list of motorways in the united kingdom

A complete listing of motorways in the United Kingdom. Note that one numbering scheme is used for Great Britain and a separate scheme for Northern Ireland – see also Roads in Ireland (also covering the Republic of Ireland).

List of current motorways

Single digit motorways

M1, the eastern north-south motorway linking London and Leeds and continuing north to the A1.
M2, in Kent from Rochester to Faversham.
M3, linking Southampton and London.
M4, linking London and south Wales.
M5, linking Exeter and the south-west of England with Birmingham and the Midlands.
M6, the western north-south motorway linking the M1 at Rugby and Carlisle.
M6 Toll, a toll motorway to the north of Walsall and Sutton Coldfield, bypassing a busy stretch of the M6 around the Birmingham and Wolverhampton areas.
M8, linking Edinburgh and Greenock, via Glasgow.
M9, linking Edinburgh and Stirling.

Northern Ireland

M1 (Northern Ireland) from Belfast to Dungannon.
M2 (Northern Ireland) from Belfast to Antrim, and again near Ballymena.
M3 (Northern Ireland) from Belfast to Ballymacarrett.
M5, Belfast (M2) to Newtownabbey

Two digit motorways

M10, a short spur from the M1 to St Albans.
M11, linking London and Cambridge.
M18, linking the M1 at Rotherham and the M62 at Goole.
M20, linking London (Swanley) and Folkestone.
M23, linking London (Coulsdon) to beyond Crawley.
M25, the London orbital motorway.
M26, a short link between the M25 at Sevenoaks and the M20 before Maidstone.
M27, the south coast route running from Cadnam, west of Southampton, to Portsmouth.
M32, a spur from the M4 to central Bristol.
M40, linking London and Birmingham and linking to the M42 Birmingham orbital motorway .
M42, The southern and eastern part of the Birmingham orbital motorway extending north towards Ashby-de-la-Zouch and west to the M5.
M45, a short spur from M1 north of Daventry towards Coventry.
M48, the Severn Bridge, linking Thornbury and Newport, Monmouthshire over the River Severn. This used to be the M4 before the Second Severn Crossing was built.
M49, a short link from M5 to M4 west of Bristol.
M50, linking the M5 at Tewkesbury to Ross-on-Wye.
M53, linking Chester and Birkenhead.
M54, linking M6 north of Wolverhampton and Telford.
M55, linking Blackpool and M6 at Preston.
M56, linking Manchester and Chester.
M57, a Liverpool bypass running north west from the M62.
M58, linking Wigan and northern Liverpool.
M60, the Manchester Outer Ring Road, an orbital motorway.
M61, linking Preston and Manchester.
M62, linking Liverpool and the approaches to Kingston-upon-Hull, the trans-Pennine link.
M65, linking Preston and Colne, Lancashire.
M66, linking Rawtenstall and M62 at Manchester.
M67, linking the M60 at Denton to Hyde in Greater Manchester.
M69, linking Leicester and Coventry.
M73, linking Cumbernauld to the M74.
M74, linking Glasgow and Abington in South Lanarkshire, where the A74(M) takes over.
M77, linking Glasgow and Newton Mearns.
M80, linking Glasgow and Stirling.
M90, linking the Forth Road Bridge and Perth, Scotland.

Northern Ireland

M12, spur from M1 to Portadown
M22, Antrim (M2) to Randalstown

Three or more digit motorways and spurs

M180, from the M18 at Thorne towards Grimsby and the A15 to the Humber Bridge.
M181, the Scunthorpe spur from the M180.
M271, the Totton, Southampton spur from the M27
M275, the Portsmouth spur from the M27
M602, M62 spur into Manchester.
M606, M62 spur at Bradford.
M621, M62 spur at Leeds.
M876, a short link between motorways in the Falkirk area.
M898, the Erskine Bridge approach road.

Upgraded A-road designations

A1(M), representing the parts of the A1 road between London and Newcastle-upon-Tyne that have been upgraded to motorway.
A167(M) in central Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
A194(M) spur from the Newcastle-upon-Tyne stretch of the A1(M) running towards the Tyne Tunnel.
A3(M), a short stretch of the A3 road by-passing Waterlooville and Havant, that has been built to motorway standards.
A308(M), linking the M4 junction 8/9 with Maidenhead.
A329(M), linking Bracknell and Winnersh near Reading.
A38(M), a spur from the M6 to central Birmingham, also known as the Aston Expressway. It is unique in having no central reservation. The number of lanes open in each direction varies according to prevaling traffic conditions.
A404(M), linking the M4 junction 8/9 towards Henley-on-Thames.
A57(M), known as the Mancunian Way, forms the southern part of Manchester's inner ring road. It is elevated and runs through the centre of the campus of UMIST, now part of the University of Manchester.
A58(M) is the western part of the Leeds inner ring road.
A601(M) Spur off the M6 at Carnforth, Lancashire. The southern part is single carriageway.
A6144(M), the longest single-carriageway motorway spur in the United Kingdom from the M60 north of Sale towards Carrington
A627(M), connects Rochdale and Oldham to the M62
A64(M) is the eastern part of the Leeds inner ring road.
A66(M) is a short spur from the A1(M) to Darlington
A74(M), linking Abington in South Lanarkshire at the end of the M74 with Gretna.
A823(M) is a short spur from the M90 to Dunfermline.

Northern Ireland

A8(M) spur from M2 to A8 north of Belfast

Other motorways

Walton Summit.

Former motorways

Roads which used to be motorways but have been downgraded.

A102(M) London East Cross Route, between Hackney, the Blackwall Tunnel, and as far as the Sun-in-the-Sands roundabout.
A18(M) Spur from M18. Mostly now part of M180, although a section has been abandoned.
A329(M) from Winnersh to Reading, now the A3290. Downgraded to permit Reading council to dedicate one lane for buses.
A40(M) London Westway, now the A40.
A41(M) Tring bypass, now the A41.
A46(M) Spur towards Leicester from M1 at junction 21.
M41 was a spur from the London Westway.