A81

The A81 is a relatively short route in comparison to most of Scotland's First 99 routes, stretching north from central Glasgow through the Trossachs to Callander on the A84.

Route

Glasgow – Bearsden

The start of the A81

The exact start point of the A81 has varied a little over the years, but since the 1970s it begins, like many a Glaswegian city centre road, directly underneath the M8. However, unlike the A804, A879, A82 and A814 in the immediate area, which all get their own connections to the motorway (much to the derision of anyone on the M8 trying to go straight through), the A81 is offered no such luxury. To go from the M8 to the A81, westbound one leaves at Junction 16 and follows a hundred yards or so of A804. Eastbound, leaving at Junction 18 and following the same route is necessary.

The A81 therefore starts at a slightly distorted and offset roundabout junction with the A804 underneath the elevated motorway. Although the junction is a traffic-light controlled roundabout in appearance, it doesn't have any of the typical roundabout signage. The A81 is quickly heading north on Garscube Road, a nice wide road (for an area this populated at least) through a largely commercial area of light industry and warehousing, with a couple of schools opposite. At the signalised Garscube Cross, the route turns northwest, passing large blocks of flats on the left and more commercial premises, flanking the old Monklands Canal to the right. The canal sits above the road, and when the two first come alongside, just to the south of Firhill Stadium (Partick Thistle F.C.), there is a steep wooded bank between them.

Queens Cross from the former B811

An area of modern flats lies after the next set of lights, stretching onto Queens Cross, which is laid out as a TOTSO, priority given to Maryhill Road (formerly the B811) at traffic lights. Indeed, traffic wishing to turn between the southern part of Maryhill Road and Garscube Road has to use Hinshaw Street to the south. Beyond the junction, the A81 follows Maryhill Road north west between shops and businesses, mostly set in the ground floors of tenement blocks. The canal again curves close to the road, still high above and with an unexpected community allotment between the two. A brief run through trees follows, and then modern flats face onto school grounds before older tenements resume at the signalised junction with Queen Margaret Drive, a busy urban B road, the B808. A busy suburban shopping street follows, leading past a large supermarket and MacDonalds. The old stone walls of the former Maryhill Barracks, now Wyndford housing estate then lie on the left with more modern flats to the right then some smaller shops beyond.

Maryhill Road then narrows to fit under an old low arched aqueduct carrying the Forth and Clyde Canal - there is barely enough space for two lanes of road through here, whereas up to now it has had that plus ample parking room and pavement. Restored to its original width, the road continues, running alongside the canal for a short distance, with mid twentieth century flats on the hill opposite. As the road and canal turn away from each other, Maryhill Cross is a signalised junction with Cowal Road which leads west into Kelvindale. The A81 continues north west along Maryhill Road, still lined with shops and businesses, mostly in old tenement blocks, although behind are more modern flats. After crossing over a suburban railway which is also the West Highland line beside Maryhill Station, the route widens into a tree-lined dual carriageway. With Maryhill Park on the north-east side, and the River Kelvin to the left it almost feels as though the edge of the city is close at hand!

The rural feel continues beyond a roundabout, which gives access - on both sides - to the West of Scotland Science Park, and then the River Kelvin is crossed at Garscube Bridge (sometimes called Killermont Bridge), entering Bearsden as it does so. Despite Cluny Park lying to the right, houses can once more be seen on both sides of the road, albeit suburban low rise detached and semi detached properties rather than inner city flats. The dual carriageway then comes to an end as the route approaches Canniesburn Toll. A left turn leads to the main roundabout part of the junction, from where, the A739 can be taken back south (Switchback Road living up to its name) or the A809 towards Drymen. The A81, however, bypasses this by bearing right, onto Milngavie Road, and then continuing ahead at a mini roundabout which also gives access back to the main junction.

Bearsden – Strathblane

Milngavie Road is a wide S4 as it passes through interwar suburbia, an is surprisingly rarely hindered by parked cars. This is Bearsden, an upmarket Glasgow commuter town/suburb, and after passing a small parade of shops, a large supermarket sits back on the right. The B8049 (Roman Road) is crossed at a busy signalised junction, and then on the far side of a railway bridge, the A808 comes in from the left as Roman Drive. Between then lies the course of the Antonine Wall, the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire in Britain, stretching from the Clyde to the Forth. The road is now reduced to a wide S2 with parking bays and bus stops. Milngavie Road and the A81 have now curved round to head north east for a time, still passing through suburbia, although a brief open field on the right gives a glimpse of life beyond the city.

Burnbrae Roundabout in Milngavie

Milngavie begins as soon as Bearsden ends, and it's difficult to know exactly where that is. Modern housing has recently spread out on the old fields to the right, and then Milngavie Road becomes Main Street just before reaching the Burnbrae Roundabout. Here the A81 kinks right, as it always has done, to bypass on Glasgow Road, while Main Street continues ahead as the B8030. The pronunciation of the name Milngavie is, incidentally, a point of contention: the silent V is a relic of its transliteration from the Gaelic 'bh'. It may well be pronounced Mullguy, but arguably more properly Millguy. A small retail park lies off the roundabout, beyond which the A81 curves between sports fields and blocks of flats before ducking under the Milngavie branch railway. Immediately after the bridge, the A81 crosses the Allander Water, and then the A807 turns off to the right at lights.

Glasgow Road then runs almost due north up to the signalised junction with the further end of the B8030. Now on Strathblane Road, the A81 curves through the northern part of Milngavie and, passes below Craigmaddie Reservoir, part of the system that supplies Glasgow's drinking water. This is finally the edge of the urban sprawl, and after some winding tree lined bends below the grass covered dam, the route finally emerges into fields. The views improve on the way out to Mugdock. The rural single carriageway, not feeling at all like an Axx road, rolls gently between fields, climbing steadily as it twists and turns. An unexpected set of lights gives access to the treatment works associated with the reservoirs, but there are numerous other turnings, often marked with advertising hoardings directing traffic to the businesses located a short distance away..

A couple of longer straights lead past the small village of Mugdock, which lies off to the left, and see the route graze the 140m contour before dipping down a little. A windy descent then leads to a sharp left hand bend which heralds the steep drop into Strathblane. This growing village lies in a hollow at the foot of the Campsie Fells, with a steep bluff rising up behind to the north. Milngavie Road winds down, past some older houses, to a mini roundabout, where the A891 comes in from the right. Blanefield, once a separate village, follows Strathblane, but the two have merged over the last half century or so. Towards the further end of the village, the B821 forks left, and climbs over the low hills to reach the A809.

Strathblane - Callander

Looking across Killearn Bridge

The A81 now wends its way north westwards along the foothills of the Campsie Fells, following the Blane Water downstream, and with the small but distinctively shaped Dumgovne hill obvious high on the right. There is a liberal scattering of houses and farms along the roadside, and set back in the fields on either side, before the busy tourist hotspot of Glengoyne Distillery is passed. A little further along, the A875 forks right for Killearn and Balfron, while the A81 remains low in the valley. A long straight is interrupted by a roundabout for a garden centre, and then around a slight bend the B834 is crossed at the Blane Smithy Roundabout. The route then leaves the Blane Water behind, as it continues north, climbing a little into the valley of the Endrick Water. The river is crossed at Killearn Bridge, beyond which it meanders off to the east while the A81 curves north east to cross and follow an old railway line past the tiny settlement of Balfron Station. Approaching Ballat Toll it passes under what looks at first glance like a railway bridge but is in fact the aqueduct pipes carrying Glasgow's drinking water from Loch Katrine.

The long, undulating straight across Flanders Moss

The A81 maintains priority through the skewed crossroads of the junction, giving a very short multiplex with the somewhat busier A811 Balloch to Stirling road. Generous turning lanes are provided in most directions, however. Once the A811 leaves to the east, the A81 becomes ever more rural, and trees, lochs and a few side roads become the primary features of the onward route. The run to Aberfoyle is rather narrow in places, but still manages to be a fast flowing route which drops down to a flat, straight section across Flanders Moss. Midway along, the B835 turns right at a crossroads for Buchlyvie on the A811. After a sweeping left hand bend, the route crosses the Kelty Water, which marks the edge of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. Another couple of sweeping bends lead through Gartartan, a scattered community associated with the pretty village of Gartmore which sits atop the hill to the west. The route then sweeps over the River Forth, and the old branch line, with all three winding northwards towards Aberfoyle. This small village is a tourist trap at the heart of the Trossachs , ambitiously signposted from both the M8 and A739 in Glasgow, but thankfully not on the A81.

This perceived importance of Aberfoyle in the Scottish road network, as described above, is amazing considering the small amount of traffic that must travel that distance. Just outside the village, the route turns right in front of a large hotel complex at the small Aberfoyle Roundabout (previously a TOTSO). Traffic for Aberfoyle bears left here onto to the A821, which winds scenically, but very slowly, through the Trossachs to meet the A84 about a mile west of Callendar! Now heading east, the steep Menteith Hills rise up to the left, and the flat land of the Forth valley spreads out to the right, giving a distinct feeling of being on the edge of the Highlands. The road seems to alternate between wide improved sections and some rather narrow windy bends, some of which even lose the centre line. The route passes to the north of the Lake of Menteith - This is Scotland's only lake, not a loch, although the name was originally probably Laigh, meaning lowland, of Menteith, and was transferred to the water; in the centre of which lies an island with the ruins of a priory, and a smaller island with a castle. The former can be visited with a boat trip from Port of Menteith, a tiny scattered settlement which lies around the junction with the B8034.

A mile or so further west, the A81 suffers the indignity of a TOTSO with the A873, at a T junction set on a slightly blind bend. Turning right, the A81 is once more heading North for its final leg, climbing deep into the Trossachs. Behind lie some fine views out across Flanders Moss, with the Forth winding invisibly across, while ahead the road climbs steadily past a couple of lonely houses and into forestry. The scenic Loch Rusky lies just off the road, at the edge of the trees, and then the road becomes winder as it swings and sways to find the line of least resistance through the forest. After crossing the overall summit of 174m, the route turns east as it begins the descent towards the River Teith. It then meets the B822 at a sharp and awkwardly-cambered bend where the side road turns off to the right, and the A81 bends round to the left. This leads onto a final straight of over a mile which descends delightfully into the valley and the edge of Callander.

Modern housing is spreading along the roadside at the edge of the town, with a tricky mini roundabout between the two turnings into the school campus. A couple of tight, wooded bends, then lead round to another mini roundabout with the Invertrossachs Road - the former A892. Here the A81 turns right onto the wide, and traffic calmed, Bridgend. This is lined with some lovely old stone buildings, including a youth hostel and the primary school, and naturally also a long line of parked cars. At the end, a slight bend kinks onto Callander Bridge across the Teith, before a slight climb lifts up to traffic lights. Here the A81 comes to its end, on the A84 in the delightful and bustling town centre of Callander.

History

A81 historic route from 1922/3 numbering

As can perhaps be gleaned from the description above, much of the A81 remains very much as it was when first given the number back in 1922. Certainly beyond the urban sprawl of Glasgow, the majority of improvements are small scale and online upgrades, with the easing of bends and minor improvements of junctions. Unlike many other main roads in Scotland there are precious few laybys or loops of old road to discover. Within Glasgow, however, there have been a couple of notable changes over the years.

The original start point of the A81 is difficult to pin down. The MOT map shows both Renfield Street and the parallel Buchannan Street as A roads, and it is known that the latter is the A805, implying that the A81 followed Renfield Street. However, by the time that large scale maps give road numbers in the city centre area, the A82 has been re-routed onto Great Western Road, and taken over Renfield Street in the city centre. The post-war Six Inch maps therefore show the A81 starting on the A82 at Cowcaddens Cross, and some maps suggest that the A81 still reaches this far into the city, although it is far from certain.

Heading north from Cowcaddens Cross, the route of the A81 along Garscube Road and Maryhill Road seems to have hardly changed in alignment, although the dual carriageway section seems to post-date the closure of Glasgow's Tram system in 1962.