A867
A867 | ||||
Location Map ( geo) | ||||
| ||||
From: | Sruth Mòr (Lochmaddy) (NF910690) | |||
To: | Clachan na Luib (NF810640) | |||
Distance: | 7.1 miles (11.4 km) | |||
Meets: | A865, B894, A865 | |||
Former Number(s): | B892 | |||
Highway Authorities | ||||
Traditional Counties | ||||
Route outline (key) | ||||
|
The A867 is the main route south from Lochmaddy (Loch nam Madadh), despite meeting the A865 at both ends. The reason behind this strange situation is unclear, but it has been the case since the roads first gained Class I status in 1923 or 24.
Route
The A867 therefore starts about a mile west of the Ferry port at Lochmaddy, at a TOTSO junction on the A865. The junction has been substantially rebuilt in a new location to provide a free flowing route south across the island, and swings south first to wind between the small lochans that cover a large part of the eastern side of North Uist. Since the upgrade of the route was completed, it is entirely S2, and uses a number of short causeways to either cross lochs, or skirt along their shores. The first is found at Loch na Ciste, to reach Strom Ban, the last roadside buildings for several miles. Continuing south west, the road is a series of fast sweeping bends and straights, where locals and tourists late for ferries jostle for position with slower traffic. The busiest time on this road is just after the ferry arrives from Uig, when both carriageways are in use as the traffic streams south. One for visitors, and the other for the locals who spend half their time overtaking!!
For around four miles the road cuts across this low lying watery landscape, with Uist's rounded hills lining the horizon, then it sweeps round the base of one of the lower ones, Beinn Langais. Car parks provide access to the hill and its prehistoric monuments, and then an unclassified road runs round the south side of the hill to a hotel. A little further on, the only other classified road that the A867 meets turns off to the east. This is the B894 Loch Euphort Road. Half a mile further on the A867 enters the small village of Clachan, and comes to an end back on the A865 just past the village shop.
History
Originally numbered as the B892, the A867 came into being in the mid-1920s. It is normally presumed that the routes raised to Class I status each year were given numbers in order working away from Edinburgh. However, while the A866 is on Lewis it seems unlikely that the A865 and A867 were classified in different years.
The A867 has been completely rebuilt over the years, turning it from what was still a single track route in the early 1970s to a full S2 road today. This included a new junction at the Lochmaddy end, where the old junction lies approximately 100m further west along the A865, and survives as a gated strip of tarmac. After a short section of online widening, the old road then reappears as another loop to the west serving a few houses. The next section of old road is found beyond Stron Ban, and runs along to the north of the new road almost continuously for around 3½ miles to Langais, beyond which the road has been improved online again, right to the end at Clachan