by John Welford

Created on: July 29, 2010   Last Updated: August 19, 2010

If you are driving from Devon to Wales (or vice versa) your choices are, it must be said, somewhat limited. Between the two lies the Bristol Channel, and, there being no roadway (yet) underneath it, you have to go over it, or a much longer way round, assuming that it is South Wales you are trying to reach.

The road out of Devon virtually has to be the M5. This starts from near Exeter and therefore takes traffic from south Devon that is heading north. Traffic from north Devon (such as Bideford and Barnstaple) should get on to the A361 and join the M5 at junction 27 near Tiverton. The A39 along the north Devon coast into Somerset is a much slower road.

Alternative routes to the M5 will either take you through Bristol, which is not a sound move, or involve a much longer journey.

For much of the writer’s life there was only one bridge into Wales, known simply as the Severn Bridge. This has now been supplemented by a parallel bridge to its west that is known as the “Second Severn Crossing”. The east-west M4 now follows the Second Crossing, whereas the original bridge has been designated as the M48 from where the link road leaves the M4 on the English side at junction 21 and rejoins at junction 23 on the Welsh side.

For those wishing to travel west into south Wales (Cardiff, Swansea, etc) the obvious route is to leave the M5 at junction 18 at Avonmouth and take the linking M49 for the six miles to the bridge itself. However, if the intended route is along the Wye Valley between Chepstow and Monmouth, one should continue along the M5 to junction 15 in order to cross via the original Severn Bridge and leave the M48 at junction 2, immediately after the crossing.

Both bridges are toll bridges, although the toll only applies to traffic crossing into Wales, not that coming the other way. The toll barriers on the original bridge are on the English side, whereas those for the Second Crossing are on the Welsh side, after the crossing has been made.

At the time of writing (July 2010) the toll for cars is 5 pounds and 50 pence, on either bridge. This is for vehicles designed to carry up to nine people; for those with up to 17 seats the charge is 10 pounds and 90 pence; for larger vehicles it is 16 pounds and 40 pence.

To avoid the toll you could leave the M5 at junction 8 and then take the M50 towards Ross-on-Wye. A shorter route would be via junction 11A, by-passing Gloucester to enter Wales on the A48. However, whether you think the extra distance and hassle is worth the saving of just over a fiver is a judgment that only you can make!

Wales is a country that is much easier to cross from east to west than from south to north. If your journey from Devon is to north Wales, you might be better advised to continue on the M5 until at least junction 6 near Worcester, from where you can take the A449, although your route towards Wales will then take you through Kidderminster and Bridgnorth before joining the A5 near Shrewsbury. Alternatively, you could carry on all the way to where the M5 joins the M6 near Birmingham, then take the M54 and A5, eventually reaching the excellent north Wales coast road, the A55, via the A483 which is also a good road. However, whether you can face the probable delays at the M5/M6 junction is another matter!

It has to be admitted that Wales is not endowed with a huge number of fast roads. The motorway network only reaches Wales in the far south and a few miles of the M50, and good dual carriageway routes are few and far between. A journey from a remote part of Devon to a remote part of Wales is therefore likely to be a long one.

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