London to Portsmouth
The A3 is the historic route south-west from London to Portsmouth, connecting the capital with the home of the navy, and thanks to a steady programme of upgrades since the early part of the 20th Century, it still is, and today it's virtually a motorway from the city to the coast.
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 M4 into London was one of the UK's earliest and most ambitious motorway projects. It was bold, pioneering... and almost instantly regretted.
Some of Central London's quieter streets are still, surprisingly, lit by old and rather beautiful gas lanterns. Here are a few, by day and by night.
