A1(M) Northbound Traffic

Travelling northbound on the A1(M) takes you away from London: from the M25 at South Mimms through Hertfordshire, past Peterborough and Doncaster, and on through Yorkshire and County Durham to Tyneside. This page shows reports affecting that direction.

The journey north, section by section

• Junctions 1 to 10. From the M25 at Junction 1 through the Hatfield Tunnel, between Junctions 3 and 4, and past Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage and Letchworth to Stotfold.
• The plain A1 past the Black Cat and Brampton, where the A14 comes in.
• Junctions 14 to 17. Alconbury to Peterborough.
• The plain A1 again for the long run past Wansford, Stamford, Grantham and Newark.
• Junctions 34 to 38. The Doncaster Bypass, with the M18 at Junction 35.
• A short plain-A1 gap from Skellow to Darrington.
• Junctions 40 to 65. Ferrybridge and the M62, the M1 joining at Junction 43, Wetherby, Scotch Corner, Darlington, Durham and Washington to Birtley.

The plain-A1 stretches are covered on A1 traffic news.

Junctions that only work going north

Some A1(M) junctions do not allow every movement. At Junction 5 there are no slip roads southbound and only an entry slip northbound. At Junction 43 you can join the A1(M) northbound from the M1, but you cannot leave northbound for the M1. The junction list has the details.

Where the northbound traffic grows

At Junction 43 the M1 ends and its northbound traffic joins yours. North of there the A1(M) is at its busiest, so a report between Junctions 43 and 45 is worth checking as you pass east of Leeds. Further north, the A64 for York leaves at Junction 44 and the A66 for Penrith leaves at Scotch Corner, Junction 53.

How busy is the A1(M) northbound?

The Department for Transport also publishes A1(M) counts for each carriageway on its own. These are the busiest northbound stretches in the 2025 figures, one direction only. Where a stretch is counted at two points with the same figure it appears once; slip roads and junction links are left out.

About one northbound vehicle in six between the M18 and Junction 37 is a lorry; in Hertfordshire it is nearer one in twenty. For both directions together see how busy the A1(M) is.

Where to stop northbound

In order: South Mimms, Baldock, Sawtry, Peterborough, Blyth, Ferrybridge, Wetherby, Scotch Corner, Durham and Washington, the last before the motorway ends.

Beyond Birtley the A1 carries on round Gateshead and Newcastle towards Morpeth, Alnwick and Berwick; see the A1 route guide.

Heading the other way? A1(M) southbound, Tyneside to London

Traffic count figures on this page are from the Department for Transport road traffic statistics, 2025.