North Circular Road

51.6161°N 0.0952°W / 51.6161; -0.0952

"A406" redirects here. For the motorway in France, see A406 autoroute.

"Angel Road" redirects here. For the closed railway station, see Angel Road railway station.

A406
North Circular Road
The route of the North Circular Road in Greater London, with the South Circular Road and Woolwich Ferry
Route information
Maintained by Transport for London
Length	25.7 mi[1] (41.4 km)
History	Opened: 1910 Completed: c. 1930
Major junctions
West end	Chiswick (M4 Junction 1)
Major intersections	A205 (South Circular Road) M4 A4 (Great West Road) A40 (Western Avenue) M1 A1 (Great North Way) A10 (Great Cambridge Road) M11 A12 (Eastern Avenue) A13 (East Ham and Barking Bypass)  Woolwich Ferry
East end	Beckton
Location
Country	United Kingdom
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones

The North Circular Road (officially the A406 and sometimes known as simply the North Circular) is a 25.7-mile-long (41.4 km) ring road around Central London in England. It runs from Chiswick in the west to Woolwich in the east via suburban North London. It connects lots of suburbs and other trunk roads in the region. Together with the South Circular Road, it forms a ring road around central London. This ring road does not make a full circuit of the city. Instead, it is C-shaped. This is because the crossing over the River Thames in the east is made on the Woolwich Ferry.

Route

The North Circular Road is the northern part of a ring-road around Central London.^[2] It has seen much more investment than the South Circular Road, and it runs on much wider roads. Existing houses were demolished for the North Circular Road.^[3][4] The route has other names at some points. However, it is mostly called the North Circular for route planning purposes. The route is mostly grade-separated dual carriageway from the A40 at Hanger Lane to the A13 in Beckton except for the Drury Way/Brentfield Road junction, the Golders Green Road/Brent Street junction, Henlys Corner and the section from Bounds Green to Green Lanes.^[5] In worse sections, the original names such as Gunnersbury Avenue and Bowes Road are used.

Junctions

The North Circular Road has a lots of different junctions that connect to other roads. Some are complex and grade-separated, like at Charlie Brown's Roundabout near Woodford. Some are at-grade junctions with traffic lights. The original road only had at-grade junctions. Many of these were improved and grade separated in the late 1970s and early 1980s.^[6]

Current junctions

Name	Destinations	Notes
Chiswick flyover	A315 / A4 / A205  – Chiswick, Kew, Brentford, Staines-upon-Thames, Hounslow
Gunnersbury Park	B4491 / A4000  – South Ealing, Shepherd's Bush, Acton
	A4020  – Ealing, Southall, Acton	The historic London – Oxford postal route at Ealing Common
Hanger Lane Gyratory	A40 / A4005  – Greenford, Perivale, Alperton, Park Royal, Acton Northolt
	A404  – Harrow, Wembley, Harlesden	Near Stonebridge Park station
	Brent Park, Superstores, Wembley Stadium, Industrial Estate
	A4088  – Willesden, Neasden, Kingsbury
Staples Corner	M1 / A5  – The NORTH, Watford, Harrow, Kilburn, Cricklewood, Edgware, West Hendon	A5 is the historic Watling Street from London to Wroxeter
Brent Cross	A41 to A1 – Kilburn, Cricklewood, Hendon, Hatfield
	A502 to A1  – Mill Hill, Golders Green, Hampstead
Henlys Corner	A1 to M1  – The NORTH, Watford, Mill Hill, Hendon	West end of merge with the A1
Henlys Corner	A598  – Finchley, Golders Green	A special pedestrian crossing for Jews to use on the Sabbath is located here[7]
Henlys Corner	A1  – Central London, Holloway	East end of merge with A1
	A1000  – North Finchley, East Finchley, Chipping Barnet	The historic Great North Road
Colney Hatch Junction	B550  – Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Retail Park
Hobart Corner	A109 / A1004  – New Southgate, Whetstone, Southgate
Bounds Green interchange	A1110 / B1452  – New Southgate, Southgate	A regular congestion hotspot where traffic must narrow to single carriageway and perform a 90 degree turn.[8] Transport for London have earmarked the junction for improvement.[9]
Clockhouse Junction	A105  – Palmers Green, Wood Green, Hornsey
Great Cambridge Road Roundabout	A10 to M25 / A111  – Central London, Dalston, Hertford, Enfield, Potters Bar, Ware, Royston, Cambridge
Crooked Billet Roundabout	A112  – Chingford, Walthamstow, Highams Park
Waterworks	A104 to A503 / M11 – Woodford, Leytonstone, Walthamstow
Charlie Brown's	A1400 / A113  – Gants Hill, Chigwell	Restricted access; eastbound exit and westbound entrance. The original Charlie Brown's was the roundabout underneath this junction. It was named after a pub next to the roundabout, which was demolished in 1972.[5][10]
Charlie Brown's	M11  – Stansted, Cambridge
Redbridge Roundabout	A12  – Central London, Stratford, Chelmsford, Romford	Also the location of Redbridge tube station
	A118  – Manor Park, Ilford	The historic Roman Road from London to Colchester
	A124  – East Ham, Barking, London
Beckton Roundabout	A13 / A1020 (North Circular) to M25 / A117  – Tilbury, Dartford Crossing, Woolwich Ferry, Central London, Blackwall Tunnel

Former junctions

Name	Destinations	Notes
Waterworks Corner	A104 / A503	To avoid Epping Forest, the original build of the North Circular met the A104 at a different location by a water works northeast of Walthamstow.[11]
Gants Hill	A12 / A123	Gants Hill Underground station is also at this location.

Public transport

There are three bus routes where most of the route is on the North Circular Road:

• London Buses route 34: between Bounds Green and Walthamstow/South Chingford (Crooked Billet)^[12]
• London Buses route 112: between Ealing (Hanger Lane) and Finchley (Henlys Corner)^[13]
• London Buses route 232: in Brent Park/Neasden and between Staples Corner/Brent Cross and Palmers Green (Green Lanes)^[14]