A1 to M25 anticlockwise: use A414?

[jamei303]

When coming down the A1 and then heading anticlockwise around the M25 do you take the A414 "shortcut"?

It's been a while since I've done this journey, not since the smart motorway "upgrade" of that stretch of the M25.

Staying on the A1 until it joins the M25 is obviously a greater distance but then you avoid seven roundabouts...