Something that I technically learned yesterday, but only confirmed today, is that the M25 is not a complete circle - there is a gap between the start (J1) and the end (J31) where the road crosses the Thames east of London proper. It becomes the A282, the reason being that it is the last crossing point on the Thames before it reaches the sea, and so needs to be available to traffic that isn't allowed on the motorway. All very concise and logical, but unfortunately not entirely learnt yesterday, so I'll have to go with this:
The M25 is the second largest orbital motorway in Europe - the Berliner Ring is 5 miles longer.
The Berliner Ring is surely also notable for being a road named afternot one, but two different kinds of doughnuts. The M25 is also symbolic in a less delicious way, coming to represent a symbol of traffic, roadworks and general road-based misery. Before it had even properly opened, Maggie Thatcher had to defend it (that woman had a lot to answer for most of the time), and it is alleged in the Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman book 'Good Omens' that it was in fact created by Satan himself.
It seems, however, that those dwelling within the cosy, gently suffocating concrete loop see it as part of their identity. A 2004 poll suggested that two-thirds of residents inside the London Orbital wanted Greater London to be extended to exactly meet it's boundaries - the approval rating was the same from those within the existing Greater London boroughs and those outside, but still inside the motorway loop. To me, crossing the M25 now is like stepping into Narnia - Reading is starting to feel like a rustic paradise where stags and squirrels frolic through misty glades. For tonight, however, I shall remain very much in the loop.
The M25 is the second largest orbital motorway in Europe - the Berliner Ring is 5 miles longer.
The Berliner Ring is surely also notable for being a road named afternot one, but two different kinds of doughnuts. The M25 is also symbolic in a less delicious way, coming to represent a symbol of traffic, roadworks and general road-based misery. Before it had even properly opened, Maggie Thatcher had to defend it (that woman had a lot to answer for most of the time), and it is alleged in the Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman book 'Good Omens' that it was in fact created by Satan himself.
It seems, however, that those dwelling within the cosy, gently suffocating concrete loop see it as part of their identity. A 2004 poll suggested that two-thirds of residents inside the London Orbital wanted Greater London to be extended to exactly meet it's boundaries - the approval rating was the same from those within the existing Greater London boroughs and those outside, but still inside the motorway loop. To me, crossing the M25 now is like stepping into Narnia - Reading is starting to feel like a rustic paradise where stags and squirrels frolic through misty glades. For tonight, however, I shall remain very much in the loop.
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