A338 road

The A338 is a major primary route in southern England, that runs from the junction with the A35 at Poole in Dorset to the junction with the A420 at Besselsleigh in Oxfordshire, a distance of 84 miles (135 km).

Route

The road begins on the edge of Poole by the border with Bournemouth, before heading northward as a grade separated dual carriageway, one of the main roads in the South East Dorset conurbation. From near Bournemouth International Airport it follows the western side of the Avon valley, joining the route of the A31 road heading north-east for 1 ¹⁄₂ miles (2.4 km) to cross the valley, before turning left at Ringwood in Hampshire where it joins the original, single carriageway route to the east of the river.

Heading northward up the east side of the Avon, it crosses to the west again near the town of Fordingbridge. After crossing into Wiltshire near Downton, it meets the A354 road at a roundabout near Britford on the southern outskirts of Salisbury, before joining the route of the A36 road as it bypasses the city centre to dual carriageway standard. It then joins the A30 road at St. Mark's Roundabout, before separating in a north-easterly direction to follow the entire length of the River Bourne. It has a grade-separated junction with the main A303 road and then passes through the town of Tidworth. From there the road travels north to Collingbourne Ducis, where it twists through the village around the church to a mini-roundabout. It turns right to continue northwards alongside the Bourne through another narrow stretch at Collingbourne Kingston to another mini-roundabout before again heading north.