B853
B853 | |||||||
Location Map ( geo) | |||||||
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From: | Culcabock (NH682446) | ||||||
To: | Culduthel Road (NH666448) | ||||||
Distance: | 1.1 miles (1.8 km) | ||||||
Meets: | B9006, B861 | ||||||
Primary Destinations | |||||||
Highway Authorities | |||||||
Traditional Counties | |||||||
Route outline (key) | |||||||
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The B853 is a short route in Inverness, connecting Raigmore Hospital to the Castle in the city centre. It starts on a small roundabout with the B9006 Old Perth Road, and heads west along the wide Culcabock Road. Dipping down to cross Inverness golf course and the Mill Burn, the route reaches traffic lights with Kingsmills Road, beyond which it follows Darnfield Road. The next right is Annfield Road, which, despite being a TOTSO, is the continuation of the B853. More traffic lights are met at Southside Road, but there is a problem here, as the road ahead is no entry. It is, however, the B853, a one-way street - and there is no way to reach the far end of it in this direction without resorting to unclassified roads. This last section is the Old Edinburgh Road, and it runs to the B861, Culduthel Road just up the road from the Castle.
History
The original route of the B853 met the A9 at both ends. The eastern end still starts in the same place, the A9 now being the B9006. The route then ran westwards as far as Kingsmills Road, which it followed to the north. The far end of Kingsmills Road is St Stephens Street, which drops down so steeply that it has now been closed to traffic. In order to avoid thissteep drop into the city centre, the B853 turned east into Midmills Road and Crown Circus. It then doubled back round Crown Road to reach the A9 again at Millburn Road. Of course, the Eastgate Shopping Centre didn't exist back then, so the two routes didn't meet underneath buildings! Although it is not certain owing to the short length of the road, it appears that the B853 was rerouted to join the B861 in the 1950s.