M4

M4

London to Pont Abraham

Easily one of the most varied motorways in Britain, from urban chaos in west London and Heathrow Airport, out through the rolling hills of Gloucestershire, across the Severn Estuary and through industrial South Wales, the M4 does it all.

Routes
M4

M4 and A4

Serving Reading, Bristol and South Wales, the A4 and M4 are one of London's most important approaches. But the wildest fantasies of the sixties couldn't overcome its trickier problems.

Routes
M4 A4

No exit 05 April 2018

Bristol’s M32 recently gained a new junction for buses only. To mark this strange new addition to the motorway network, here are five places you can’t leave the motorway.

Routes
Tags

Opening booklets

In days gone by, new roads were often celebrated with a grand opening ceremony and the issue of a commemorative booklet heralding the exciting new highway. You'll find some of them here, complete with a glimpse of all that empty tarmac and a healthy dose of modernist optimism.

Histories

M4 in Wales

One man's account of the building of the M4 through Wales, seen as he grew up in Swansea and witnessed it stage by stage - a tour of the motorway from its construction to the present day.

Routes
Histories

What's new

London’s other forgotten motorways

We’ve spent years documenting the unbuilt urban motorway network planned for London. Today we’re unveiling more new routes that have never been seen before!

The middle of nowhere

A national system of road numbers radiating from a central point suggests there is… well, a central point. But if you go looking for it you’ll find it doesn’t exist.

Not so Smart

There have been rumours for months. Now the announcement has been made - “all new Smart Motorways scrapped”. What does this mean and who are the winners?

Share this page

Have you seen...

Emergency Diversion Routes

Those funny black and yellow symbols are everywhere - and they might just get you back on track one day.