The final leg of the M5 - just after junction 30. note the cantenery lighting.

ADS for junction 31 ahead.

Over the Exe viaduct.

Gantries for junction 31 - and the end of the motorway ahead.

...in the lane for the A38.

The A30 goes off to the left - we're sticking with the A38.

The motorway comes to an end.

You don't notice an immediate difference in the quality of the road - this could easily be the M5.

Route confirmation that this is no longer the M5!

The A379 merges in...

Advance warning of slow lorries and the junction ahead.

First reason for this not being a motorway - there's a lot of local junctions.

Another Y sign

Gantries for the split ahead.

...and here we are at the bottom of Haldon hill - the second reason for the lack of a motorway.

On a cloudier day, we can see the A380 going off to the left at a very steep gradient, whilst the A38 bears off to the right.

We regain our third lane, as the A380 from Torbay passes over us.

Despite being a nice, wide D3, with plenty of room for a hard shoulder, the road here is extremely steep for a dual carriageway - I was strugging to do 40! Haldon Hill is simply way too steep to be of motorway standard.

Here's another problem with the A38 - it has lots of side roads. Whilst none of them actually involve crossing the central reservation, the on/off slips can be very short.

We lose our third lane at the top of the hill.

Reaching the brow of the hill.

With a little hatching on our right after losing the third lane, we come across one of many small service areas along the route.

The carriageways split as we descend towards the Harcombe Bends.

We are now about to descent on a 6% gradient.