Watford Gap

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See also: Watford Gap, Staffordshire

Watford Gap and the small village of Watford, is the traditional crossing point on the old east-west coaching route across England. Here, a natural gap in the hills affords the easiest route between the Midlands and South East England, as well as linking to the important north-south route provided by Watling Street. An important coaching inn was located here, and the building still stands, named as the Watford Gap pub. In recent times (2000) this was closed for business, and in need of renovation.

Nowadays, the village lends its name to the nearby Watford Gap service station on the M1 motorway which was the first motorway service station in the UK. Many modern communication routes pass through this narrow gap in addition to the Roman Watling Street (A5) — the M1, the West Coast Main Line railway, and the Grand Union Canal with its Watford Locks. Engineers throughout history from the Romans onwards have found this to be the most natural course through this region.

The village is often mistaken for the much larger town of Watford in Hertfordshire, about 50 miles south, especially when people use the phrase "North of Watford (Gap)" to mean an imaginary division of the country into northern and southern halves.

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