B9119

The B9119 is one of the main east-west routes in Aberdeenshire, which has led to a long and complicated history. None of its original short route remains part of the current B9119.

Route

Towards Echt

The route begins at a signal-controlled junction with the dualled A944 to the east of Westhill, and just under a mile west of the new A90 AWPR route. It heads west, curving around the southern side of Westhill and has been built up significantly in the past few years, with the creation of a new business park primarily serving the oil industry. A series of three roundabouts have been installed to serve these developments, and the speed limit has been reduced. A long straight section leads to the B979 at a roundabout , and on through the scattered settlement of Carnie. Sweeping bends through woodland then lead to the slightly larger village of Garlogie. The road is then dead-straight through the village as it dips down to cross the Leuchar Burn. Just after the bridge, the B9125 turns off towards Banchory, taking a large amount of traffic with it.

After a few gentle bends, the road straightens up again, still heading west across fields and past blocks of woodland. A long straight, of over a mile, leads to Echt, on of the largest villages on the route. Here the B977 is met at a crossroads (the B9119 having priority) in the centre of the village. After Echt, the journey is then a pleasant, if slightly twisty, journey through the Aberdeenshire countryside. The route winds past Midmar Castle as it climbs up to a summit of 183m at Lurg. There are a scattering of roadside properties, but most of the farms sit back down driveways in the fields to either side. The route dips to cross the Bethlin Burn before climbing again, across this gently rolling landscape. Some of the burns have cut deep valleys, but the B9119 avoids these as it climbs, and above Auchorrie the fields give way to moorland before the route enters woodland. Here the B993 is encountered at the staggered Learney Crossroads near Drumlasie, the B9119 maintaining priority.

A tree lined straight near Drumlasie

The crossroads lies at around 250m above sea level, and then the route dips down into the wider valley of the Drumlasie Burn. Short straights connected by sweeping bends lead it westwards as it climbs and falls around the back of Tornaveen Hill. Beyond the houses of Tornaveen, the road passes into more mixed woodland as it climbs the flank of Glenshalg Hill, reaching a summit of around 320m in the shallow pass at the top. Just over a mile later, it meets the A980 at a staggered crossroads where the B road maintains priority. Technically, one could argue that it multiplexes with the A980 for all of about 50 yards here, before it continues on through more picturesque, sparsely-populated countryside.

The route dips down towards the Corse Burn, and then climbs upstream along side it to the final summit, of around 290m. Just below the parking areas at the summit, the views open up across the spectacular landscapes to the west, stretching away to the Cairngorms on the horizon. A long winding descent then drops down through fields scattered with farms to Tarland, which has been signposted as the main destination all the way from Westhill! Aberdeen Road leads into the village centre, where shops line the small square to the right and then Bridge Street leads south out of the village once more. The B9094 heads off southeast to Aboyne just beyond the village, and the B9119 winds back to the west through the now familiar landscape of fields and patches of woodland. The A97 is met at yet another staggered crossroads, this time the B9119 has to dogleg right and then left to continue west.

This is the final stretch, and despite being a lower altitude than parts of the route to the east, it has a much more mountainous feel. It is also narrower than before, being only just wide enough for S2. After crossing a couple of fields, the road enters woodland and skirts the northern shore of Loch Davan. A sharper left turn then turns the route south through forestry, with a few small fields here and there. Here is a complex fluvioglacial landscape, although trees hide much of the view. Loch Kinord is a little to the east, and the foothills of the mountains rise up to the west. A short walk along the Burn o' Vat is well worthwhile to see the Vat, a large and almost enclosed chamber in the rock carved by glacial meltwater. The road winds through the trees, undulating a little, before finally coming to a halt at a T-junction with the A93 at Cambus o'May.

History

The original extent of the B9119

The B9119 was created in the late 1920s and originally followed a short route connecting the A93 at Dinnet with the A97 at Ordie. This piece of road had originally been the southern end of the A97, but that was diverted west to meet the A93 at Cambus o'May, over what had briefly been the A974, and originally unclassified. The A974 was itself an upgrade of the B974 which originally ran from Westhill to Ordie, the change probably taking place in 1925 or 1926, and the B9119 coming into existence maybe only a year later. It cannot have happened in the same year, as an MOT map showing annual revisions has been found which shows the A974 extending to Cambus o'May, meaning that what became the B9119 was still the A97 at that time.

In 1935 the new reinforced concrete Art Deco Dinnet Bridge (now a Grade B listed building) was opened, crossing the Dee south of Dinnet, and the B9119 was extended over it to meet the A973 (present B976) on the south bank of the river. This therefore remained the full extent of the B9119 for many years.

The A974 was downgraded in the early 1970s and the B9119 was extended over its route from Ordie east to Westhill and the A944.

More recently the A944 was rerouted in Aberdeen and so the B9119 was extended along part of its route and the entire length of the B985 to reach the city centre. However, in 2019, following the opening of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, a major renumbering of routes in Aberdeen was planned, as part of the North East Roads Hierarchy Study. This came into effect in 2020, with the B9119 east of the Kingswells "switchback" roundabout with the A944 being upgraded and renumbered as the A9119. The B9119 therefore lost its multiplex with the A944 dual carriageway and now begins outside Westhill once more.

Later still, and back at its western end, it swapped routes with the A97, thus going to Cambus o' May rather than Dinnet, and the half-mile section of ex-B9119 south of Dinnet across the Dee became the B9158. These changes appear to have taken place around 2000. Slightly confusingly, the short section of road across the bridge at Dinnet is still labelled B9119 on some maps, although it is currently signposted as "(B976)" in one direction and as "B9158" in the other, with no mention being made of the B9119 number.