B9018

The B9018 is a cross-country B-road in north Banffshire.

Heading south

The route starts at a realigned junction at the top of the town in Cullen (the original line is visible on the west side of an enlarged former toll house), as the A98 swings east to continue along the coast. There is a short straight down into the little village of Lintmill, where it takes a double bend across the Burn of Deskford. The route then climbs a little and winds around the eastern slopes of the forested Clune Hill. Continuing south and hemmed in between hedges, the road snakes across fields, rarely straight for long, before it reaches the scattered village of Kirkton of Deskford. Still climbing in a roughly southerly direction, the route passes Berryhillock, which lies off to the left on a parallel minor road near the banks of the burn, and continues to twist and turn until it finally crosses the watershed. The summit sits at just under 160m, with low hills sloping away to either side.

The descent is long and gentle, indeed so gentle that it is barely noticable. Another former toll house is passed, and there are some longer straights as the road runs through the fields, all the time with good views across this gently undulating landscape. The road levels out as it passes through Grange Crossroads, where there is a school, then climbs a little, with some spectacular views to the distant hills. At length a steeper drop and some sharper bends brings it down to the A95 a couple of miles east of Keith. The junction is a sharp west-facing fork with a fairly steep incline on the B9018, making it difficult for large vehicles to turn to/from the east (although the main traffic flow is to/from Keith). There is yet another old toll house on the A95 opposite the junction.

Apart from the junction with the A98, and a short realignment slightly south of the summit, the route has remained unchanged since it was first classified in 1922.

The 1922 MOT Road List defines this route as: Keith - Cullen