74-828: The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over 230 miles (370 km) from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at the Catthorpe Interchange , near Rugby before heading north-west. It passes Coventry , Birmingham , Wolverhampton , Stoke-on-Trent , Preston , Lancaster and Carlisle before terminating at Junction 45 near Gretna . Here, just short of
148-621: A dialect closer to "northern" but now more influenced by "southern". In a binary choice, the Watford Gap is often considered the dividing point between the north and south of England, with most of the Midlands population sitting above this point. The "midland" name has been used for: Cumberland Cumberland ( / ˈ k ʌ m b ər l ə n d / KUM -bər-lənd ) is a historic county in North West England . The historic county
222-785: A mayor, aldermen and councillors. Outside of municipal boroughs, there was no effective local government until the 1840s. In response to poor sanitary conditions and outbreaks of cholera , the Public Health Act 1848 ( 11 & 12 Vict. c. 63) and the Local Government Act 1858 allowed for the formation of local boards of health in populous areas. Local boards were responsible inter alia for water supply, drainage, sewerage, paving and cleansing. Eleven local boards were initially formed at Brampton, Cleator Moor, Cockermouth, Egremont, Holme Cultram, Keswick, Maryport, Millom, Penrith, Whitehaven, Wigton and Workington. Further reform under
296-564: A national County flowers of the United Kingdom campaign by the charity Plantlife . In 2012, a flag based on the arms of the former Cumberland County Council was registered as the flag of Cumberland with the Flag Institute . In 2013, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government , Eric Pickles , formally recognised and acknowledged the continued existence of England's 39 historic counties, including Cumberland. In 2021, it
370-423: A new diocese , largely identical with the area of the earldom. However, on the death of King Henry I of England in 1135, the area was regained by King David I of Scotland . He was able to consolidate his power and made Carlisle one of his chief seats of government, while England descended into a lengthy civil war . The Cumbric language is believed to have become extinct in the 12th century. The area returned to
444-575: A population of 50,000 people or more to become a " county borough ", independent of county council control. In 1914, Carlisle successfully applied for this status, ceasing to form part of the administrative county , although remaining within Cumberland for the purposes such as Lieutenancy and shrievalty . The Local Government Act 1929 imposed the duty on county councils of reviewing the districts within their administrative county so as to form more efficient units of local government. In general, this meant
518-528: A project which "should be" completed by 1973. Sections to be illuminated included the M6 between junctions 10 and 11, and between junctions 20 and 27. In March 2006, after 15 years of debate, the government authorised the construction of a 6-mile (9.7 km) extension of the M6 from its then northern terminus near Carlisle to the Anglo-Scottish border at Gretna (the so-called " Cumberland Gap "), where it links into
592-406: A series of reforms reshaped the local government of the county, creating a system of districts with directly elected councils. The first changes concerned the administration of the poor law , which was carried at parish level. The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 provided for the grouping of parishes into poor law unions , each with a central workhouse and an elected board of guardians . Cumberland
666-506: A split-level cutting above the railway in the descent from Shap Fell through the Lune Gorge into southern Cumbria. The northbound entry slip road at Lancaster (Junction 34) was unusually short, presenting problems for traffic joining the motorway. The M6 crosses the River Lune at this point and unless the bridge had been made wider, there was no space to build a longer slip road. This junction
740-564: A symbol of Mercia as early as the reign of Offa . By the 13th century, the saltire had become the attributed arms of the Kingdom of Mercia. The arms are blazoned Azure, a saltire Or , meaning a gold (or yellow) saltire on a blue field. The saltire is used as both a flag and a coat of arms. As a flag, it is flown from Tamworth Castle , the ancient seat of the Mercian kings . The flag also appears on street signs welcoming people to Tamworth ,
814-592: Is bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish counties of Dumfriesshire and Roxburghshire to the north. The area includes the city of Carlisle , part of the Lake District and North Pennines , and the Solway Firth coastline. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974, when it
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#1732848059678888-694: Is furthest away from the coast than anywhere else in England, it typically receives mostly light winds, with warm days and cold nights. Sometimes the Midlands can have very cold nights such as a minimum of −18.7 °C (−1.7 °F) in Pershore on 20 December 2010. The previous day had a maximum of only −8.2 °C (17.2 °F), also in Pershore. Hot days are also possible, such as a maximum of 34 °C (93 °F) in Pershore on 19 July 2006. There can also be very mild winters nights, such as in Bidford-on-Avon when
962-422: Is no single definition for the Midlands. If defined as being made up of the statistical regions of East Midlands and West Midlands , it includes the counties of Derbyshire , Herefordshire , Leicestershire , most of Lincolnshire (with the exception of North and North East Lincolnshire ), Northamptonshire , Nottinghamshire , Rutland , Shropshire , Staffordshire , Warwickshire , Worcestershire and
1036-537: Is often labelled as "Central England", typically used interchangeably with "the Midlands". Additionally, there are two informal regions known as the South Midlands and North Midlands , which are not NUTS statistical regions of the United Kingdom and their definition varies by using organisation. The former includes the southern parts of the East Midlands and northern parts of Southern England . The latter covers
1110-531: Is roughly covered by the metropolitan county of the West Midlands (which also includes the city of Coventry ); with the related City Region extending into neighbouring areas of Shropshire , Staffordshire , Warwickshire and Worcestershire . Various parts of the Midlands, particularly Warwickshire and Leicestershire, are on occasion referred to as the Heart of England, especially in tourist literature given that
1184-577: Is the longest viaduct in Great Britain. Junction 6 in Birmingham, which opened in May 1972, is widely known as Spaghetti Junction because of its complexity and round and curvy-like design. On the elevated ground between Shap and Tebay , the north and south-bound carriages split apart. At this point a local road (to Scout Green ) runs between the two carriageways without a link to the motorway. The section of
1258-720: The Cheviot Hills , then followed a tributary of the River Irthing and crossed Denton Fell to the River Tees . From Tees Head the boundary crosses the Pennines to descend Crowdundale Beck, from where it followed the rivers Eden and Eamont to the centre of Ullswater . The line follows Glencoin Beck to the top of Helvellyn ridge at Wrynose Pass and along the River Duddon (near Millom ) to
1332-566: The Liberty of Tynedale was later also added to the new county of Carliol for financial reasons. By 1177, Carliol had become known as Cumberland. The border between England and Scotland was made permanent by the Treaty of York in 1237. The boundaries formed in the 12th century were not changed substantially over the county's existence. There are four English historic counties and two Scottish counties that it borders: Northumberland and County Durham to
1406-516: The Local Government Act 1888 , the Cumberland County Council was created as the county council for Cumberland, taking over administrative functions from the Court of Quarter Sessions . The Local Government Act 1894 reconstituted the existing sanitary districts as urban districts and rural districts , each with an elected council. The Act of 1888 also allowed any municipal borough with
1480-538: The Long Mynd , Clee Hills and Stiperstones ridge. Wenlock Edge , running through the middle of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), is a long, low ridge, which extends for over 15 miles (24 km). The Peak District reaches heights of between 300 m (1,000 ft) and 600 m (2,000 ft); Kinder Scout is the highest point at 636 m (2,086 ft). Further south,
1554-560: The M56 and M62 near Warrington , giving access to Chester , Manchester and Liverpool . It also meets the M65 at Junction 29, south of Preston, which connects Blackburn and Burnley , and the M55 at junction 32, north of Preston which links it to Blackpool . The M6 then heads north past Wigan , Preston and Lancaster . After the latter two cities it passes through Cumbria with some parts very close to
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#17328480596781628-663: The M73 ) in the north to Exeter (via the M5 ) and to London (via both the M42 / M40 and the M1 ) in the south. The M6 Toll , Britain's first toll motorway , which bypasses the West Midlands conurbation to the east and north of Birmingham and Walsall and was built to alleviate traffic congestion through the West Midlands, opened in December 2003. Before the opening of the toll motorway, this section of
1702-568: The Public Health Act 1875 ( 38 & 39 Vict. c. 55) saw the creation of sanitary districts throughout England and Wales. The existing municipal boroughs and local boards became "urban sanitary districts", while "rural sanitary districts" were formed from the remaining areas of the poor law unions. Three more local boards were formed: Arlecdon and Frizington in 1882, Harrington in 1891 and Aspatria in 1892. In addition Workington and Whitehaven received charters of incorporation to become municipal boroughs in 1883 and 1894 respectively. In 1889, under
1776-511: The southwest . The highest point of the hills is the Worcestershire Beacon at 425 m (1,394 ft) above sea level (OS Grid reference SO768452). The Cotswolds – designated an AONB in 1966. – extend for over 90 miles (140 km) through Oxfordshire , Gloucestershire , Wiltshire , Somerset , Warwickshire , and Worcestershire . They reach a highest point of 330 m (1,082 ft) at Cleeve Hill . Areas of lower hills, in
1850-632: The "ancient capital of Mercia". It was also flown outside Birmingham Council House during 2009 while the Staffordshire Hoard was on display in the city before being taken to the British Museum in London. The cross has been incorporated into a number of coats of arms of Midlands towns, including Tamworth , Leek and Blaby . It was recognised as the Mercian flag by the Flag Institute in 2014. There
1924-455: The 18th and 19th centuries. They are now split into two official regions, the West Midlands and East Midlands . The Midlands' biggest city, Birmingham , is the second-largest in the United Kingdom . Other important cities include Coventry , Derby , Leicester , Lincoln , Nottingham , Stoke-on-Trent , Wolverhampton , and Worcester . A saltire (diagonal cross) may have been used as
1998-779: The Black Country conurbation at 271 m (889 ft) and the Wrekin just south of Wellington in Telford at 407 m (1,335 ft). Upland areas lie in the west and north of the region with the Shropshire Hills to the west, close to the England–Wales border and the Peak District area of the southern Pennines in the north of the region. The Shropshire Hills reach a height of 540 m (1,771 ft) at Brown Clee Hill and includes
2072-679: The Cumberland Athletics Club; and various organisations and companies, such as the local newspapers The Cumberland News , and The West Cumberland Times and Star , and the Cumberland Building Society . It is also mentioned in Macbeth as the kingdom given to Prince Malcolm, and is also the initial setting for the Geoffrey Trease historical novel Cue for Treason . In June 1994, during the 1990s UK local government reform ,
2146-595: The English crown in 1157, when Henry II of England took possession of the area (from Malcolm IV of Scotland ). Henry II formed two new counties from the former earldom: Westmorland and Carliol – originally an abbreviation of the Latin Carlioliensis '[bishop] of Carlisle'. Westmorland also included areas formerly part of the Earldom of Lancaster . The lead- and silver-mining area of Alston , previously associated with
2220-627: The Expressway proposal, and favoured widening accompanied by demand-management measures, and launched a study to consider options for providing additional capacity. After the stretch between junction 10a and 13 was upgraded to a managed motorway in February 2016, it was then proposed to introduce a managed motorway between junction 13 and 19, later divided into two separate stretches, between junctions 16 and 19 and junctions 13 and 15. The stretch between junctions 16 and 19 started construction in December 2015 and
2294-553: The Local Government Commission published draft recommendations, suggesting as one option a North Cumbria unitary authority (also including Appleby , the historic county town of Westmorland). It also suggested that Cumberland could be reinstated as an independent ceremonial county . The final recommendations, published in October 1994, did not include such recommendations, apparently due to lack of expression of support for
M6 motorway - Misplaced Pages Continue
2368-562: The M6 carried 180,000 vehicles per day at its busiest point near Wolverhampton (between the junctions with the M54 and M5 motorways), compared with a design capacity of only 72,000 vehicles. Usage, at about 50,000 vehicles, was lower than expected and traffic levels on the M6 were only slightly reduced as a result. The high toll prices, which were set by the operating company and over which the UK Government has no influence until 2054, were blamed for
2442-434: The M6 from junction J21A to J26 to the all lane running standard of smart motorway, with an estimated cost of between £100 million - £250 million. The smart motorway was originally due to be fully open in 2023, but is now delayed until 2025. Download coordinates as: Data from driver location signs are used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information. Where a junction spans several hundred metres (yards) and
2516-654: The M6 that runs over Shap Fell in Cumbria at Shap Summit is 1,036 ft (316 m) above sea level, one of the highest points on any motorway in the UK (Junction 22 of the M62 on Moss Moor is higher). The motorway engineers here chose to follow the route of the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway engineered by Joseph Locke (now part of the West Coast Main Line) where the motorway runs in
2590-684: The Midlands as the region is bordered by Wales to the west. It is also where the Midlands' lowest points can be found as some places fall below sea level, with the lowest points being near Thorpe Tilney in North Kesteven and Stickford in East Lindsey . The Midlands has a temperate maritime climate , with cold, cloudy, wet winters and comfortable, mostly dry, mostly sunny summers. The temperature usually ranges from −0.4 °C (31.3 °F) during winter nights to 24.1 °C (75.4 °F) during summer days. Due to its geographical location, which
2664-524: The Preston by-pass was closed because of rapid surface deterioration over a stretch of 100 yards (91 m) "due to water freezing and then thawing". Motorists were diverted to the old road while the UK road research laboratory at Harmondsworth pondered the importance of surface water drainage. The second phase of construction was completed in 1960, forming the Lancaster by-pass. Some 100 miles (160 km) south,
2738-700: The Scottish border it becomes the A74(M) which continues to Glasgow as the M74. Its busiest sections are between junctions 4 and 10a in the West Midlands, and junctions 16 to 19 in Cheshire; these sections have now been converted to smart motorways . It incorporated the Preston By-pass , the first length of motorway opened in the UK and forms part of a motorway "Backbone of Britain", running north–south between London and Glasgow via
2812-688: The Stafford by-pass was completed in 1962. By 1965, the remaining sections of motorway Stafford–Preston and Preston–Lancaster had been completed. 1966 saw junction 11 to 13 completed. 1968 saw the completion of the Walsall to Stafford link as well as the Penrith by-pass some 150 miles (240 km) north in Cumberland . In 1970, the Lancaster–Penrith link was completed, along with a short section of motorway by-passing
2886-593: The UK, run by Ecotricity and Gridserve . Work started in 2020 to reconstruct the bridges above the motorway at junction 10, due to frequent congestion at peak times, due to be completed in 2024 at a cost of £78,000,000. Work started in March 2022 to upgrade the existing Dynamic Hard Shoulder smart motorway to add newer safety features to the motorway, such as a concrete central reservation, new emergency areas and drainage improvements. Currently, this work does not have an end date proposed. Work started in early 2021 to upgrade
2960-642: The Welsh border reaches over 700 m (2,000 ft) high, at Twyn Llech (Black Mountain), which at 703 m (2,306 ft) is thus the highest point in Herefordshire . The Precambrian Malverns are formed of some of the oldest rock in England (dating from the Cryogenian period, at around 680 million years old) and extend for 8 miles (13 km) through two West Midlands counties ( Worcestershire and Herefordshire ) as well as northern Gloucestershire in
3034-535: The West Midlands metropolitan boroughs. Other definitions include a slightly larger area and the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica describes Gloucestershire as "West Midland", Bedfordshire as "South Midland", and Huntingdonshire as "East Midland" counties respectively. Cheshire is also occasionally recognised as being in the Midlands, while a lot of what was historically part of southern Mercia ( Gloucestershire , Oxfordshire , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Hertfordshire , Huntingdonshire , and Cambridgeshire )
M6 motorway - Misplaced Pages Continue
3108-406: The busiest sections on the entire motorway. It was then proposed that the system could be extended onto other stretches of the M6 while the government undertook a feasibility study to determine other likely locations for this technology to be used. The stretch between junctions 4 and 5 was completed during December 2009 while the stretch between junctions 10a and 8 was completed during March 2011. This
3182-429: The ceremonial county of Lincolnshire, actually come under the Yorkshire and the Humber region and are therefore not in the officially recognised East Midlands region. The two regions of the Midlands have a combined population of 10,350,697 (2014 mid-year estimate), and an area of 11,053 sq mi (28,630 km ). The largest Midlands conurbation , which includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton ,
3256-411: The city. South of Manchester, there is no true motorway replacement for the old road. The M1 acts as a bypass for long-distance traffic in the south, from the Kegworth junction near Nottingham , to Luton and St. Albans near London; but, it is not an alternative for local traffic as the routes diverge by more than 15 miles (24 km) while passing through Northamptonshire . Across the Pennines ,
3330-416: The east; Westmorland to the south, the Furness part of Lancashire to the southwest; Dumfriesshire to the north and Roxburghshire to the northeast. To the west the county is bounded by the Solway Firth and the Irish Sea . The northern boundary is formed by the Solway Estuary and the border with Scotland running east to Scotch Knowe at Kershope Burn. The boundary runs south from Scotch Knowe along
3404-465: The edge of the Lake District with a short stretch within the national park boundaries and then passes Carlisle on its way to Gretna , before the motorway becomes the A74(M) a few hundred metres short of the Scottish border. The first section of the motorway and the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass . It was built by Tarmac Construction and opened by the Prime Minister Harold Macmillan on 5 December 1958. In January 1959
3478-407: The existing A74(M) . The road opened on 5 December 2008, the 50th anniversary of the M6 Preston By-pass. The project, which was a mixture of new road and upgrade of the existing A74, crosses the West Coast Main Line and had an estimated costs of £174 million. It completed an uninterrupted motorway from just south of Dunblane (via the M9 , the recently opened M80 section near Cumbernauld and
3552-407: The future county was part of Scotland, although some villages around Millom , which were the possessions of the Earl of Northumbria , had been incorporated into Yorkshire . In AD 1092, King William Rufus of England invaded the Carlisle district, settling it with colonists. He created an Earldom of Carlisle, and granted the territory to Ranulf le Meschin . In 1133, Carlisle was made the see of
3626-556: The geographic centre of England is generally considered to lie within this arc. Different areas of the Midlands have their own distinctive character, giving rise to many local history and industrial heritage groups. Nottingham played a notable part in the English Civil War , which is commemorated in a number of place names (Parliament Terrace, Parliament Street, Standard Hill). Areas such as Derbyshire's Amber Valley and Erewash combine attractive countryside with industrial heritage and are home to historic canals and sites associated with
3700-544: The industrial North of England. It is also part of the east–west route between the Midlands and the east-coast ports. The section from the M1 to the M6 Toll split near Birmingham forms part of the unsigned E-road E 24 and the section from the M6 Toll and the M42 forms part of E 05 . The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 and the A14 in Catthorpe near Rugby in central England. It passes Coventry , Birmingham , Stafford , Wolverhampton and Stoke-on-Trent . The motorway has major junctions with
3774-423: The latter on 10 January 1982 around Newport in Shropshire where it dropped to a minimum of −26.1 °C (−15.0 °F). Due to being neither Northern England or Southern England , the Midlands have had cultural elements from both sides in the North–South divide , such as dialect (see also West Midlands English and East Midlands English ). A study has shown that some Midlands areas have traditionally had
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#17328480596783848-423: The low usage. Much traffic continues to use the M6 or the continued on the M1 and took the A50 or A52 . As of July 2012 the road between Junctions 3A and 11A now carries 120,000 motor vehicles every day. A proposed extension to the M6 Toll known as the ' M6 Expressway ', which would have continued from the M6 Toll as far as Knutsford , at which point much of the existing M6 traffic leaves the M6 for Manchester ,
3922-406: The lowest level of local government. Cumberland Ward included Carlisle and Wigton as well as parts of Inglewood Forest . The parish of Stanwix just to the north of Carlisle was partly in both Eskdale and Cumberland wards. * Parts or all of these parishes and townships constituted the City of Carlisle, and were largely outside the jurisdiction of Cumberland Ward. During the 19th century
3996-430: The male inhabitants for the county's defence from Scottish troop incursions. Each ward was composed of a number of parishes, areas originally formed for ecclesiastical administration. In common with other northern England counties, many ancient parishes in Cumberland were very large, often consisting of a number of distinct townships and hamlets. Many of these ancient parishes eventually became civil parishes and form
4070-419: The merging of small or lightly populated areas into larger units. A review was carried in Cumberland in 1934. The following table lists the urban and rural districts before and after the changes. The distribution of population in 1971 was as follows:1971 Census; Small Area Statistics In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972 , the administrative county and county borough were abolished and their former area
4144-427: The mining industry. The Black Country , broadly the boroughs of Dudley , Sandwell , Wolverhampton and Walsall , played an important part in the Industrial Revolution . The historic counties ceased to be used for any administrative purpose in 1899 but remain important to some people, notably for county cricket . The area is predominantly low-lying and flat apart from isolated hills such as Turners Hill within
4218-420: The northern parts of the West and East Midlands, along with some southern parts of Northern England . The West Midlands and East Midlands regions are NUTS 1 statistical regions and were formerly constituencies of the European Parliament . Local government in the Midlands is as follows: The unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire (not shown), while classed as part of
4292-411: The old A6 , which it does along the northern section starting with the Preston Bypass. However, a much closer approximation to the overall actual route of the M6 (heading north from its southern terminus) is provided by following the A45 , A34 , A50 , A49 , then the A6 . South of Preston, the A6 route is instead supplemented by the M61 as far as Manchester , with the M60 acting as a bypass around
4366-521: The old road remains the main local through-route, and long-distance fast traffic between Derby and Manchester must instead take either the A50 and M6, or M1 and M62. Once all sections of the motorway were constructed, and it was finally all linked together, the result was an uninterrupted motorway length of 230 miles (370 km). In July 1972, the Minister for Transport Industries, John Peyton , announced that 86 miles (138 km) of UK motorway particularly prone to fog would benefit from lighting in
4440-422: The proposal to the commission. The Grass-of-Parnassus was the county flower . It had been associated with the county since 1951, when it was included in the coat of arms granted to the Cumberland County Council. It subsequently featured in the arms granted to Cumbria County Council and Copeland Borough Council , in both cases to represent Cumberland. The flower was also attributed to Cumbria in 2002 as part of
4514-425: The range 200 m (600 ft) - 300 m (1000 ft), include Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire , Cannock Chase in Staffordshire , and the Lincolnshire Wolds (100 m (300 ft) - 200 m (600 ft)); the latter having some prominence despite their modest altitude given their location in typically low-lying Lincolnshire near to the east coast. Lincolnshire is the only coastal county in
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#17328480596784588-415: The route of the M6. [REDACTED] Geographic data related to M6 motorway at OpenStreetMap Download coordinates as: Midlands The Midlands is the central part of England , bordered by Wales , Northern England , Southern England and the North Sea . The Midlands correspond broadly to the early-medieval kingdom of Mercia , and later became important in the Industrial Revolution of
4662-439: The sea . The highest point of the county is Scafell Pike , at 3,208 feet (978 m), the highest mountain in England. Carlisle is the county town . The Earldom of Carlisle was partitioned into baronies. When the County of Cumberland was created, the baronies were subdivided as wards , a county sub-division also used in Durham , Northumberland and Westmorland . These originated as military subdivisions used to organise
4736-417: The south of Walsall. The most northerly section of the motorway also opened in 1970, running to the designated terminus north of Carlisle. By 1971 the full route was completed between the junction with the M1 motorway at Rugby and the A38 road several miles north-east of Birmingham city centre, including Bromford Viaduct between Castle Bromwich (J5) and Gravelly Hill (J6), which at 3.5 miles (5.6 km)
4810-400: The start and end distances are known, both distances are shown. Each motorway in England requires that a statutory instrument be published, detailing the route of the road, before it can be built. The dates given on these statutory instruments relate to when the document was published, and not when the road was built. Provided below is an incomplete list of statutory instruments relating to
4884-400: The temperature at 6 pm was as high as 15.2 °C (59.4 °F) on 9 January 2015. At 8 am the following morning the temperature was still at 13 °C (55 °F). Both the highest and lowest temperature ever recorded in England were in the Midlands, the former on 19 July 2022 around Coningsby in Lincolnshire where it reached a maximum temperature of 40.3 °C (104.5 °F), and
4958-425: The term 'Cumberland' appears in AD 945, when the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded that the area was ceded to Malcolm I , king of Alba (Scotland), by King Edmund I of England . As with 'Cymru' , the native Welsh name for Wales , the names 'Cumberland' and 'Cumbria' are derived from kombroges in Common Brittonic , which originally meant "compatriots". At the time of the Domesday Book (AD 1086) most of
5032-510: Was abandoned in 2006 due to excessive costs, anticipated construction problems and disappointing levels of use of the M6 Toll. In October 2007, following a successful trial on the M42 in the West Midlands, the government announced that two stretches of the M6 would be upgraded to allow the hard shoulder to be used as a normal running lane during busy conditions under a scheme called active traffic management . The two stretches, between junctions 4 and 5 and between junctions 10a and 8, are two of
5106-405: Was combined with Westmorland and parts of Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire to form the new county of Cumbria . The area from Cumberland went on to form the districts of Carlisle , Allerdale , Copeland and part of Eden . The name continues in use as a geographical and cultural term, and it survives in Cumberland sausages ; HMS Cumberland ; the Cumberland Fell Runners Club;
5180-408: Was completed in March 2019 while construction on the stretch between junctions 13 and 15 commenced in March 2018 and was completed in August 2022. In April 2021, the M6 gained the first motorway service station to be built for thirteen years. Located off Junction 1 at Rugby and opened on 30 April 2021, the facility, run by Moto Hospitality , includes the largest electric vehicle charging facility in
5254-429: Was divided into nine unions: Alston with Garrigill, Bootle, Brampton, Carlisle, Cockermouth, Longtown, Penrith, Whitehaven and Wigton. In the following year the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 was passed, reforming boroughs and cities in England and Wales as municipal boroughs with a uniform constitution. The corporation of the City of Carlisle was accordingly remodelled with a popularly elected council consisting of
5328-578: Was subsumed into Cumbria with Westmorland as well as parts of Yorkshire and Lancashire . It gives its name to the unitary authority area of Cumberland , which has similar boundaries but excludes Penrith . In the Early Middle Ages , Cumbria was part of the Kingdom of Strathclyde in the Hen Ogledd , or "Old North", and its people spoke a Brittonic language now called Cumbric . The first record of
5402-485: Was then followed by a stretch between junctions 5 and 8 which started construction in April 2012 and was completed in October 2014. After plans of the government to improve reliability and capacity between Junctions 11 by Cannock and Junction 19 near Knutsford it favoured a new motorway in 2004, 'The Expressway' following a roughly parallel course to the existing M6. In July 2006, the government announced its decision to abandon
5476-503: Was upgraded from an earlier emergency-vehicles-only access point, which explains the substandard design. The construction of the Heysham to M6 Link Road (The Bay Gateway) has completely re-modelled this junction with a wide additional bridge over the River Lune and other works repositioning slip roads with new acceleration lanes to modern standards. The route was originally intended to replace
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