M5

For the first time, we can share pictures of the pioneering experiment that lit up the Worcestershire countryside with enormous signs 61 years ago.

For a while, the M5 ended at a 270-degree loop - but long after the motorway was extended, it kept on catching drivers unawares. But it left behind an unexpected legacy of safer driving.

It's been on the cards since the 1920s. Is the Western Orbital Motorway now finally going to happen?

In days gone by, new roads were often celebrated with a grand opening ceremony and the issue of a commemorative booklet heralding the exciting new highway. You'll find some of them here, complete with a glimpse of all that empty tarmac and a healthy dose of modernist optimism.

England's motorways are littered with the remnants of service areas that were never built. Here's ten of our favourites.