic can be really bad; in fact one can look back to 1972. On a thick foggy day in March, 200 vehicles crashed north of Luton. Tragically there were 9 fatalities. That’s bad considering how long ago that was and during a period where cars were less.

Also that’s not the only type of M1 traffic you can find. In 1989 a Being 737 crashed on the M1. It was attempting to land at East Midlands airport in Leicestershire but failed to do so and crashed onto the embankment. Again, tragically there were 47 deaths.

It’s also been a part of a funeral procession. In 1997 after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, large sections of the carriageway between London and Althorp were closed off to allow pedestrians to pay their respects.

In better news, it’s also been a part of a famous movie, 28 Days Later. The zombie apocalypse movie was shot along a part of the M1 near Milton Keynes. We wouldn’t recommend you stop though, as you might end up a zombie with the M1 traffic about!

Another fact you may not be aware of is a certain junction is missing from the M1. There’s literally no junction 3 in between Finchley and Elstree. The plan was to add it once a link road had been created, however it was cancelled and so was the junction.

However there is a motorway service station occupying what would have been the junction. It would be really interesting to hear from you if you’ve ever stopped there, especially if you can share any pictures with us.

A fact not specific to the M1 is quite interesting. To be classed as a motorway all you need to have is the following: blue signage, no learner drivers, no cyclists, no tractors, a 70 mph speed limit, and until recently a hard shoulder.

The M1 is truly an important part of the road network in the UK. We’ve probably never appreciated its history or where it can take us. Nor when it was created and also what it’s dealt with through its history.

One thing is for sure though, we’re probably going to use it one day or another. For all the places it covers and it might only be a small stretch, it’s truly an unavoidable part of a driver’s journey. Oh that and the M1 traffic!