The B9169 runs towards the west of the Black Isle. When approaching from the south, this route provides the final link in the informal Inverness bypass, which also uses the A833.
Route
Passing the School at Mulbuie
The route starts on the A862 in the industrial estates to the south of Muir of Ord and heads slightly east of north past the home of the Black Isle Show, one of Scotland's largest agricultural shows. The junction with the A832 is soon reached and is a staggered crossroads with wide bellmouths. The route has to dogleg left-right before continuing north west through fields, and after passing through a belt of woodland it starts to climb. The route again passes through open fields, many of which have the scattered houses of Mulbuie tucked into corners, or set halfway back on rough tracks and driveways. There are numerous locality names here - Tarradale, Drynie Park, Newmore, Allangrange, Kinkell, but nothing which could be called a village. A long straight crosses the summit near the school and distinctive tower - monument at a junction opposite. After a slight kink, another long straight leads onto meet the A835 at Newton of Ferintosh. This is also a staggered crossroads, but the dogleg is right-left this time.
Beyond the A835, the route crosses the former line of the B9162 and then continues to head northwest through unremarkable farmland, with scattered houses and the tiny scattered settlements of Kinkell and Balnabeen for another 2½ miles to the A9 junction. Another school is passed with almost enough houses nearby to make a tiny village, and there are many opportunities to enjoy the views across the Cromarty Firth to the north. This stretch of the route is almost flat, with only very slight rises and falls at either end. The A9 is met at Duncanston Crossroads, yet another staggered junction, and right left again. Traffic 'bypassing' Inverness from the south will turn off here to head north on the A9.
After a couple of wiggles, the route straightens out once more and heads for the larger village of Culbokie, with its housing estates, church, school and shops. The village is still just about split in two, with open fields in between offering views north across the Cromarty Firth. The winding main road has traffic calming, and is lined with an interesting mixture of old and newer buildings as it drops steadily downhill. Just out of the village, the road curves round to the left before turning more sharply back to the right again after crossing the Findon Burn. A slight climb follows, with the route slowly converging with the steeply climbing B9163. The terminal junction is a forked TOTSO, the B9169 continuing ahead, and becoming the B9163 towards Cromarty at the far end of the Black Isle.
History
This route wasn't classified in 1922, but a decade later the western end, from the then-A88 (now A862) to the A832 had become the B8039. In 1935, the A9 was extended north over the A88, pushing the B8039 out of zone, and so it was renumbered as the B9169. This number was chosen as the other roads in the area were largely renumbered from B86x to B916x; however the B869 remained in Zone 8, leaving the B9169 number free for use here. It is not clear when the route was extended to its current length, although the 1932 OS Ten Mile Map only shows the short section of B8039, while the B9169 is shown in full by 1936.
