For long-distance travel, the route is not a trunk road, as designated by National Highways and as such is of standard road width, often alongside hedges and open fields. Portsmouth and Guildford for example, 15 miles (24 km) and points along the route,[2] are served by the four-to six-lane A3 trunk road.[3]
From Capel to Hardham, south of Pulborough, the road with notable deviations follows the path of one of the multiple Roman roads with the name Stane Street, the Middle English and Old English for Stone Street due to the remaining building materials.
