A6106

Route

The A6106 is about eight miles long, with half on a largely east-west alignment and half largely north-south, and while it is mainly built-up there are stretches where it passes through open countryside, the undulating terrain giving extensive views.

Section 1: Fordel - Sheriffhall

Approaching Dalkeith

At the eastern end the road starts at a GSJ on the A68 at Fordel in Midlothian, for four miles taking the previous route of that road which now forms the Dalkeith northern bypass. The A6124 for Musselburgh starts at the same place. Fordel is high on an escarpment which gives extensive panoramic views to Edinburgh and beyond, and initially the A6106 drops steeply through open country on sweeping curves. In a couple of miles the edge of Dalkeith is reached, at a signal-controlled junction where the B6482 is to the left for Newtongrange. In another mile the town centre is reached via a bridge over the River South Esk with a drop into its valley and a climb out.

Just after the bridge there is a signal-controlled junction where the B6373 bears left to provide an alternative route through the town centre. The A6106 continues past some regrettable 1960s buildings until it reaches a light-controlled crossroads with the A6094: left for Eskbank and Leadburn, right for Wallyford and the East Lothian coast. The crossroads involves a right-left stagger, then we drop downhill to another roundabout where we meet the other end of the B6373, again to the left. After crossing the River North Esk we climb again and in less than a mile reach the infamous light-controlled Sheriffhall roundabout on the A720 Edinburgh City Bypass, the other limbs being the A7 north and south and the A6106 continuing to the north. Sheriffhall suffers congestion for most of the day, severe at peak times, and is the subject of endless debate about what should be done to improve things.

Section 2: Sheriffhall - Portobello

This is the halfway point and for the rest of its length the A6106 heads largely northwards. In about a mile there is a roundabout where the B6415 leaves to the northeast for Old Craighall (where the A720 ends on the A1), the A6106 continuing northwards through Newton village and another open stretch. After climbing and falling again, we enter Edinburgh, where the built-up area soon starts again.

Portobello

After crossing the A6095 at traffic lights (left for Cameron Toll on the A7, right for Musselburgh), we pass under the freight-only South Suburban Railway, continue straight on at a mini-roundabout giving access to a housing estate to the right, and reach traffic lights where the A1 crosses, here on its single carriageway route through Edinburgh's eastern suburbs. Continuing to the north, the A6106 soon goes underneath the ECML near the Craigentinny depot and ends on the A199 Sir Harry Lauder Road a few hundred yards short of the Seafield junction at the west end of Portobello. Originally the A6106 did get there but the northernmost section has been removed by construction of the A199 Portobello bypass.

History

This road has taken various routes over the years: the northern part has been largely constant, but the southern section has varied significantly. It once ran along what is now the northern end of the B6392 to meet Gilmerton Road at Eskbank. For a while it terminated at Sheriffhall Roundabout, before the A68 Dalkeith eastern bypass opened and the number was applied to the former route of the A68 into Dalkeith.

Original Author(s): Duns Bus/Ian 198