A6 road (England)
The A6 is one of the main north–south roads in England. It runs from Luton in Bedfordshire to Carlisle in Cumbria, although it formerly started at a junction with the A1 at Barnet. It is the fourth longest numbered road in Britain; only the A1, A38 and A30 are longer.
A6 | ||||
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| Route information | ||||
| Length | 282 mi (454 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end | Luton 51.8782°N 0.4080°W | |||
| A421 A45 | ||||
| North end | Carlisle 54.8954°N 2.9311°W | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Constituent country | England | |||
| Primary destinations | Bedford Kettering Market Harborough Leicester Loughborough Derby Matlock Buxton Stockport Manchester Preston Lancaster Kendal Penrith | |||
| Road network | ||||
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Running north-west from Luton, the road passes through Bedford, bypasses Rushden, Kettering and Market Harborough, continues through Leicester, Loughborough, Derby and Matlock before passing through the Peak District to Bakewell, Buxton, Stockport, Manchester, Salford, Pendleton, Irlams o' th' Height, Pendlebury, Swinton, Wardley, Linnyshaw, Walkden, Little Hulton, Westhoughton, Chorley, Preston, Lancaster, Kendal and Penrith before reaching Carlisle.
South of Derby, the road is paralleled by the M1 motorway; between Manchester and Preston, the M6 and M61 motorways approximate its course; and from Preston to its northern terminus in Carlisle, it is paralleled by the M6 only. Between Derby and Manchester, the A6 follows a different route to the motorway network, crossing the Peak District rather than going around it. The A6 is considered to be less important than it was formerly because of these duplications.