A1/Dunbar - Musselburgh

A1

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The Great North Road

From:

Dunbar (NT649774)

To:

Portobello (NT311729)

Distance:

22.9 miles (36.9 km)

Meets:

A199, A6093, A198, A6094, A720, A6095, A199

Old route now:

A199

Primary Destinations

Edinburgh

Highway Authorities

Transport Scotland

Counties

East Lothian

Route outline (key)

West	Musselburgh - Central Edinburgh
A1	Old Craighall - Portobello
A1	Dunbar - Old Craighall
East	Morpeth - Dunbar

Junction List

Junc	West/Northbound	East/Southbound
Thistley Cross	A199	A199
Bridge	East Linton Bridge
Abbotsview	A199, A6093	A199, A6093
Oaktree	A199, B6471	A199, B6471
Gladsmuir	B6363	B6363
Bankton	A198, B6371	A198, B6371
Dolphinstone	A199	A199
Wallyford	A6094	A6094
Old Craighall	A720, B6415	A720, B6415

South|North

A Special Road (or to be pedantic, two special roads), running as a grade-separated dual carriageway between Dunbar and Edinburgh. At Old Craighall, it ceases to be special, trunk and primary, though remains grade-separated and mostly dual carriageway, heading to the TOTSO at the cannon with the A199 at Portobello.

As a special road, when the initial upgrade was being built in the late 90s, it was considered by several map makers to be a motorway under construction.

Route

Heading north, Thistly Cross Roundabout is the last non-grade separated junction for a long time. This large roundabout shares its name with a cider from the nearby Belhaven brewers. The junction allows access to the A199 (the former A1) and a couple of miles further the A198 leaves the A199 at a T-junction heading to North Berwick. To the south, it meets the B6370.

The A1 continues as dual carriageway to the east, leaving behind the coast and cutting across East Lothian, closely following the old route of the A1, which is now the A199. Just before East Linton, the road and railway part company, the latter taking a more northerly route via Drem; shortly after, the A1 crosses the River Tyne then runs alongside it to the market town of Haddington. The next junction is just before Haddington: you can change to the A199 which also skirts the town on an earlier bypass, or you can take the A6093 into Haddington. To the north, an unclassified road heads to the B1377 near Drem, or you can rejoin the eastward A199.

The A1 approaching Haddington from the east.

There is another junction a little west of Haddington. The B6471 heads into Haddington from the other side, while you can again join the A199 in either direction, or take another unclassified road north. Next is a junction with the B6363, north to Longniddry or south to Pencaitland, intersecting the A199 a little to the south.

At Meadowmill a junction provides local access to Cockenzie (whose coal power station is now closed), the seaside resort of Port Seton, and the former coal mining town of Tranent, while also linking to the A198, which heads northeast up the coast to Aberlady, Gullane, and North Berwick. A little further west, another junction with the A199 lets eastbound traffic to Tranent and westbound traffic to Wallyford and the east side of Musselburgh, including the race course. There is another junction soon after, with the A6094 which connects Musselburgh with Dalkeith. The A6124 is crossed without a connection, and the next junction is at Old Craighall Junction which provides access to the A720 Edinburgh city bypass, or north to Monktonhall and Musselburgh.

History

Prior to the upgrade to dual carriageway, the A1 took a nearby route that closely corresponds to the current A199, although a number of bypasses were built on this old route through the 20th century. In 1923, it passed through the centre of East Linton by the ancient East Linton Bridge; in 1927 this was replaced by a small local bypass over East Linton Bypass Bridge. Both cross the River Tyne, although not the famous one in Newcastle.

West of East Linton, the A1 originally headed into central Haddington from the North and, following a sharp turn, headed out to the West (this to avoid the River Tyne). The Haddington section of the route was bypassed to the north (by the current A199) before the present route was built. Beyond that, it passed through Tranent (again, now the line of the A199) and at a point southeast of Musselburgh and northeast of Wallyford, it met the A6094 and A198 at a crossroads; this is now a roundabout on the A199 with A6094 and B1361.

The old A1 then headed through the centres of Musselburgh and Portobello, before turning into Edinburgh along Portobello Road. Today this is A199 as far as Eastfield, then local routes to Portobello High Street.