The A4 road from London to Bath, historically known as the Bath Road, is one of Britain's oldest and most significant routes. Its origins date back to the Roman period, when a road connected Londinium (London) to Aquae Sulis (Bath), facilitating trade and military movement. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the route became a vital coaching road, lined with inns that served stagecoaches carrying passengers, mail, and goods between London and the prosperous spa town of Bath.

In the 18th century, sections of the road were improved by turnpike trusts, which introduced tolls to fund maintenance and upgrades. This made the Bath Road one of the better-maintained highways of its time. With the arrival of the railways in the 19th century, long-distance coach travel declined, but the road remained important for local transport.

In the 20th century, the route was modernised and officially designated as the A4 in 1923. Major improvements included the construction of the Great West Road in the 1920s and 1930s, designed to ease congestion and support growing motor traffic. Today, the A4 remains a key arterial route linking London with the west of England, blending ancient origins with modern infrastructure.

In this book, Chris 'Wolfie' Cooper takes us on a fascinating journey from London's Hyde Park Corner, through the suburbs of Hammersmith, Chiswick, Brentford and Hounslow before heading out on a great western trek which takes in the likes of Slough, Reading, Newbury, Marlborough, Calne, Chippenham, Devizes, Bath and Bristol.

On our journey we explore the old coaching inns, we meet highwaymen and we find all of the lost stubs of road. We look at old maps showing earlier stretches of road, now bypassed and left as laybys or simply forgotten. We go through places also now bypassed, and see where coach passengers would have stopped and eaten.

This, then, is the story of the Great West Road as never seen before.