Driving the A303: Highway To The Sun

Of course it is difficult driving and talking to the camera. It is also dangerous and stupid -- a really crass feature of so many documentaries.

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A gem of a film. In the 50s I remember going in the back of Dad's car from NW London past Heathrow, Hook, then down the A303 to the West country for summer holiday. Then the road was slow (mainly single carriageway) but we would see Stonehenge or the barrow at Winterbourne Stoke, and stop to picnic in a field just off the road. Happy days.....

The programme was curiously interesting, purely because I have to use the blinking road on an almost daily basis. It used to mean holidays, now it usually means work.

As someone who also travels this road at least 6 times a month, I found the programme fascinating and the anecdotes will make future journeys all the more interesting

This A303 film was absolutely FASCINATING - thank you BBC4.

Enjoyed it - although it was plodding in places!



The ending - what? The A30 takes precedence because (presumably) it is the 'senior' route. It is also worthy of a travelogue - some of the towns and scenery it passes through is simply breathtaking.



Still, better this than wheeling out Mrs. Worsethorne once more...

Lovely programme. Have known the A303 for many years. In the 50s the family would leave Surrey at 2.00 a.m., as it was such a long journey to Cornwall for our hols, and the excitement of seeing Stonehenge at dawn!



However, I need some convincing that the A303/A350 crossroads is the oldest in the country.

Agree with first comment: "Of course it is difficult driving and talking to the camera. It is also dangerous and stupid -- a really crass feature of so many documentaries."



And (Come on!!!) about as interesting as Monty Python's sketch: "Mr. and Mrs. Norris's Ford Popular ... RA ONE! , RA TWO! ... Mr. & Mrs., Norris's Ford Popular ... from Houndslow to Sidcup ...



WOW!



JEEEEEEs ... I'm so glad I do not pay good money for a television licence!!

I have read the various postings on Tom Fort's fine programme with interest. It seems to me the enjoyment of a programme of this type depends very much on personal interests and lets face it age. In a celebrity driven culture where ratings drive everything I am grateful the BBC are still prepared commision the making of such a programme. Yes the pace was slow and better for it. Tom Fort did not find it necessary to do more than let those with knowledge and enthusiasm point the way. A wonderful programme that reminded me of a kinder simpler time. All involved with its production should be proud. I offer the thanks of at least one viewer who will in future travel the A303 with a different perspective. Keith

I like these "slow" programmes, full of social history. Many of us crave for a simpler life, and this programme pointed in that direction. It would be nice to know more about the places on the route.

I believe that the Harrow Way was used by pilgrims in Medieval times travelling from Winchester to Canterbury.

Defoe said that Weyhill was a lonely village, but had the largest sheep fair ever held in England. Fairs and markets were a way of life for the country folk, before the advent of local shops. Gilbert White tells us in his diaries that his village of Selbourne would send their hops there every October, some thirty miles. The website Llundainfach gives good background information on Weyhill. Welsh cattle drovers travelled hundreds of miles to attend.

The picture of the waggoner and his family, with eight percheron horses was a "wow". What date would this have been?

Thanks to the BBC.

I enjoyed the film and hope a book follows.A book appeared a number of years ago based upon the A272 and its route and points of interest and I would like to see something similar for the A303.

When the segment about Stonehenge appeared and its use by the armed forces for aviation I thought that you were going to mention Airman's Cross which is situated just North of the A303 and was the site of the first military aviation accident in the UK in 1912.Perhaps you did not know it was there.

My favourite section of the road is the Ilminster to Honiton missing link.I always like to look for the sculptures of the leaping deer concealed in a hedgerow.

A good programme that gave an insight into the the history and life alongside a road used by millions each year.

I very much enjoyed this programme have driven and been driven (as a child) on the A303 many times since the mid sixties. Each time we drove a new section of dual carriageway was being built. As far as I remember the Andover section was "always" there though. Some of the journeys may well have been in a Morris Traveller (1963 - "C" reg) - this definitely had flashing indicator lights.

Thank you, I did enjoy the journey and followed up many of your references.



Who actually built King Alfred's Tower? The alfredstower website has the following paragraph.



"In 2002, when the previous paragraph was written, the National Monuments Record listing attributed the construction of this monument to 'Sir Henry Hoare', but I suspected that this was incorrect. Henry Hugh Hoare, the 3rd baronet, died in 1841; his son, the 4th baronet Hugh Richard Hoare retired from the family banking business in 1845 aged 54 to live at Stourhead, and undertook several improvements and construction projects around the estate until his death in 1857. Several buildings from this period bear the initials H.R.H., and this monument is probably one of these. In May 2006 I wrote to English Heritage and pointed out this possible mistake. The letter was acknowledged in July 2006, and on 24th January 2007 I received a letter stating that the Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, after consulting with English Heritage, had decided to correct the list entry to show that the monument was erected by Hugh Richard Hoare."

Really enjoyed the program - perhaps a series on other roads in the offing?? One question - what was the guitar music in the background around 12min30secs and 13min 40secs?

Good idea @ProjectC - I suggest the A686

Thanks BBC, I loved it. It's so nice to watch a slow paced programme that is not infested with these so-called celebrities who are just full of their own importance. I agree with Project C that a series on other notable roads would be welcomed. Can I put forward the A27 and the A34 for consideration? I'll do the driving!!!

Just seen this on iPlayer - nice little programme, about one of my favourite roads; so much history, so many places to stop. Seems to have run out of fuel just before "Camelot". Hope the moggie wasn't hurt in the kerb-climb?