A41 the story of a road. From Baker Street to Birkenhead. And never leaving England - although the story does. Whitchurch, Old Bank of England - they're all here.

<body> <p align="center"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="4"><b>The A41 Page </b></font></p> <p> <font size="2"> <a href="a41novel.htm" target="_top"><font face="Goudy Old Style">A41 - the story of a road </font></a><font face="Goudy Old Style">- the novel of the journey down the road to Hell (well, OK, Birkenhead).  From the crush of a City pub, through the well-heeled crises of Middle England, with a storyline that entwines the Civil War, lust, love and a maniac called Big Dave.  Not to mention a bunch of Chester folkies who only know three chords.  </font></font></p> <p> <font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2">The Chapters...</font></p> <p class="MsoToc1" style="tab-stops:right dotted 414.8pt"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="begin.htm"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt">From the beginning</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1 dotted; color: windowtext; display: none; mso-hide: screen; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none">.</span></a></span></font></p> <p class="MsoToc1" style="tab-stops:right dotted 414.8pt"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="bakerst.htm"><span lang="FR" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;mso-ansi-language:FR">De-da-da da-da-dahm</span></a></span></font></p> <p class="MsoToc1" style="tab-stops:right dotted 414.8pt"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="swiss.htm"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt">Swiss Cottage</span></a></span></font></p> <p class="MsoToc1" style="tab-stops:right dotted 414.8pt"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="watford.htm"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt">Watford</span></a></span></font></p> <p class="MsoToc1" style="tab-stops:right dotted 414.8pt"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="berko.htm"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt">Berko</span></a></span></font></p> <p class="MsoToc1" style="tab-stops:right dotted 414.8pt"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><span style="mso-field-code: PAGEREF _Toc42188505 \\h; color: windowtext; display: none; mso-hide: screen; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none" class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="dormice.htm">Dormice</a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="berko.htm"><span style="mso-field-code:"PAGEREF _Toc42188505 \\h""> </span></a></span><o:p> </o:p> </font></p> <p class="MsoToc1" style="tab-stops:right dotted 414.8pt"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="bicester.htm"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt">Bicester</span></a></span></font></p> <p class="MsoToc1" style="tab-stops:right dotted 414.8pt"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="edgehill.htm"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt">Near Edge Hill</span></a></span></font></p> <p class="MsoToc1" style="tab-stops:right dotted 414.8pt"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="warwick.htm"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt">Warwick</span></a></span></font></p> <p class="MsoToc1" style="tab-stops:right dotted 414.8pt"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="Brum.htm"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt">Birmingham</span></a></span></font></p> <p class="MsoToc1" style="tab-stops:right dotted 414.8pt"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="woves.htm"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt">Wolverhampton</span></a></span></font></p> <p class="MsoToc1" style="tab-stops:right dotted 414.8pt"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="newport.htm"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt">Newport</span></a></span></font></p> <p class="MsoToc1" style="tab-stops:right dotted 414.8pt"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="wem.htm"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt">Wem</span></a></span></font></p> <p class="MsoToc1" style="tab-stops:right dotted 414.8pt"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="whitchur.htm"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt">Whitchurch</span></a></span></font></p> <p class="MsoToc1" style="tab-stops:right dotted 414.8pt"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="history.htm"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt">History repeats itself… in a small way</span></a></span></font></p> <p class="MsoToc1" style="tab-stops:right dotted 414.8pt"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="chester.htm"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt">Chester</span></a></span></font></p> <p class="MsoToc1" style="tab-stops:right dotted 414.8pt"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="wales.htm"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt">To Wales and back</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1 dotted; color: windowtext; display: none; mso-hide: screen; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none">.</span></a></span></font></p> <p class="MsoToc1" style="tab-stops:right dotted 414.8pt"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="chester2.htm"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt">Back in Chester</span></a></span></font></p> <p class="MsoToc1" style="tab-stops:right dotted 414.8pt"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="wirral.htm"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt">Wirral</span></a></span></font></p> <a href="totheend.htm"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times New Roman; mso-bidi-font-family: Times New Roman; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA" class="MsoHyperlink">To the End</span></font></a> <p>  </p> <p><font size="2">So why the A41?  Well, probably because it always seemed to be going everywhere.  Wherever I was going, there it was.  Not even like I live that close to it, but it didn't stop it always being in the way.  One day I found myself two hundred miles from home, more or less, and there it was, bypassing Chester. </font></p> <p><font size="2">After a while of constantly running across it, I decided it was time to find out where it went.  And in the process, determined that, in fact, it went in almost a dead straight line across the country.  It's just I viewed it from a strange angle.  </font></p> <p> <font size="2"> <a href="a41novel.htm" target="_top"><font face="Goudy Old Style">A41 - the story of a road </font></a> is a (fictitious) account of a group of friends who decided to drive the A41 in an old Mini Metro, and ended up in a run-in with a group of people from an imaginary organisation called the Order of the Prince of Bohemia.  I would like to assure you that the Order is truly imaginary; there is no similarity to groups such as the Sealed Knot.  Except the frilly shirt cuffs, of course.  That's a similarity.  I can recommend you visit the <a href="http://www.sealedknot.org/" target="_top">Sealed Knot website</a>.  Full of useful information, and no sign of anyone called Big Dave.  </font></p> <p><font size="2">The A41is, at various stretches, quite a famous road.  At its immediate Southern end, it's better-known as Baker Street.  It becomes the Finchley Road, and takes you past such famous landmarks as Regent's Park, Lord's Cricket Ground and Brent Cross.  Further North, it takes in the old pre-Roman Akeman (or Akerman) street.  This was originally a trading route from East Anglia to Cirencester.  It's a reflection of the strange nature of the A41 that it goes nowhere near either East Anglia or Cirencester, and unless you actually lived on it you would never use it to get to either place.  </font></p> <p><font size="2">The links to the right (under the Geocities pop-up) are just a few of the exciting, dull or bizarre things that happen to this typically, and totally English road.  And I'll be following up with an A41 gallery just as soon as I've had the time to go down it again.  </font></p> <p>In case you're interested in other things than the A41 (although how could you be?)  you can find out all about <a href="http://www.wesspix.btinternet.co.uk/" target="_top">Thomas Hardy's Wessex</a> or visit <a href="http://wesspix.blogspot.com" target="_top">Tommy H's blog.</a>  Or why not find out all about historical (and hysterical) <a href="http://www.wboro.btinternet.co.uk/" target="_top">Wellingborough</a> (c) Dave Digger?</p> <p>Not to mention the <a href="http://www.shedblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Life and Times of Shaun Shed</a>, the biggest all-round expert (except one) in the Universe.  </p> <p> </p> <p><b><font size="4">LINX </font></b></p> <p><a href="a41.htm" target="_top"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2">A41 - the story of a road </font></a></p> <p><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><a href="http://www.biffvernon.freeserve.co.uk/">A1 - another site dedicated to a road.  BBet you can guess which one...  </a></font></p> <p><font size="2"><a href="http://www.maths.lancs.ac.uk/~greenrm/roads/m271.html" target="_top"><font face="Goudy Old Style">Pathetic Motorways  </a>- A guide to obscure and pointless motorways, with a special section devoted to the A41(M) Tring bypass (as was)</font></a><font face="Goudy Old Style">- A guide to obscure and pointless motorways, with a special section devoted to the A41(M) Tring bypass (as wass)</font></font></p> <p><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><a href="http://www.angelfire.com/retro/minimetroland/" target="_top">Mini Metro site</a> - read "The story of a road" and you'll understand... </font></p> <p><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><a href="http://www.canaljunction.com/cgu.htm" target="_top">The Grand Union Canal cruising guide</a> - if you want to do a fair amount of the A41 by water instead </font></p> <p><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><a href="http://www.silverlink-trains.com/" target="_top">Silverlink</a> - or by train... </font></p> <p><font size="2"><a href="http://www.btinternet.com/~roads/a1-99/41.html" target="_top"><font face="Goudy Old Style">A41 - London to Birkenhead </font></a><font face="Goudy Old Style"> - Part of a gloriously obsessive guide to Britain's A-roads.  </font></font></p> <p><a href="http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2003/20031142.htm" target="_top"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2">Detrunking order for the A41 in Herts/Bucks</font></a></p> <p><font size="2" face="Goudy Old Style"><a href="http://www.hemelweb.demon.co.uk/" target="_top">Somewhere that "tries to show you that Hemel Hempstead is an interesting place to be" </a> Hmmm... </font></p> <p><a href="http://www.outandabout.uk.net/bucks/aston_cl/index.htm" target="_top"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2">All about Aston Clinton </font></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.virtual-shropshire.co.uk/about/whitchurch.html" target="_top"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2">Photo Gallery of Whitchurch, Shrops</font></a></p> <p><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2"><a href="http://www.webbaviation.plus.com/newport/newport.htm" target="_top">Newport from the air</a></font></p> <p><font size="2"><a href="http://www.chester.org/" target="_top"><font face="Goudy Old Style">Chester City (UK) Council Website - Visiting Chester</font></a><font face="Goudy Old Style"> - Speaks for itself... </font></font><</p> <p><font size="2"><a href="http://www.demon.co.uk/chesterzoo/" target="_top"><font face="Goudy Old Style">Chester Zoo </a> ... so does this... </font></a> <font face="Goudy Old Style"> ... so does this... </font></font></p> <p><font size="2"><a href="http://www.chester-races.co.uk/" target="_top"><font face="Goudy Old Style">Chester Race Company </a> ... the Roodee </font> </a> <font face="Goudy Old Style"> ... the Roodee </font></font></p> <p><a href="http://www.chestercathedral.org.uk/" target="_top"><font face="Goudy Old Style" size="2">Chester Cathedral</font></a> </p> <p><font size="2"><a href="http://db.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/virtual_tours/tunnel/index.shtml" target="_top"><font face="Goudy Old Style">A trip through the Mersey Tunnel t</font></a><font face="Goudy Old Style">his is brilliant, in its way.  Must-see, or you'll regret it forever.   </font> </font> </p> <p><font size="2"><a href="http://www.wirral.gov.uk/er/downloads/Birkenhead.pdf" target="_top"><font face="Goudy Old Style">"The Seven Wonders of Birkenhead" - I</a> kid you not</font></a> <font face="Goudy Old Style"> kid you not</font></font></p> <p>  <p> </p> <p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/travel/jamcams/sequences/a41.shtml" target="_top"><font size="2">A41 Jamcams - London </font></a> <font size="2"> - live the excitement of a snarl-up on the Finchley Road!  Unfortunately this may be getting out of date.  Why has the BBC chosen to show just one shot, which is never changed?  You tell me.  </font></p> <p><font size="2"><a href="http://web.bham.ac.uk/L.Chapman/" target="_top">A guide to England's fords</a> - none of which are actually on the A41, but some are quite near. </font></p> </body>