The A303: Highway to the Sun

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The flesh-and-blood example of progress v nature here resides in the case of the great bustard, the world's heaviest flying bird and so, therefore, one of the most impractical, whose attempts to re-establish itself on Salisbury Plain, courtesy of the admirably quixotic Great Bustard Group, would seem to be doomed. The little autobiographical details about fishing, and where the author spent the night, and the pubs and cafés he visited are dreary. The author takes a trip down the road from east to west, reflecting his description of it as the "highway to the sun" - that is, the route which started so many summer holidays in the south-west of England. If they had got their way and the A20/A25/A287/A303 had been a separate trunk road they would have succeeded in turning virtually the whole of the Harroway (although most of the route deviates from it to some extent)into a trunk road! Four-and-a-half thousand years ago the bluestones of Stonehenge were conveyed west from the river Avon along a small section of its route.

When trunk roads were invented in 1936, the London-Penzance trunk road followed the A30 all the way. What I'd really have liked is a map, telling me where to find the historical tales in the text, so I could shove the book in the glovebox and refer to it en route, safely pulled over of course. I liked this, though I feel asleep for a few minutes whilst watching my recording and had to rewind, as I found the voice of the presenter a bit soporific. So I have an emotional attachment to it for many of the reasons Tom Ford highlighted in his introduction.Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian The way we like it … heavy traffic on the A303 as it passes close to Stonehenge. As for the east-to-west bias of the book, Fort deals with this very wittily early on, and anyone who can spend a page speculating on whether Mrs de Winter "and her creepy husband" took the A303 or the A30 to get to his Cornish home in Rebecca without making us raise our hands in exasperation is going to get my vote.

I shall be travelling along/over the A303 for the first time in my life next week as I need to go to Salisbury for the first time ever.The A303 is one of the essential routes of English motoring, promising to whisk the traveller towards the green and honeyed lands of Somerset and the far west to a world of holidays and escape (although these journeys all too often grind to a standstill. In it, Tom Fort drives the length of the A303 road from Basingstoke in Hampshire to Honiton in Devon.

By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. Tom Fort's book, named for a well-used English road, is a smoother ride: elegantly written, with a dry humour and an eyebrow raised at the failed "smart solutions" of transport ministers. It is, as one reviewer noted, a plain man's state-of-the-nation book – though one ignoring the major conurbations. We try to add new providers constantly but we couldn't find an offer for "A303: Highway to the Sun" online. Perhaps one number reflecting its old number except where there is a multiplex with an A road, whereby it would become that road's number.Tom Fort gives voice to the stories this road has to tell, from the bluestones of Stonehenge to Roman roads and drovers paths, to turnpike tollhouses, mad vicars, wicked Earls and solstice seekers, the history, geography and culture of this road tells a story of an English way of life. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. I think if the A303 were to be diverted to meet the M5 at Taunton, which was the HA's favoured choice, then it is likely that Honiton to Exeter would become part of the A35. I hoped it was going to be a sort of contemporary Rural Rides or Compleat Angler - and bits of it are - but other bits are like being trapped in a pub with a bore who drones on about his Mastermind subject: 20th century British transportation policy, banging on about parliamentary select committees, protest marches, laybys, road widening schemes etc until the tears come to your eyes.

And yes, I do realise the irony in that statement in that the former route has pretty well always been the more important yet never had the same number throughout! We knew the landmarks that measured its progress: maybe a pub sign, a red post-box, an old, sagging stone wall weighed down by ivy … Each delivered the same message. A nostalgic experience, informative, humorous, charming, but pervaded by the bitter-sweet scent of regret' Daily Mail The A303 is more than a road.

His account of the Free Festivals at Stonehenge made me remember a forgotten journey in my life, when travelling on a motorcycle i just happened upon the free festival. I particularly enjoyed seeing the 18th Century folly to King Alfred, the historic intersection of the Ridgeway and Harrow paths (memories of the unforgettable Ridgeway Path 1970s Public Information Film) and the Fosse Way continuation of the A303. It’s not a likely location for a dramatic road movie (try freewheeling through a traffic jam) but it has a domestic Ealing comedy character all its own.