Edgware Road  Edgware Road is a major road through north-west London, starting at Marble Arch in the City of Westminster (south end) and running north to Edgware in the London Borough of Barnet. It is also a boundary between several North London boroughs. The route has its origins as a Roman road (part of Watling Street) and therefore runs for 10 miles in an almost perfect straight line, which is unusual in London. It is part of the modern A5 road. It undergoes several name changes along its length, including Maida Vale, Kilburn High Road, Shoot Up Hill and Cricklewood Broadway; but the road is, as a whole, known as the Edgware Road, as it is the road to Edgware. The road runs north-west from Marble Arch to Edgware on the outskirts of London. It crosses the Harrow Road and Marylebone Road, passing beneath the Marylebone flyover. The road passes through the areas of Maida Vale, Kilburn and Cricklewood. It then crosses the North Circular Road before West Hendon at Staples Corner. After this, the road continues in the same direction, through the Hyde, Colindale, Burnt Oak, and then reaches Edgware. The southernmost part of the Edgware Road forms part of the London Inner Ring Road and as such is part of the boundary of the London congestion charge zone. However, when the zone was extended in February 2007, the road became part of the "free through routes" which allows vehicles to cross the zone during its hours of operation without paying the charge. The southern part of the road between Marble Arch and Maida Vale, noted for its distinct Middle Eastern cuisine and many late-night bars and "shisha" cafes, is known to Londoners by nicknames such as "Little Cairo", "Little Beirut" and, especially near Camden, "Little Cyprus". As it passes through the various neighbourhoods, the road name changes several times, becoming Maida Vale, Kilburn High Road and Shoot-Up Hill (in Kilburn), and Cricklewood Broadway (in Cricklewood), before becoming Edgware Road once again with intermittent stretches as West Hendon Broadway, and the Hyde. Along the entire route, it retains its identity as the A5 road under the Great Britain road numbering scheme. The A5 continues beyond the end of the Edgware Road, following the old Roman road for much of its route and terminating at Holyhead, Wales (a port for Ireland).