Primary destinations are locations that appear on route confirmation signs in the United Kingdom. Most are important settlements or conurbations, but some are bridges and tunnels, or even villages that are important junctions, e.g. Scotch Corner or Crianlarich.
In 1994, previous lists for destinations in Great Britain were superseded when English, Scottish and Welsh destinations were prescribed in Appendix C of Local Transport Note 1/94: The Design and Use of Directional Informatory Signs (LTN 1/94), published by the then Department of Transport. A revised list for England was published in 2009 and updated in 2010.
A revised list for Scotland was published in 2024 by Transport Scotland.
The 1994 list had 333 entries for England. When the 2010 list was compiled, 15 entries were removedEntries that were removed: Alton, Avonmouth, Bawtry, Brighouse, Esher, Hatfield, March, Midhurst, Redhill, Stretford, Stroud, Swanley, Wells, Wimbourne and Workington and 16 added,Entries that were added: Altrincham, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Garston, Heysham, Huyton, Keighley, Leigh, Manchester Airport, Newquay, Shepton Mallet, Speke, Trafford Park, Tunbridge Wells, Uckfield, Wellingborough giving a total of 334 entries. In December 2011, following a consultation, the Department for Transport announced that it would add Birmingham Airport, East Midlands Airport, Luton Airport, Thamesport (for Medway Ports East) and Port of Tilbury; and, in response to local feedback, that it would also add Colne and Minehead and ratify the removal of Stone.
The list for Northern Ireland destinations has always been maintained separately from those for Great Britain. Since devolution under the Scotland Act 1998 and the Government of Wales Act 1998, transport matters and hence responsibility for maintaining lists of primary destinations have been devolved to the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd and their respective governments.
Some maps show primary destinations in a different colour or font size to other places. () However, these sometimes include places which are not on the official lists.
Signage Primary destinations in Greater London, other than Heathrow Airport and London, will generally only be signed within the M25 motorway.
List of primary destinations Great Britain The entries for England in this list were compiled from the 2010 list and 2011 amendments. Those for Scotland are in accordance with the list published in 2024 by Transport Scotland, while those for Wales were compiled from the 1994 list.The choice of ceremonial rather than administrative county was prompted by the lack of consistency in the English local government system as some areas are covered by county and district councils, while others have a unitary authority.
Region Ceremonial county Destination National translationEvery destination in Wales along with some English destinations signed within the country is translated into Welsh where applicable on road signs.Bilingual road signs with Scottish Gaelic translations of destinations have been phased in across the Scottish Highlands and the A9 trunk road between Inverness and Perth. East of England Bedfordshire Bedford Dunstable Luton Luton Airport South East England Berkshire Bracknell Hungerford Maidenhead Newbury Reading Slough South West England Bristol Avonmouth Bristol Bryste South East England Buckinghamshire Amersham Aylesbury Beaconsfield High Wycombe (often as just "Wycombe") Milton Keynes East of England Cambridgeshire Cambridge Ely Huntingdon Peterborough Wisbech North West England Cheshire Chester Caer Congleton Crewe Ellesmere Port Macclesfield Nantwich Northwich Runcorn Warrington Widnes South West England Cornwall Bodmin Bude Falmouth Helston Launceston Liskeard Newquay Penzance Redruth St Austell Truro Wadebridge North West England Cumbria Barrow-in-Furness Brough Carlisle Kendal Keswick Kirkby Lonsdale Penrith Whitehaven Windermere East Midlands Derbyshire Ashbourne Buxton Chesterfield Derby Matlock South West England Devon Barnstaple Bideford Exeter Exmouth Honiton Okehampton Paignton Plymouth Tavistock Torquay South West England Dorset Blandford Bournemouth Dorchester Poole Shaftesbury Weymouth North East England County Durham Bishop Auckland Consett Darlington Durham Hartlepool Stockton Yorkshire and the Humber East Riding of Yorkshire Bridlington Goole Hull East Riding of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire Humber Bridge South East England East Sussex Brighton Eastbourne Hastings Lewes Newhaven Uckfield East of England Essex Basildon Chelmsford Clacton Colchester Dartford Crossing Harlow Harwich Port of Tilbury Southend Stansted Airport Tilbury South West England Gloucestershire Cheltenham Cirencester Gloucester Caerloyw Greater London Greater London Heathrow Airport London Llundain Barking Bexleyheath Brent Cross Brixton Bromley Central London City of London The City Greater London Clapham Junction Croydon Dalston Docklands Ealing Enfield Hammersmith Harrow Holloway Hounslow Ilford Kilburn Kingston Lewisham Peckham Richmond Romford Stratford Sutton Uxbridge Vauxhall Walthamstow Wembley West End Westminster Wimbledon Wood Green Woolwich North West England Greater Manchester Altrincham Ashton-under-Lyne Bolton Bury Leigh Manchester Manceinion Manchester Airport Oldham Rochdale Salford Stockport Trafford Park Wigan South East England Hampshire Andover Basingstoke Fareham Petersfield Portsmouth Ringwood Southampton Winchester West Midlands Herefordshire Hereford Henffordd Leominster Llanllieni Ross-on-Wye (often as just "Ross") Rhosan ar Wy East of England Hertfordshire Hemel Hempstead Hertford St Albans Stevenage Watford South East England Kent Ashford Canterbury Channel Tunnel Dartford Crossing Dover Folkestone Maidstone Margate Ramsgate Sevenoaks Sheerness Thamesport Tunbridge Wells North West England Lancashire Blackburn Blackpool Burnley Clitheroe Colne Fleetwood Heysham Lancaster Morecambe Preston Skelmersdale East Midlands Leicestershire East Midlands Airport Hinckley Leicester Loughborough Market Harborough Melton Mowbray Yorkshire and the Humber Lincolnshire Grimsby Immingham East Midlands Lincolnshire Boston Gainsborough Grantham Lincoln Yorkshire and the Humber Lincolnshire Scunthorpe East Midlands Lincolnshire Skegness Sleaford Spalding Stamford North West England Merseyside Birkenhead Penbedw Bootle Garston Huyton Liverpool Lerpwl St Helens Southport Speke Wallasey East of England Norfolk Cromer Diss Downham Market Great Yarmouth King's Lynn Norwich Swaffham Thetford East Midlands Northamptonshire Corby Kettering Northampton Wellingborough North East England Northumberland Alnwick Ashington Berwick-upon-Tweed (often as just "Berwick") Corbridge Hexham Morpeth Yorkshire and the Humber North Yorkshire Harrogate North East England North Yorkshire Middlesbrough Yorkshire and the Humber North Yorkshire Ripon Scarborough Scotch Corner Selby Skipton North East England North Yorkshire TeessideThe Teesside conurbation area straddles the North Yorkshire/County Durham border. Outside this area, Teesside is used, otherwise Middlesbrough (which is entirely within North Yorkshire) and Stockton (whose town centre is in County Durham) are used. Yorkshire and the Humber North Yorkshire Thirsk Whitby York East Midlands Nottinghamshire Mansfield Newark Nottingham Worksop South East England Oxfordshire Banbury Oxford East Midlands Rutland Oakham West Midlands Shropshire Bridgnorth Oswestry Croesoswallt Shrewsbury Amwythig Telford Whitchurch Yr Eglwys Wen South West England Somerset Bath Bridgwater Frome Glastonbury Minehead Shepton Mallet Taunton Weston-super-Mare Yeovil Yorkshire and the Humber South Yorkshire Barnsley Doncaster Rotherham Sheffield West Midlands Staffordshire Burton-upon-Trent (sometimes just as "Burton") Cannock Leek Lichfield Newcastle-under-Lyme (often as just "Newcastle") Rugeley Stafford Stoke-on-Trent (often as just "Stoke") Tamworth Uttoxeter East of England Suffolk Beccles Bury St Edmunds Felixstowe Ipswich Lowestoft Newmarket Sudbury South East England Surrey Dorking Farnham Guildford Reigate Staines North East England Tyne and Wear Gateshead Newcastle South Shields Sunderland Tynemouth Tyne Tunnel West Midlands Warwickshire Leamington Spa (often as just "Leamington") Nuneaton Rugby Stratford-upon-Avon Warwick West Midlands West Midlands Birmingham Birmingham Airport Brownhills Coventry Dudley Solihull Stourbridge Walsall West Bromwich Wolverhampton South East England West Sussex Bognor Regis Chichester Crawley East Grinstead Gatwick Airport Horsham Worthing Yorkshire and the Humber West Yorkshire Bradford Dewsbury Halifax Huddersfield Keighley Leeds Pontefract Wakefield Wetherby South West England Wiltshire Chippenham Marlborough Salisbury Swindon Trowbridge Warminster West Midlands Worcestershire Bromsgrove Evesham Kidderminster Redditch Worcester CaerwrangonScotland Aberdeen Aberdeen Inverness-shire Aviemore An Aghaidh Mhòr Ayrshire Ayr Argyll Campbeltown Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain Stirlingshire Crianlarich A' Chrìon Làraich Dumfriesshire Dumfries Dundee Dundee Dùn Dèagh Fife Dunfermline Lanarkshire East Kilbride Lothian Edinburgh Dùn Èideann Moray Elgin Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire Erskine Bridge Angus Forfar Inverness-shire Fort William An Gearasdan Aberdeenshire Fraserburgh Selkirkshire Galashiels Glasgow Glasgow Glaschu Renfrewshire Greenock Roxburghshire Hawick Inverness Inverness Inbhir Nis Ayrshire Irvine Roxburghshire Jedburgh Moray Keith Ayrshire Kilmarnock Fife Kincardine Inverness-shire Kingussie Fife Kirkcaldy Inverness-shire Mallaig Malaig Argyll Oban An t-Òban Renfrewshire Paisley Perthshire Perth Peairt Aberdeenshire Peterhead Ross and Cromarty Skye Bridge Stirlingshire Stirling Wigtownshire Stranraer Caithness Thurso Inbhir Theòrsa Ross and Cromarty Uig Uige Ullapool Ullapul Caithness Wick Inbhir ÙigeWales Clwyd Llangollen Mold Yr Wyddgrug Queensferry Ruthin Rhuthun St. Asaph Llanelwy Wrexham Wrecsam Dyfed Aberystwyth Cardigan Aberteifi Carmarthen Caerfyrddin Fishguard Abergwaun Haverfordwest Hwlffordd Llandeilo Llandovery Llanymddyfri Llanelli Milford Haven Aberdaugleddau Pembroke Dock Doc Penfro St Clears Sanclêr Tenby Dinbich-y-pysgod Gwent Abergavenny Y Fenni Chepstow Cas-gwent Cwmbran Cwmbrân Monmouth Trefynwy Newport Casnewydd Gwynedd Bala Y Bala Bangor Betws-y-coed Caernarfon Conwy Dolgellau Holyhead Caergybi Llandudno Porthmadog Mid Glamorgan Bridgend Pen-y-bont Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tudful Powys Brecon Aberhonddu Builth Wells Llanfair-ym-Muallt Llandrindod Wells Llandrindod Llangurig Machynlleth Newtown Y Drenewydd Rhayader Rhaeadr Gwy Welshpool Y Trallwng South Glamorgan Cardiff Caerdydd West Glamorgan Neath Castell-nedd Port Talbot Swansea Abertawe
Northern Ireland
Primary destinations in Northern Ireland are published separately from those in Great Britain. The current list is:
Notes
References