cav551:
I’ve been struggling with this one because it doesn’t look much sense on a modern map, so the only reason I can think is that the North Circular was nothing like it is today but carried the same traffic. We went to Keymarkets at Brandon a lot, particularly load and go so getting away mid morning or midday. Start at Paddock Wood.Join the A 228 at Beltring go through East Peckham and up Seven mile Lane to the A20. Grind up the old Wrotham Hill and follow the A20 to Cliftons r/a at Eltham; right Westhorne ave and South Circular from Well Hall r/a and over the Woolwich Ferry. A117 and what is now South Woolwich Manor Way up to East Ham, left and very short right up East Ham High st to join the A116 across Wanstead Flats to Leytonston.
Seems like a drastic alternative assuming Dartford Tunnel was an option.
The A310 Twickenham,Isleworth and B454 Syon Lane and Windmill Lane past AEC at Southall then A4127 through Greenford and A404 and A409 through Harrow and Wealdstone and A411 through Elstree to A41 was the default choice from Surrey and South West and West London to the M1 not the North Circ.I’d guess most of these old routes were probably handed down from the days when narrower more street friendly 8 wheeler rigids were the max weight trucks of the day and before ‘traffic calming’ became the default solution to discourage such through traffic on those old A road routes.While probably more a case of routes to avoid these days for that reason.