So, last Thursday I was working for a sheet metal company and had to deliver some sheets to a company outside Radstock near Bath. My previous customer was in Andover, so I went west along the A303 then north-west along the A36 to Warminster. The sat-nav (which is a HGV sat-nav and I’d programmed my height and weight into it) tried to direct me north along the A36 and then west along the A366.
However, at Beckington I saw a weight limit sign on the A36 saying “7.5T, Access Only”. I turned into the Texaco garage and they told me my truck wouldn’t get through Norton St Phillip and that I’d have to go round the Frome by-pass, back into Frome and up the A362. That’s what I did (and I later discovered that was the way all our company drivers go).
Is there a low bridge on the A366? Also I noticed that the diversion along the B3090 into Frome from the west doesn’t seem to work the other way round, as there’s a 7.5T limit on the A362 with no apparent exceptions. Where do I go to get back from Radstock?
Get back to where? Which road do you ultimately need to be on?
The 7.5 t access only sign is for the road closure from Brassknocker Hill to Claverton to rebuild a road that is slipping away, this closure is until July 2015.
Norton St Philip has road narrowing schemes and a long row of parked cars to negotiate,then a sharp left turn to get to Radstock,it’s a 7.5 t limit in Norton.
Foreign drivers have gone through Norton following car sat navs in their trucks and damaged houses and the Fleur de Lys pub.
The low bridge near Frome is near Oldford marked at 3.8 m.
Frome town centre is a steep hill in and out,weight limit again.
To get to Radstock, Lgvs are allowed to head to Frome by Sainsburys, then turn left by the fire station, keep going with TH Whites on the right, then go through Buckland Dinham.
Radstock back to Frome the same way is ok for artics, in both directions, you are using the Frome bypass .
Another option is going past Beckington service station, head North to Bath on the A36, when you see the farm shop before Limpley Stoke,turn left, you are now heading to Norton st Phillip but going straight across
the cross roads with the Fleur de Lys pub on the left, it is a weight limit ,but easier than the other way in,Radstock is accessible this way.
If I’m making the journey in the opposite direction, ie., Radstock, Andover, Aldershot.
A367 to the A37, follow the A37 to Shepton Mallet, and then you can either carry on down the A37 via a 14’3" height limit to the A303,
or a bit more windy, take the A371 to Wincanton.
Both are against the logical flow of direction to be honest but on my limited knowledge of that side of the county and that I really wouldn’t recommend taking a lorry though Norton St Philip, thats the way I would go, but I do know both roads reasonably well so would be happy to lose that bit of extra time on them.
Others will hopefully have bit more knowledge of the area can could perhaps help you better 