To help orient the lost traveller who is not yet familiar with this part of South London, here is the full glory of the Croydon Ring Road, such as it is, in stylised map format.
This diagram includes the various odd concessions to the Croydon Tramlink system and the very numerous places that traffic stops at traffic signals, despite the various flyovers and underpasses on the way.
What might it have been like to stand in one spot and witness the arrival, and the uncertainty, of plans for an urban motorway in West London?
It was the UK's only single-carriageway motorway, and twenty years ago it ceased to exist. This is the story of the strange fascination it held, and of my place in history.
The second part of the story, where we learn why exactly the M4 gets narrower on the final approach to Europe’s biggest city.
The engineering marvel of its day, much altered and maligned ever since: this is the original Mersey Tunnel in all its glory.
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