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Britain's Abandoned Roads - Episode 11 - A3 & The Hindhead Tunnel

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#abandoned #roads #HindHead
The story of the A3 starts way back in the Tudor times where it began life as a trade route from Portsmouth Docks to London. Later in the 1800s, changes were made before finally being abandoned in 2011. What remains today of this ancient relic.. I go on an explore to find out,
Welcome to Britain's Abandoned Roads. In this series, I go out to explore some of the UKs abandoned or disused roads. Old roads in the woods, motorway junctions or forgotten slip roads, this series has it all! Join me as I travel all over the country seeking out forgotten and abandoned infrastructure.
Be sure to follow us on twitter - @JonShenanigans

Опубликовано:

6 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 93

@colingeer479 2 года назад

As far as I'm aware, the original carriageway is actually still there... under thousands of tons of back-fill used to recreate the original slope of the land. I know because I used to live there and even got to walk along the old A3 just after it was closed, even though there were security guards in place to stop you. Why a road taking thousands of cars between Guildford and Portsmouth one day, was deemed too dangerous to walk along the very next day baffled me! Oh well, everyone from Haslemere and Hindhead walked around the 'border guards', the terrifying warnings and the barriers and did it anyway. Fun day that was, everyone chatting and making friends as we walked along the old road we all used so many times in the past.

@suzyqualcast6269 2 года назад

So the proper old road ghosts now 'go below' .... Must be confusing to any witness.

@davecook3840 2 года назад

Was my old friend Richard Procter there?

@acciid 2 года назад

Building site health and safety. If you were hit by a construction vehicle then they would be responsible. If you walked along the A3 and were hit by a car then they wouldn't be responsible.

@toberwine 7 месяцев назад

Isn’t Gibbet pronounced with a soft “G”, meaning a hangman’s scaffold?

@wordsmithgobshite3296 7 месяцев назад

@toberwine You're absolutely right, it is indeed pronounced 'jibbet' they used to hang the highway men on that hill.

@anthonylloyd6094 27 дней назад

The old A3 was fun to hoon along, especially around the Punchbowl

@heene 2 года назад

I remember the single carriageway either side of the updated road. Terrible traffic delays. Never been up that way since the tunnel was opened.

@coolstorybrooooo7643 2 года назад

No more traffic. Thats for sure.

@heene 2 года назад

It's a dead end now apparently, but Streetview has not been updated so I've been told.

@tmb8807 Год назад

@@heene It has, but you can still access the images from 2009.

@davecook3840 2 года назад

Travelled that old road soooooo many times. Hit a deer there once just past the traffic lights past the Happy Eater on the left. The traffic jams from late afternoons are the stuff of legend !

@TheLeedsAppreciationSociety 2 года назад

I remember that Happy Eater.

@scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain 2 года назад

Excellent video as always Jon. Keep those abandoned roads coming.

@AutoShenanigans 2 года назад

Thanks for watching.. I'm running out of good ones... but another series of something is coming soon ;)

@MrsG7swr Год назад

oh my i remember being a passenger in a Renault 5, back seat with harness in the 1970's being driven on the old A3 around the devils punchbowl, this really brought it back,

@garycollard1981 2 года назад

There's another bit of old A3 at Butser Hill further south. From the QE Country Park car park there is a path that runs north toward Petersfield. There are various remains along the way and at the highest point there is a bit still with white lines and cats eyes where you can look down and see how much higher it used to be than the current dual carriage way.

@stephenhulbert3500 2 года назад

Funny - I was thinking about exactly this piece of road a moment ago when I stumbled across this channel. Have they featured Mam Tor yet?

@martinburke8314 2 года назад

I grew up in Farnham, about 7 miles North, so knew the area pretty well. The A3 wasn't just single carriageway for the section through Hindhead, there was a set of traffic lights where it met the A287 (I think the old A3 in Hindhead is now the A333). On a Bank Holiday or start of the Easter or Summer Holidays the traffic waiting for the traffic lights could be backed up on the A3 to the dual carriageway section and beyond, a good 2-3 miles. I think the northbound queues could be back to Bramshott Common, again a couple of miles. People would come up the A325 (not a quick road, either) to Farnham and then use the A31 just avoid Hindhead, so bad were it's regular tailbacks.

@BibtheBoulder 2 года назад

Same with Newbury. All well and good swampy and his mates trying to block the construction of the Newbury bypass but the fact is it has improved the lives of people in Newbury immeasurably.

@a11oge 2 года назад

Ah yes. I remember it well

@vincentharriman3283 Год назад

Yes, the old A3 is the A333

@Daytona2 7 месяцев назад

I used to drive both the old and new route. The traffic jams on the old route never bothered me as I knew all the (beautiful) backroads. Lovely countryside around there.

@jubatian 2 года назад

You can still "drive" the former road here, Street View has a capture of it from 2009!

@defender1006 Год назад

I've used that road hundreds of times, pre and post the tunnel, we'd sometimes stop at the Devils Punchbowl NT café for a coffee and cake etc, the views are stunning when the weather's clear, but it can get very misty/foggy and the 'Bowl fills up. Thanks for the reminder, I will be going back to explore the road that I once drove quite regularly.

@cannonball2207 2 года назад

The Hindhead crossroads used to be a nightmare during peak times. Unfortunately since the tunnel opened in 2011, the bottleneck has now moved further South to the Ham Barn Roundabout near Liss near where I live. The Liphook, Liss and Petersfield bypass opened in 1992 and every other junction is a flyover or underpass except for Ham Barn. It's the only roundabout on the A3 between London and Portsmouth. There was a rumour that the wrong plans were submitted and approved.

@Assimilator1 Год назад

I wondered about that lone roundabout too, very odd!

@petercotton89 9 месяцев назад

It's also quite a dangerous roundabout due to its camber. Large vehicle in particular have to be very careful and alow right down to navigate it properly.

@Andrewjg_89 Год назад

Used to go through Devils Punch Bowl on the old A3 travelling down to Portsmouth where my family member and cousins come from. And with lots of dangerous corners and sharp bends that caused lots of accidents. Before the A3 was relocated and a new Hindhead tunnel was built which opened in 2011. Which makes the journey lot more quicker heading down to Portsmouth.

@s125ish Год назад

Nice to see t see you nice

@dalejohn3233 7 месяцев назад

I used to go there everyday fixing plant tyres and a crew of laborers once told me when they were cutting the bushes back they found a crashed car with a skeleton still at the wheel.Apparently he was never reported as missing.

@Assimilator1 Год назад

Interesting to hear about the A3's origins, I often wonder about many of our modern roads and their origins, some Roman roads of course, but others? I now work just south of Hindhead, so glad the tunnel is there! I occasionally went the old route before the tunnel on weekends, that was bad enough! Btw I think you should do episodes about Roman raods, still used and abandoned (long ago!).

@velocityadventures949 Год назад

I live near there and have ridden a motorbike on both the old road and the tunnel. I will never forget that dangerous corner on the old road so many cars went off the side and down the hill

@jimmyryan244 2 года назад

I look forward to these little videos 👍👍 You should go out and walk the old A1 near Sherburn-in-Elmet 😁

@AutoShenanigans 2 года назад

Sherburn in Elmet.. what a name.. I had to look it up. I can't quite see which part you mean though mate?

@jimmyryan244 2 года назад

@@AutoShenanigans The part I mean is actually by the Selby Fork Roundabout, you can still see where the old A1 was on Satellite view. But the A1 used to follow through that road, splitting a village in half and you can still see where the bridge went over the A1 between both sides of the village at Fairburn. TBH, the whole A1 would make a cracking video as even in my time it's changed so much. By Clumber park the A1 used to stop for a roundabout and people referred to the roundabout as Mario's Roundabout, since there was a cafe in the lay-by called Mario's. You can still see the old A1 there too. The A1 used to have lots of roundabouts and was notorious for heavy traffic prior to each. Today it's much better without them. If you make the video give me a shout and I'll come hold the camera 😁 Unless of course you already have a support team 😂

@IndigoJo 7 месяцев назад

I remember going to Portsmouth as a child and the Devil's Punch Bowl was breathtaking (for someone who'd never been where there were actual mountains). As an adult I used to drive that way a lot and the jams were worth it for the views. Of course, it's nice and quiet now that the traffic isn't rumbling through there every day.

@binarydinosaurs 2 года назад

Used to drive the old A3 to customers in Petersfield and Waterlooville, sometimes at stupid o'clock in the morning to avoid the queues. Both contracts ended shortly after the tunnel opened so I think I only drove it twice. Typical XD

@RandCooley Год назад

Very cool video. I used to travel the A3 through there all the time in the early 2000’s. I remember there was the big push for the tunnel as lorries on a regular basis would lose control and shoot of the edge of the road into the punch bowl. The reduced the speed through there to help prevent that. Also didn’t help you had the lights at Hindhead causing backlogs too.

@mielerodriguez5678 5 месяцев назад

cant say Ive fond memories of that bend on the punchbowl but memories I have. Large lorries mainly. The two stone hounds outside a restaurant. The pub and always having a cigarette at the Hindhead lights whilst you trickled through that bottleneck. Also Barons BMW and the reclaim yard oh and the hot tub shop. Did these business survive?

@ianstewartorr8455 2 года назад

Very interesting and informative greetings from Scotland thanks 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

@williamsimpson8115 2 года назад

Come on , we know you have some excellent disused roads up there

@modavies8401 Год назад

The gibbets that were used to hang miscreants was actually pronounced as “jibbett .”

@rosiefay7283 2 года назад

"Gibbet" is pronounced with a soft g as in gin. And giblets.

@suzyqualcast6269 2 года назад

Try saying it with a hefty hemp aroon th neck.

@cyberleaderandy1 Год назад

Absolutely. It would of been the site of a gallows and possibly a display of executed fellons hanging in chains to discourage lawbreakers.

@phillwainewright4221 Год назад

Correct, Rosie.

@grindelston5968 Год назад

We've still got our Gibbet in Halifax , but it's like a guillotine but with an axe head instead of a blade and it dates from the 1400's so long before the French reckoned to invent it. Anyway, it's still there at the bottom of gibbet street if anyone is interested

@fredericksaxton3991 7 месяцев назад

When I used to drive up and down the A3 from 1968 onwards, for many many years at night you could see a street light lit up in the old WW2 hospital site on the left side when southbound. I think it was part of Bramshott Chase. I did stop one afternoon for a walk and the old site roads were still there but no buildings at all. Just a lonely street light. Who was paying for that for 30 odd years I have no idea.

@MrGreatplum Год назад

Love that the old route is still on street view - the tunnels make one heck of a difference rather than crawling up that hill - makes a nice walk now (with that weird grave at the top!)

@AutoShenanigans Год назад

It is a lovely walk indeed, in Autumn the colours are fantastic!

@tidysampler585 2 года назад

I have just recently subscribed to your channel.. Great content 👍 I don’t believe there any abandoned roads where I live though. The most central southern part of the UK as you can get. Keep up the great work. Very interesting

@andrewjameson5918 2 года назад

I cannot count the times I have driven around the old punch bowl route. The tunnel does make it quicker.

@davidfalconer8913 7 месяцев назад

The great event ( just prior to opening the tunnels for traffic ) was to WALK through the tunnels , this took about 17 minutes and cost £5 ( for the bus , the only vehicle allowed to use it ! ) ..... the use of stainless fittings underground should greatly aid the low maintenance costs .... and , was a day to remember for all ! ........... DAVE™🛑

@UraFlight Год назад

Excellent video! I drove on that road so many times.

@Scrubworks 2 года назад

Sure, you've smoked the Devil's lettuce, but have you ever drank the Devil's punch?

@AutoShenanigans 2 года назад

Yes but I had to pay extra.

@nickchap Год назад

I live 15mins away and used to visit the devils punchbowl regularly as a kid for walks. I'm going this weekend after watching this. The tunnels helped massively, in the summer it could take nearly 2 hours to get thru Hindhead on the way to the south coast and must of been a nightmare for the locals on a weekend or rush hour. Thanks for the video

@Richard-fv7rq Год назад

I remember queuing many a time around the devils punch bowl because of the traffic lights at the top - loads of antique shops from what I remember.

@chrisabraham8793 Год назад

I believe the old A3 from London to Portsmouth passed through quite a lot of villages and towns in olden days, eventually creating bypasses and carriageway like we have now, a straight run from London to Portsmouth apart from the Hambarn roundabout at Liss/Longmoor, not even a roundabout but an oval that fools lorry drivers with big loads for the first time.

@IndigoJo 7 месяцев назад

Until the early 90s, the A3 between Guildford and Petersfield passed through a lot of villages: Milford, Hindhead, Liphook, Rake and Petersfield. Hindhead was the last one to be bypassed.

@johnlladron735 2 года назад

Great video. An excellent series with interesting stories.

@dinleyg 7 месяцев назад

Jon, I've been watching your videos for a while now and it's only just hit me how much faster you talk in the new uploads (*_*)

@AutoShenanigans 7 месяцев назад

I talk quite quick generally, in earlier videos my "personality" didn't really come through so much.

@christopherthompson2078 2 года назад

I really enjoyed that x

@patrickmacnee459 2 года назад

How about an episode on the a33 st Cathrine’s hill at Winchester?

@Simont6.0 2 года назад

So Google Street View still shows the old road.....which i guess it would as I doubt you can drive a car with a bloody big camera on it up there now. But interesting to see nonetheless.

@paulketchupwitheverything767 2 года назад

I noticed that as well. I was looking at Punch Bowl Lane to see where the old road ended and the footpath begins. The Street View images are currently from June to August 2009, before the tunnel opened. It shows some of the construction in progress near Blackhanger Farm.

@williamsimpson8115 2 года назад

They put those cameras on bikes now , the whole South Downs Way has street view

@ADJLfanatic52 Год назад

While looking on Google Street View you can actually see Google managed to get street view of this old routing before the tunnel was opened.

@brunosdaddogwalker9529 7 месяцев назад

If you want abandoned roads we have a military road from Wainscott army base to Lodge Hill barracks

@darshitcumdeepgupta6998 2 года назад

Love these videossss

@AutoShenanigans 2 года назад

Appreciate the support and view time :)

@mrmotorcycle9459 2 года назад

The A3 as you leave Petersfield isn't the original road. The original is higher up on the banks of Queen Elizabeth Country Park and they cut the new road between the country park and butser hill.

@williamsimpson8115 2 года назад

Love a disused road me … I’ve cycles this and didn’t realise it was a disused road

@petrolhead28 2 года назад

Remember the old punchbowl a3.

@minibus9 Год назад

nice video

@ianh.6825 5 месяцев назад

It looks like you picked a good day for your visit. I was there today, Easter Saturday. Big mistake. Far too many people. The green welly brigade with their unruly brats. Dogs everywhere, none of them on leads. Hoards of lycra clad cyclists on their £3000 mountain bikes. I was glad when some lads on off-road motorbikes turned up because it really annoyed the posh parents and I quite like motorbikes.

@peterpan6821 2 года назад

2:42 😅

@phillwainewright4221 7 месяцев назад

It's pronounced 'Jibbet' ... a structure they used to hang criminals bodies from.

@mattic6 Год назад

This would be better with maps/diagrams.

@dangerousandy Год назад

Move it, Football head

@grindelston5968 Год назад

It's spelled 'Gibbet' It's pronounced 'Jibbit '

@orlas5861 Год назад

F Y I. Gibbet Hill is so called because that is where the Gibbet was . In other words the gallows . As I understand it , that is where the murderers of the poor sailor were hung !

@AutoShenanigans Год назад

Yes I believe you are right!

@multiSamP23 6 месяцев назад

If you walk a bit further along there's a plaque set into the ground telling you you're standing on top of the new tunnel. Takes a bit of spotting, though. If you venture into the woods a little way you can also find the ruins of the 'abandoned' Temple to the Four Winds!