Gorstan

The junction in its old form shown in 1969

The junction at Gorstan, perhaps more commonly known as Garve, is one of four places where the A832 and A835 meet. Today it is a simple T junction where the A832 turns off of the A835, after the two have multiplexed for about 9 miles from Marybank. However, in the past this was the start point for the A835, and the junction looked very different.

In the early 1980s, big changes happened to the trunk routes north of Inverness. For starters, the Kessock Bridge and Cromarty Bridge allowed the A9 to be re-routed on a much shorter new alignment. However, this meant that Ullapool seemed to be further away than ever, so the A835 was extended, partly along the route of the A832, to meet the A9 at Tore Roundabout. In order to remove any other bottlenecks, the rest of the route was also improved, with bends ironed out, bridges replaced and junctions improved, although some of this work had started many years earlier.

The junction at Gorstan was no exception, and in place of the old fork off of the A832 as a start, the A835 was built on a new alignment, bypassing the tiny village to the east with the A832 turned to meet it at a give-way. Turning traffic is helped by a northbound slip onto the A832.

The old road alignments can still be traced, with the old A832 now providing access to The Old Manse B&B and its neighbour, although there is a shed across the end of this road, and the bank it sits on is cut away as the A832 drops down to the junction. A little way up the A832, the old road through Gorstan turns off and loops around to meet the embankment of the A835 at the end of the village. A footpath climbs the bank, and opposite the old road leads off once more as it runs through Little Garve, an alignment that was replaced with a new, straight cutting for the A835.

Routes

Route	To	Notes
A835	Ullapul / Ullapool, Lewis Ferry
A835	Inbhir Nis / Inverness	former A832
A832	Gearrloch / Gairloch, Caol Loch Aillse / Kyle of Lochalsh (A890)	Wester Ross Coastal Trail