The UK’s best A road – and it takes you right past Britain’s prettiest city

Not much thought is normally given to roads when travelling, as they’re normally seen as simply a means to get from A to B.

But one motorway has been found to be the best A-road in Great Britain by a transport watchdog.

Around 9,000 road users voted in the Strategic Users Survey and ranked major roads with their overall satisfaction.

Factors used to find the best road in the UK included having a “clear road, decent surface and good markings”, according to Transport Focus.

One road came out on top with an overall satisfaction of 85 percent, an improvement from the previous year’s 77 percent result, and was crowned this year’s winner after climbing six places to number one.

The winning road is the A19, which stretches in North Yorkshire and runs through Selby, Thirsk, Northallerton and up to Teesside and links Newcastle to Doncaster. The road also takes motorists by one of Britan’s prettiest cities – York. 

Speaking about the A19 road, York Civic Trust explained it “directly connects three places with important Roman origins; Newcastle, York and Doncaster.”

“The A19, as a 124-mile road, is actually quite new, and much younger than its big brother, the A1, that it runs parallel with, and was part of the historic Great North Road,” added a spokesperson.

Chief executive for Transport Focus, Alex Robertson, highlighted how the survey showed “the maintenance of motorways and major roads is more important to users than building new roads”.

He added: “With road user perceptions of road surface quality deteriorating since 2022 and declining satisfaction with journey times, National Highways must continue to focus on delivering safe, smooth journeys.” 

One road user who uses the route frequently attested its win due to the region having “a lot of iconic towns and cities on the road throughout North Yorkshire and the North East”.

Rob Exelby, who works with his family managing five Shell garages just outside Thirsk, also praised the A19 for helping the family-fun businesses as the A road helps bring in a lot of people.

Exelby’s only drawback about the A road is that because of the high traffic in the area there were quite a few delays and accidents, however they are normally “dealt with quickly”. 

According to the survey, the top 10 motorways and major A roads included: 

1. A19  (Doncaster to Seaton Burn)

2. M40 (London to Oxford)

3. M4 (London to south Wales)

4. M5  (Birmingham to Exeter)

5. A1(M) (Sections between London and Edinburgh)

6. A38 (Bodmin to Mansfield)

7. A46 (Bath to Cleethorpes)

8. M56 (Manchester to Dunkirk, Cheshire)

9. A30 (London to Land’s End)

10. M3 (Sunbury-on-Thames to Chilworth)