Britain's Abandoned Roads - Episode 2 - A602 Stevenage Hertfordshire

[@brucedanton3669]

Thank you for this of course-well done too!!

[@ukusapatriot327]

I used to live in Hertford and my parents frequently used to go to Stevenage, shopping etc. The Ware rd was a 'blind junction' and there were frequent accidents on it and with the increase in traffic over the years the Watton At Stone bypass was finally built. I'd cycled the old route a few times and after passing my driving test had driven that rd. Anyone whose driven thru WAS will know its narrow and I recall 2 lorries in front of me both losing their o/s door mirrors. The bypass also cut the hill of Mill Lane in half as I used to cycle from WAS to Green End.

[@AutoShenanigans]

Great to hear from a local, or is that ex-local :D thanks for the insight and thanks for watching! :)

[@ukusapatriot327]

@@AutoShenanigans Hi, Ex Herfordian as I now live in Sth East Lincs. Lived in Hertford from 1964 to 1987, then Stevenage from 87 to 1997. Not sure if they're there anymore but there used to be some disused WW2 military rds in Northaw Grt Wood (off Carbone Hill) & Marden Hill estate near Tewin just off the B1000 and Hertford rd. I believe they were used to hide US tanks and munitions prior to the D Day landings

[@AutoShenanigans]

@@ukusapatriot327 I immediately jumped on google earth with that info.. sounds fascinating and I'll look into that. I'm from St. Albans originally, now in East Northants as it's a lot more affordable up here :D

[@ukusapatriot327]

@@AutoShenanigans Hi The main one I remember (was only 9 or 10 then) was the concrete rd off Carbone Hill into Northaw Grt woods. My late Mum used to park just off Carbone Hill on this concrete rd which went into the woods (probably didn't want to pay the 6d car park fee on the Ridgeway). There was a pillbox and the remains of what was probably a guard house and a few small wooden huts, all in various stages of falling down. The concrete rd went someway into the forest with various rds leading off from it. This was about 1968/69 and it was pretty overgrown then so I doubt if there's much left to see today. Further down Carbone hill was what we called Cuffley Camp, used then (and probably still is) by the local schools as a summer camp, never went but my older sister did (she hated it, mainly the primitive toilets). I believe this was where the US troops responsible for the Tank / Ammo dump further up the hill were billeted. Somewhere further along the main rd towards Potter Bar there were 2 massive Pillboxes either side of the rd. Drove past them in the late 80's, I expect they're still there because to demolish them would be some undertaking.

[@AutoShenanigans]

amazing info, thanks for sharing.

[@MrGreatplum]

Abandoned and hidden roads - love it! 👏

[@peterallam6494]

12/7 22 There's another piece of redundant A602 at Broadhall Way - Broadwater & Shephall = Broadhall - between the end of Fairlands Valley & Stevenage FC. A proposed road off the abandoned roundabout was planned to go through the valley to the A1155 at Chells & rumoured to ultimately to end at Nuthampstead, once an option for a further London airport before deciding on Stanstead.

[@samuelprowse6708]

This would make a really good piece of content. I think to explore that a little bit further it’s always intriguing driving past

[@davidsharonturrell6249]

Glad you stuck up for Stevenage even if it was tongue in cheek. Will check this bit of road out never new it was there. Subscribed

[@ElderNewt]

I noticed that and even let out a nice "HA".

[@ukroadtrips2102]

Loving this new series Jon! I recommend taking a look at the abandoned dual carriageway in Newport. It's still complete with street lighting and central reservation barriers! There's also the abandoned A625 in the Peak District near Mam Tor worth a visit! I'd love to explore these roads myself!

[@AutoShenanigans]

Thanks for watching as always :) I've got both of those on my list ;) Looking forward to the A625, can't beat a bit of the Peak district!

[@cyberleaderandy1]

@@AutoShenanigans absolutely, we live on the edge of it and its stunning 🙂

[@sammyjolewis2952]

Super! I’d have never known that was there. I grew up on these roads in East Herts, living in Whempstead. I might have to go for an explore next time I get out there. (Oh, from a local, Tonwell is pronounced ‘tunnel’)

[@richardbrooks50]

Do you remember the pub in Whempsted ? My uncle used to drink in there quite a bit I think it was called the Gate

[@biggusdickus5604]

@@richardbrooks50 your uncle is a legend

[@eddiewatts7792]

better condition than some main roads round here

[@scythal]

The first thing that comes to my mind at least when Stevenage is mentioned is the barely-used bike lanes and the Steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevenage town sign.

[@garyh1572]

I have another A602 abandoned road for you. Actually a road , and a roundabout !! It's back in Stevenage, directly outside the Stevenage Football Club ground. During the 1970's, there was a plan to make a road directly north, through Fairlands Valley, but after all the building of the roundabout ( and the fly-under ) the proposal was dropped . I believe the project was called Road 9 . The road never got used, but still sits there today. Recently , it was all fenced off to stop football fans parking there, but it's all easily visible, and the traffic flows quite happily around it., though with a bend if you're going eastbound. Strangely, the height of the underpass is very low, so it would have been cars only .You can park opposite the football ground.

[@AutoShenanigans]

You know, I lived near by for a while and never even noticed this!! Good find indeed, I like it a lot. I'll see if i can stretch it out into a 4 min film! :D

[@garyh1572]

@@AutoShenanigans great !! I lived next to it for years. I drove past today to check on the fence, and you can still see through it ok. It's just a shame that it's fenced off now.

[@colinwells3722]

Wrong. It's not the a602, it would of originally been an underpass for a cycle track going under the a602 at its junction with the route 9 road which would of gone on to the junction of Chells Way and Fairlands Way. That was the plan anyway. The development of Fairlands lakes put paid to route 9.

[@garyh1572]

@@colinwells3722 its definitely the a602 that the roundabout is on.. Road 9 was stopped by resident protest in the early 70s.

[@colinwells3722]

@@garyh1572 Yes it is the a602 that the roundabout is on, but, the junction has a cycle track underpass running under it, hence why it is so low. It was only intended for push bike and mopeds under 50cc. So that bit of tarmac that is now fenced off wasn't an abandoned stretch of the a602, just a cycle path running along side it.

[@PaulMichael1084]

SO thsi is the second one of this series I've watched and I was just thinking I'd coem down here and leave a comment suggesting the Mam-Tor road in Derbyshire, near where I grew up. Then I see soemone has beaten me to it. Then I check your other videos and find you have already made the video. 11 months ago Humpf! Going to watch that next. Keep up tthe good work, loving the videos

[@johnferguson40]

What a lovely little video. I subscribed.

[@richardbrooks50]

That’s in my neck of the woods (I’m Hertford born and bred) lots of abandoned roads around East Herts particularly where the A1M was built

[@antonycampbell1986]

I'm near stevenage and watton will have to give this a look

[@petedemaio168]

Nice one! And local. Since nice info in the comments. Why do these abandoned roads look so cool!

[@suzyqualcast6269]

Cos remain unused. Simple.

[@robertodams]

I live and work in stevenage....will check this out with the dog at some point!!

[@garyh1572]

I went past it today !! I remember the old route .

[@AutoShenanigans]

I don't think I ever got to drive down it!

[@garyh1572]

@@AutoShenanigans They are now doing lots of work at the roundabout nearby.

[@AutoShenanigans]

@@garyh1572 Yes.. I think that's been going on for a while now as I'm sure they were there at the time of filming.

[@Sweeneysglassstory]

Loved the music! Very well put together:)

[@6643bear]

Another great video John, also love your choice of intro music . Thanks mark

[@Julie-si3hi]

That's so cool ,didn't know that!

[@Scrubworks]

Shame there's a gate, that'd be a brilliant place to take car photos.

[@AutoShenanigans]

Agreed, very picturesque.

[@ASteele8450]

Hi There, I am from Stevenage myself and I have visited this abandoned road in Watton At Stone back in June 2020. I have photos to prove it if you wanted me to send you them, this road was abandoned in 1986 due to traffic piling up through the village so a bypass was built. When I went there, there was no metal gate just a wooden gate and a sign saying private property, I am guessing it was added shortly after I went there. I liked the video and subscribed to your channel, I explore different derelict places all over Hertfordshire and seeing this one come up was amazing to see so great video by the way and keep it up 😃👍🏻

[@AutoShenanigans]

Thanks for watching mate, Yes it's a big metal gate now... however slightly pointless as the other end is open and accessed via a public footpath!

[@mandy4786]

Id like to explore derelict places around herts and maybe further out. Can you offer any links to where i can go? Much appreciated

[@mandy4786]

Id like to explore derelict places around herts and maybe further out. Can you offer any links to where i could go? Much appreciated

[@mandy4786]

@@AutoShenanigans that wasnt meant to happen.

[@ChipZilla69]

Right, so I found the gate he's talking about on google maps / street view. I cycled over there and hoped the gate with my bike, it takes you onto some wild land but it's not too bad you can make your way through. Here's the problem though, to access the road you have to traverse a stream which I could not do without getting wet, plus I had the bike with me. There is another more formal gate which he shows you at the end of the video but again, it's not something I could get past with the bike. I could see the road but not quite access it. A shame, I might drive down and try again in the car at some point.

[@AutoShenanigans]

At the time of my visit, it was summer so I imagine less water. You'd struggle to get the bike in, but if you look at the other end there is what appears to be a "track" through the woods/fields that may offer an easier access point?

[@ChipZilla69]

@@AutoShenanigans I'll find a way 😀

[@mellortrafficlightsintheuk2741]

@@ChipZilla69 Where is the gate please

[@ChipZilla69]

@@mellortrafficlightsintheuk2741 Drive to Watton at Stone. At one end there is a church graveyard with a mini roundabout. Park up there and hop the gate to the green belt. To get to the road you must cross the steam, there's a dead tree you can bridge across. If you don't fancy the rough terain and steam there's another way round back up by the top of the church bit you need to cross s field. Good luck little Hobbit.

[@sweenpole2001]

Hi there. Not maintainable by Herts CC and listed as an unadopted track west from Hertford Road to Perry Wood Lane... looks like it was unadopted and given back the landowner. My guess would be the Woodhall Estate...

[@DavidShepheard]

I do wonder if some of these abandoned roads could be turned into safe cycle routes and footpaths that connect different towns in the countryside. Obviously the fact that they connect to a live A road at both ends is going to reduce the usefulness, but if we can build car bypasses off of roads, then I wonder if we could look at the most useful bits of abandoned roads and buy up enough land to extend them into something useful. One of the problems with railway building programs and motorway programs is that houses on the route need to be bought and demolished, but I don't think this would be an issue if we extended some abandoned roads and connected them up with other abandoned things like railways or tramways. Bikes go at slower speed and if a countryside route between two towns did the occasional zig-zag to get around a farmer's fields, that wouldn't be as dangerous as a road with sharp bends. And, of course, any project to upgrade an A road, that has a side project that encourages bikes to get off of that A road is going to lower the number of accidents on the A road itself. I think that some of the roads like this might also be useful for horse riders. And, if there are actually farmers living near to an abandoned road, it might be worth keeping some of them open as access routes, that have modal filters in them, so that the local farmers can each drive tractors along parts of those roads to get to their own fields, but the modal filter stops car owners from using the entire route as a countryside rat run.

[@cobwebsandcatnip]

The land was returned to the Abel Smith Estate who owned it originally

[@skellious]

this would be an awesome filming location for a disaster film

[@xr6lad]

Be interesting to see if it’s really owned and been bought off the roads authority or some twt has put a fence across it and hoping no one notices and claim eminent domain or ownership by possession (if you have that in Britain).

[@nickbarber2080]

The Highways Agency or County council where appropriate) DO auction off bits of redundant road...I nearly became the owner of a few hundred yards of the A26 i Kent at one point. We do have a rule in the UK whereby someone can claim "unused" land... it's called Adverse Possession and takes,I believe,12 years to establish title.

[@johng7rwf419]

I bet there are fewer potholes per mile in the abandoned roads versus the used roads! Great videos, many thanks...

[@RossAlt]

There's more changes going on atm on the 602

[@alanwllms5172]

Who says it's private? Anyone can put up a sign!

[@steve5x565]

Sad that a lot of these abandoned roads are in better condition than the ones we have to drive on…

[@suzyqualcast6269]

Cos they've never been used.

[@TheDeeplyCynical]

It's not trespassing. It's "Urban Exploration"

[@ElderNewt]

Me living in Stevenage. Wait.. abandoned road near me wut. Lets go explore

[@vikkiruss]

Trespassing so you don’t have to! Lol 😆

[@MegaTube1313]

Trespassing 😱 Hence the short video 🤔

[@madmrshaun]

Did you just say pikey hitchin?

[@darrenhaylock9942]

Beautiful Stevenage??? Concrete clad Hitchin??? 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Obviously never been to either!! Try the other way round. Hitchin is still beautiful. Stevenage, on the other hand, is concrete clad & awful!!

[@AutoShenanigans]

Yes... that's the joke ;-) I was waiting for someone to notice :D

[@rd3443]

Yh my aunt and uncle live in Hitchin and it’s great their

[@AutoShenanigans]

@@rd3443 Indeed it's lovely, been many times.

[@redbandmedia79]

Plenty of green space in Stevenage though and a rich history 👍🏼

[@tobyjackman3212]

Oh dear

[@1stklass]

I shot a music video here lol, look on my page and find the wooded track, that's shot in the woods on the left at 1:50

[@seanharmon713]

Stevenage is many things. Beautiful is not amongst those things

[@tiamatsrevenge5305]

‘Concrete-clad pikey Hitchin’ ? Ay? Have you actually been there, sorry just a bizarre description thas the complete opposite of what you usually hear & pretty reductive !