B158 road

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The B158 is a road in Hertfordshire that runs from the A602 at Tonwell, to the A1000 at Brookmans Park.

Prior to 2005, the road continued further north along Anchor Lane to the A10 at Wadesmill; however, the Anchor Lane section was downgraded with the opening of the A10 Wadesmill and High Cross bypass.

We will start this description from the historical beginning of the road, at a junction with the Great Cambridge Road in Wadesmill. The section between Wadesmill the A602 is known as Anchor Lane, after the Anchor pub at the end of it. This is an old, narrow and winding piece of single carriageway with poor alignment and sections of very reduced visibility, mirroring the course of the River Rib along the bottom of the valley.

At the Tonwell roundabout, where the road crosses the A602, the character of the road changes completely into a much wider and straighter road for the final few miles into Hertford, bypassing the village of Chapmore End before rising out of the valley to Bengeo.

Further along, the road descends Port Hill into the Lea Valley and enters Hertford itself, passing the Hillside pub on the way (famous for having been also called the Rocking Horse, Hooden Horse Too, and Reindeer all in the space of about five years).

After the traffic lights at Old Cross the road crosses the River Lea at Cowbridge and intersects with the A414 at a roundabout, before travelling up Pegs Lane, past various council offices, and back down into the Lea valley. The original course of the road was along Castle Street, followed by West Street (a route now severed by the A414). From here, the road narrows after the railway viaduct, and is known as the Lower Hatfield Road. Like Anchor Lane, the road from here is very narrow and winding with only very limited opportunity for overtaking should you get stuck behind one of the many HGVs that use the route (there are quarries for mineral extraction all the way from Hertford to the village of Essendon). After Essendon, the road travels through fields and woodlands, via Cum-cum Hill and Kentish Lane, before eventually reaching the former Great North Road just north of Potter's Bar.