The motorway that connects London to its most distant airport is also the main road to East Anglia, rolling across the hills of Essex and Cambridgeshire.
A gallery of images sent in by visitors to the site of original photos of motorways — including some impressive views of the M4 and M11 under construction.
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 1920s and 30s saw a huge roadbuilding boom in London's suburbs. Some of those roads are incredibly well known, but here are five Arterial Roads that have been almost completely forgotten.