Image for A303: Highway to the SunNot currently available on BBC iPlayer

Duration: 1 hour

The A303 is the road that passes Stonehenge on the way to the beaches of Devon and Cornwall. On the way, it whisks drivers through 5,000 years of remarkable moments in English history. And it is the star of this film made for armchair travellers and history lovers.

Writer Tom Fort drives its 92-mile length in a lovingly-restored Morris Traveller. Along the way he has many adventures - he digs up the 1960s master plan for the A303's dreams of superhighway status; meets up with a Neolithic traveller who knew the road like the back of his hand; gets to know a section of the Roman 303; uncovers a medieval murder mystery; and discovers what lies at the end of the Highway to the Sun.

Last on

Wed 8 May 2013 23:15 BBC Four

Music Played

27 items

  • Tom Fort's Biography

    Tom Fort's Biography

    Born in 1951 and educated at Eton and Oxford, Tom joined the Slough Observer newspaper as a reporter in 1972 before moving to BBC Radio News in 1978. This career was long-lived as he stayed there for 22 years, rising to the dizzying height of assistant editor. Since his retirement in 2000 Tom has written six non-fiction books:

    • The Far From Compleat Angler
    • The Grass Is Greener
    • The Book of Eels
    • Under the Weather
    • Downstream, and Against The Flow

    Tom is currently at work on a "cultural history" of the A303 – a book which will challenge you to look beyond the white lines and hard shoulders predetermining our journey and thoughts. Tom is married, with a total of five children (from two wives). His passions include fishing and cricket, his enthusiasms include playing the piano (ineptly), pubs and rugby union.

  • Morris Minor Traveller

    Morris Minor Traveller

    For his A303 journey Tom was driving a Morris Minor Traveller. It was built in 1967 and still has the original colour - Old English White, with a red interior trim. To keep it safe to drive and up to date, it has been fitted with front disc brakes and a new cylinder head, which enables the use of unleaded petrol. It is under-sprayed each year with oil to protect the chassis from corrosion. Its current owner, John Webb, still drives it in the Bath area so give him a wave if you pass him on the road.

    Visit the Morris Minor Owners Club

  • TV Blog: The inspiration behind Highway To The Sun

    TV Blog: The inspiration behind Highway To The Sun

    Presenter Tom Fort on his fascination behind the A303: "Like everyone else, I wondered about Stonehenge. Then I started wondering about other aspects of the landscape that flashed past the window. Like Amesbury and the weird metal bloke on his knees by the turn-off."

    Read and comment on Tom's post on the BBC TV blog

Credits

Presenter
Tom Fort
Producer
John Holdsworth
Director
John Holdsworth
Executive Producer
Chris Granlund

Broadcasts

See all broadcasts of A303: Highway to the Sun (16)

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