A923

Route

The A923 is a cross-country A-road in east Scotland.

Dundee - Dunkeld

Originally starting on the A85 by the River Tay, the road now starts on the A991 ring road in the centre of Dundee, making its way out of town along Lochee Road and Coupar Angus Road before crossing the A90 Kingsway at a GSJ. The road appears more rural immediately although we're passing between the Camperdown Country Park and Downfield golf course and we're still within Dundee.

We cross the city limit to run through Muirhead, where the B954 branches off towards Newtyle and Meigle. From here the road begins to rise up through the Sidlaw Hills before levelling out at the summit at Tullybaccart. A sharp descent around some tree lined hairpin corners, and after an accident-prone crossroads serving minor roads to Abernyte and Newtyle, the road becomes dead-straight to reach Coupar Angus and the A94, with which we multiplex. On the first glance at a map it appears that the A923 has been diverted to bypass the centre of town. However, the town centre is actually to the left and the A923 (as well as the "direct" B948) has always had its current route (although the current line of the A94 is new). The only change is that when the A94 through pass was opened, the A923 was shortened by the length of the High Street before the short mulitplex with the A94 started. The A923 regains its number at a mini-roundabout where the A94 bears off to the right and we skirt the northern edge of town to cross the River Isla at the Bridge of Couttie.

Butterstone

The quicker road to Dunkeld from Coupar Angus, the A984, turns off just to the north of the bridge but the A923 continues straight ahead to Blairgowrie and another multiplex, this time with the A93, in the town's one-way system. The A923 regains its number by turning right (the A93 is almost heading south at this point) and takes the scenic route through the hills to Dunkeld. On the northern edge of town the road gives way; this is the original western end of the A923 where it met the A9. However, now the A9 passes on the other side of Dunkeld the A923 TOTSOs left to take the pre-bypass route. It meets the A984 again before crossing the Dunkeld Bridge over the River Tay to join the A9 at a T-junction.

Original Author(s): A8000_Bob

History

The A923 between Coupar Angus and Blairgowrie was built, or at least rebuilt by Major Caulfeild in the 1760s as part of the military road network. It was a southern extension of the recently built route north from Blairgowrie to Fort George via Braemar and Blairgowrie, now followed mostly by the A93 and A939. The A984 from Coupar to Dunkeld was built at about the same time, and it seems that both routes followed pre-existing roads and paths for the most part, but brought them up to military road standards.