Northern Ireland is quite small, really. It's about 100 miles wide at its very widest point, measured from Bangor on the east coast to the village of Belleek, where the creamy interwoven pottery comes from, deep in the heart of Fermanagh's lakeland. From its most northerly tip at Torr Head, battered by the Atlantic breakers, south to the very wiggly border with the republic of Ireland, is a distance of about 75 miles. This patch of the UK is home to about 1.5 million inhabitants, the vast majority of whom live in and around Belfast. So the need for a motorway network was not terribly acute, and ambitious early plans for a substantial and sophisticated network with fingers connecting all parts of the province have never fully materialised. For the most part, this was due to financial priorities during the 1960s and 1970s being focussed elsewhere in Northern Ireland, as the continuing 'Troubles' ate up resources.

But fear not, motorway fans, for a compact and bijou little network does indeed exist, and brings joy and frustration to its users day and daily. The numbering is all its own, and should not be confused with any motorways of the same nomenclature in the rest of Ireland, or in Great Britain.

The M1

The M1, perhaps counter-intuitively, does not link Belfast with the only capital city reachable from it by land, Dublin. The longest of Northern Ireland's motorways, it heads west from Belfast, but Dublin-bound traffic has to leave it 8 miles out at the Sprucefield junction¹, and join the A1 heading south. This has caught out a number of unsuspecting tourists. The M1 continues for another 40 miles west, visiting four of Northern Ireland's six counties and crossing the River Lagan several times, before it reaches Dungannon. Here it peters out and becomes the A4, notorious as an accident black spot, as drivers forget to change their driving style from 'motorway' setting to 'country road'. Although there are no service stations on any of Northern Ireland's motorways, there is something akin to one just after the end of the M1, in the Killymaddy Amenities area, which has tourist information, a craft centre, a cafe and a play area. Drivers coming into Belfast on the M1 are warned that the hard shoulder becomes a bus lane shortly after the Sprucefield junction.

The M12

This is a tiny spur which leads off the M1, connecting it to the new town conurbation of Craigavon.

The M2

The M2 leaves Belfast up a steep hill past Belfast Castle and the zoo, and strikes out heading vaguely northwards. With the exception of a small section of the M90 in Scotland, its 1 in 15 gradient makes it the steepest motorway in the UK, necessitating a crawler lane on the uphill side. From the top of this hill, the traveler has a fabulous view over Belfast Lough², with planes landing at the George Best Belfast City Airport on the far side, which is nothing short of breathtaking. For those leaving Belfast, the M2 is the route which takes passengers part of their way to the other Belfast airport, the International. At the top of the hill there is a massive roundabout with six exits. Its proper name is the Sandyknowes roundabout, but locals call it the Snotty-nose. This junction connects travellers with the A8(M), of which more later. The M2 continues in a north-westerly direction, skirting the top of Lough Neagh (which can just be glimpsed from the motorway), before it ends at Randalstown, becoming the A6. As this is the main route between Belfast and Londonderry, it tends to be heavily used by lorries and heavy goods vehicles. The 22 miles of the M2 lie entirely within County Antrim, and it is the busiest road in the province. There is one other tiny bit of the M2, which forms a little semi-circle around Ballymena. This dates back to the early plans for motorway connections in all directions, when construction was carried out in the order of greatest urgency, rather than sequentially out from Belfast. There is now no intention to construct a full motorway grade connection between this bit of the M2 and the main section. However, a high grade dual carriageway now joins them, so the experience for drivers is pretty similar.

The M8 (or more correctly, the A8(M))

At 0.9 miles (1.5 km) long, this is one of the world's shortest stretches of motorway, and a contender for World's Most Pointless Motorway. You'd take this if you were heading to the major ferry port of Larne.

The M3

This is a very fancy name for what is in essence a bridge over the River Lagan, and is sometimes called the Lagan Bridge, or the Cross Harbour Link. The construction of this graceful curving bridge, less than a mile long, was an ambitious project, as most of it is on elevated pillars. Unsurprisingly it is cost-per-mile the most expensive motorway in Northern Ireland. However, its construction (together with its sibling railway bridge) greatly eased city centre congestion by transporting traffic heading east towards Bangor straight onto the Sydenham bypass, the oldest dual carriageway in Northern Ireland. Arguably more importantly, it linked the various railway stations in the city, making it easier for train users to get about on a seamless network. It is recognised as one of the most successful local projects in road building, and at 0.8 miles (1.3 km)long, it is Northern Ireland's shortest motorway.

The M5

Running beside the M2 as they leave Belfast, the M5 makes its short journey of just under two miles along the northern side of Belfast Lough, until it reaches Whiteabbey. Its signposts contain brown tourist pointers, for visitors wishing to take the scenic coastal route (the A2) all around the edge of Northern Ireland. The two lanes of the M5, immediately adjacent to the two of the M2, with a fifth lane for exiting to the docks, and the same in the other direction, amount to fully 10 lanes across in some areas, and this was at one time the widest patch of motorway in the UK. It was constructed on reclaimed land, and lies only a few feet above sea level. Despite plenty of signing showing which is the M5 and which the M2, there always seems to be someone caught out at the last minute, desperately trying to cross four lanes of traffic to get onto their desired motorway.

The Westlink

Not strictly a motorway, it's the A12, but it connects the M1 and M2 and acts as Belfast's by-pass (although it's more of a through-put). It was an extremely difficult project to engineer, involving cuttings and retaining walls through a busy urban setting, and rapidly became the most hated road in Belfast. Users at times had to run the additional risk of stones and boulders being dropped onto the carriageway by local youths from the footbridges which cross it, although most of these have bridges now been caged in. Substantial upgrades in 2007 and 2008 removed the major roundabouts on this 1-mile stretch of tarmac hell, and replaced them all with underpass intersections. Theoretically, drivers shouldn't need to stop unless they are leaving the Westlink. In practice, rush hour traffic can still be extremely slow moving. The underpass at what was the Broadway roundabout, at the foot of the Falls Road and beside the Royal Victoria Hospital, became a newsworthy sight during the heavy rains and subsequent flooding of September 2008, when the water could not drain away quickly enough, turning the underpass into a swimming pool. A modern sculpture has been unveiled which will eventually stand on the site of the former roundabout, symbolising a positive outlook for the future.

Tips for users

The vast majority of the network has 2 lanes in each direction, with a hard shoulder on the left for emergency use only, and a metal central barrier. Drivers should stay in the left lane unless they are overtaking. The speed limit is not explicitly stated, but is the national speed limit of 70 mph unless otherwise indicated. (The whole of the M3 has a speed limit of 50 mph due to its curve and its lack of hard shoulder). Lane discipline is reasonably well practised, and where two lanes merge, or where traffic is joining from a slip road at busy times, a 'zipper' approach, or merging in turn, is common, but should not be automatically expected. The car letting you in may flash its lights to let you know that you can proceed. It is considered polite for the car which has been allowed in to indicate thanks with either a wave of the driver's hand, or a quick flash of the hazard warning lights. This is not endorsed by the Highway Code, but it is a common sight. Locals rarely use junction numbers when talking about exits - junction 6 on the M1 will be referred to as 'The Saintfield Road exit'. This can be frustrating for visitors either obtaining directions or listening to local traffic bulletins: it is not that informative to learn that 'there are the usual build-ups in the usual locations', nor that 'there's been an accident just past the Ballybogey Bridge'. Lights being flashed by oncoming traffic can be a warning that either there's an accident or other incident ahead, or that there is a speed cop about. Speed cameras are a rarity. Learner drivers display the letter L and are not permitted on motorways, but in Northern Ireland those who pass their driving test are restricted to 45 mph for one year, display the letter R on their vehicle, and are permitted on the motorways.

Happy Motoring!