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B6357

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B6357
Location Map ( geo)
Cameraicon.png View gallery (6)
From:  Annan (NY204664)
To:  Lintalee (NT648182)
Distance:  49.5 miles (79.7 km)
Meets:  B721, A75, B7076, A74(M), B720, A7, B7201, B6318, B6399, A6088, A68
Former Number(s):  A7
Primary Destinations
Highway Authorities

Dumfries and Galloway • Scottish Borders

Traditional Counties

Dumfriesshire • Roxburghshire

Route outline (key)
B6357 Annan – Crown Plantation
(A6088) Crown Plantation – Bonchester Bridge
B6357 Bonchester Bridge – Lintalee

The B6357 is one of Britain's longer B-roads, running for just under 50 miles across southeast Scotland. It is one of the few zone 6 roads to head significantly into zone 7.

Route

Annan - Kirkpatrick Fleming

The route starts at a roundabout on the B721 (pre-bypass A75) on the eastern edge of Annan and then heads north out of town, initially along a relatively new alignment. There are fields to the right, while the houses to the left mostly back onto the main road, screened by thick hedges. After passing a small industrial estate, a right turn provides access to the A75 bypass along a short spur. This spur meets the westbound carriageway but provides full access in a partially grade separated layout. The mainline of the B6357 then crosses over the bypass by means of a bridge to leave Annan behind. The route then strides off across fields with a series of long straights heading in a more easterly than northerly direction across more-or-less flat land. There are a scattering of houses and farms along the roadside, but for the most part this is a wide, open landscape with the views to the south taking in the distant Solway Firth and, on a clear day, the hazy outline of the Cumbrian Hills.

After a couple of miles some windy bends lead past a couple of larger farms, beyond which some shorter straights turn the route northwards into the shallow valley of the Kirtle Water. At the small settlement of Hollee, the route kinks right , turning round the edge of Fairyrow Wood. A sharper left turn then carries the route over the river on an old stone bridge. A short, sharp climb, with a double bend around the churchyard then leads into Kirkpatrick Fleming. The B7076 is crossed at at a mini-roundabout situated above the West Coast Main Line, with most of the village lying off to the left. The B6357 does pass a few houses before leaving the village once more. Just afterwards the north-facing slip roads to the A74(M) at J21 are met either side of a bridge over the motorway. (The south-facing slip roads are accessed to the south along the B7076).

Kirkpatrick Fleming - Rowanburn

The long straight leading away from the village continues northeastwards for nearly a mile and a half across undulating countryside, before kinking right onto a shorter straight. It goes through no places of any size but passes a couple of roadside houses and several other properties set back in the fields to either side. A twistier section winds down to cross the small Logan Burn, before climbing into the tiny village of Chapelknowe. There are maybe a couple of dozen properties here, and a few more at the even smaller Cadgill a little to the north. the occasional hamlet. After climbing over a low hill, the route dips down to cross the infant River Sark on Sark Bridge at Milltown, before climbing again. A long undulating section follows as the route winds gently across the fields, with some short straights, before reaching Evertown. Most of the houses lie off to the right at the crossroads in the centre of this tiny village, which is quickly passed through.

TOTSO with the B720 near Evertown

Half a mile later, the route TOTSOs right at a T junction with the B720. It then drifts slowly downhill and a mile or so further on it reaches the A7 at a staggered crossroads. A quick right left dogleg takes the route into Canonbie, where it descends quite steeply down Watch Hill into the village centre. At the bottom it meets the pre-bypass route of the A7 at T-junction and doubles back on itself as it TOTSOs left, with the B7201 continuing along the old A7 past the hotel to the right. The B6357 goes through the village, curving gently between modern bungalows and older houses to cross the River Esk on the narrow Canonbie Bridge, controlled by traffic lights. The first turning to the left is the original line of the A7, now signed as a no-through-road since a landslip soon after the bypass opened. A short climb to the east lifts the route up over a low hill and onto a couple of short straights. These lead into the small village of Rowanburn, with its long terraces of old cottages stretching off to the right, while the B6357 is mostly lined with newer housing.

Rowanburn - Newcastleton

From Rowanburn, the B6357 continues north east into hillier terrain than before. It winds down through the wooded valley of the Archer Beck and then climbs out again, crossing the 100m contour for the first time. At Roadend it is crossed by the B6318 – one of the few Class II roads longer than the B6357, and which is perhaps better known as the route along Hadrians Wall - at a slightly staggered crossroads. This tiny settlement essentially consists of a row of houses on the left looking south across the shallow valley of the Liddel Water - and so into England beyond. For the next few miles the route runs very close to the river which marks the English border. A gentle climb leads up to the scattered settlement of Caulside, which is strung along the roadside for almost a mile. The route then dips to cross a burn before climbing to nearly 150m on the side of Greena Hill.

Entering Newcastleton from the south

The route then starts to descend into the valley and the countryside opens out. This is Liddesdale and the road follows the valley upstream for a considerable distance. A right turn crosses the river, and the border, to Kershopefoot, just beyond which the border leaves the river and follows a tributary eastwards. The B6357 is now winding northwards, rising and falling as it crosses the lower slopes, with forestry above, climbing up towards the summit of Kirk Hill. A couple of longer straights ultimately lead to the next village, Newcastleton, the largest settlement (after Annan) on the whole route. The B6357 follows the long, straight main street (South and North Hermitage Street), lined with a mixture of older and newer housing, punctuated by a series of wide green spaces where the houses are set back behind trees and lanes. There are a scattering of shops and businesses through the village, most of which are clustered around the large central square, which is also home to some of the finer buildings.

Newcastleton - Bonchester Bridge

A mile or so after passing the last house at Newcastleton, the route curves round to the right and crosses the narrow Hermiatge Bridge over the Hermitage Water. On the eastern bank, the road bends round to the left to become the B6399, while the B6357 TOTSOs right. At the ned of the next straight, it crosses the Liddel Water and continues eastwards, following the river upstream. After climbing past a cemetery, the route arrives unexpectedly on an open hillside with expansive views across the surrounding hills. Just as quickly, the route dips back down into the wide, shallow valley, where it winds gently across fields and below blocks of forestry. After around three miles, the Liddel Water it recrossed at Hewis Bridge, although the scenery changes little as the route continues upstream. After passing the scattered houses of Riccarton, where the old Riccarton Junction station sits high above in the forest, a long straight leads into the tiny settlement of Saughtree. Here an unclassified route turns right to continue upstream with the Liddel Water, before crossing the border to reach Kielder Water, famous to a generation of Geography students.

The B6357, meanwhile, forks left and climbs up the increasingly narrow valley of the Dawston Burn, soon crossing the stream at Dawstonburn Bridge. After a couple more bends, the white centre line disappears as the road comes alongside the burn in its narrow valley floor. A cattle grid soon follows, leading the route out onto open moorland, although still in the bottom of a steep, shallow gulley. An old stone bridge crosses the burn to reach the old Saughtree Station, and just beyond, the earthen abutments of the old railway bridge stand either side of road and burn. A long steady climb follows, the white line returning, and soon the route climbs out of the narrow valley and over the ridge of Barren Hill. A series of tight bends then climb into the forest beyond. Large expanses of the forest have been felled in recent years, revealling a steep heathery hillside dropping precipitously into the narrow valley of the Caddroun Burn far below. The road continues to climb, however, winding ever upwards through patches of trees and large clearings.

The lonely cottage of Singdeen sits below the road just after the first summit. The route then winds down to cross a couple of small burns before climbing again, up into Wauchope Forest. Here it grazes the 380m contour, its overall summit. On the descent, the forestry has been replanted, with patches of mixed woodland. The route winds gently down, sweeping left then right with long curves to emerge from the trees high on the hillside above the Hyndlee Burn. The line of the road can be seen stretching out ahead, dropping across the fields and past a cottage into the bottom of the valley. The descent is narrow, but just about keeps a centre line, down to Hyndlee where the burn is crossed. A long, easy run on sweeping bends with a wider carriageway then leads downstream, before climbing a little out of the valley floor. The route crosses the lower slopes of Wolfelee Hill, and soon after reaches a T-junction on the A6088 a mile or so south of Bonchester Bridge.

Bonchester Bridge - Lintalee

Bonchester Bridge

There is then a multiplex north along the A6088 for about a mile around the edge of Bonchester Hill and over the Rule Water on Bonchester Bridge in the small village of the same name. To the north of the village, the B6357 regains its number by turning right for its final section. It then heads north east along the valley, climbing a little around the grounds of Weens House before dropping back to the riverbank. The river is crossed again on Hallrulemill Bridge, beyond which the route sweeps round to the left at a crossroads. Half a mile later, the route starts to climb out of the valley, climbing up from Wester Fodderlie to Easter Fodderlie. Here, a hard left turn leads onto a long straight across fields and into Swinnie Plantation. The route then skirts its western edge, climbing to a summit of around 220m. Trees and high hedges screen the best of the views, but there are glimpses out across the hills towards the Cheviots.

Just below the summit, the route passes through the tiny settlement of Swinnie on a long straight before a series of gentle bends descend into the valley of the Jed Water. The route descends above the Black Burn, and a couple of tighter bends drop the route down into the bottom of this small valley. The B6357 then ends at a T-junction on the A68 on the near side of the Jed Water just over a mile to the south of Jedburgh.


History

The route originally started slightly further west and headed northeast along Stapleton Road past the hospital




B6357
Junctions
Crossings
Roads
Places
Related Pictures
View gallery (6)
Bonchester Bridge - Geograph - 1246100.jpgSouthern approach to Newcastleton - Geograph - 208994.jpgCanonbie Bridge. River Esk - Geograph - 6649.jpgSigns at Kirkpatrick Fleming mini-roundabout - Coppermine - 13675.JPGCanonbie Bridge carries the B6357 over the River Esk - Geograph - 4579545.jpg
Other nearby roads
Annan
Jedburgh
B6300 – B6399
B6300 • B6301 • B6302 • B6303 • B6304 • B6305 • B6306 • B6307 • B6308 • B6309 • B6310 • B6311 • B6312 • B6313 • B6314 • B6315 • B6316 • B6317 • B6318 • B6319
B6320 • B6321 • B6322(W) • B6322(E) • B6323 • B6324 • B6325 • B6326 • B6327 • B6328 • B6329 • B6330 • B6331 • B6332 • B6333 • B6334 • B6335 • B6336 • B6337 • B6338 • B6339
B6340 • B6341 • B6342 • B6343 • B6344 • B6345 • B6346 • B6347 • B6348 • B6349 • B6350 • B6351 • B6352 • B6353 • B6354 • B6355 • B6356 • B6357 • B6358 • B6359
B6360 • B6361 • B6362 • B6363 • B6364 • B6365 • B6366 • B6367 • B6368 • B6369 • B6370 • B6371 • B6372 • B6373 • B6374(N) • B6374(S) • B6375 • B6376 • B6377 • B6378 • B6379
B6380 • B6381 • B6382 • B6383 • B6384 • B6385 • B6386 • B6387 • B6388 • B6389 • B6390 • B6391 • B6392 • B6393 • B6394 • B6395 • B6396 • B6397 • B6398 • B6399
Earlier iterationsB6322 • B6325 • B6326 • B6340 • B6350 • B6356 • B6363 • B6366 • B6372 • B6374 • B6377 • B6379 • B6383 • B6395

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