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A949

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A949
Location Map ( geo)
Cameraicon.png View gallery (5)
From:  Bonar Bridge (NH610915)
To:  Dornoch (NH798898)
Distance:  13.3 miles (21.4 km)
Meets:  A836, A9, B9168, unclassified
Former Number(s):  A9, B9167
Highway Authorities

Highland

Traditional Counties

Sutherland

Route outline (key)
A949 Bonar Bridge - Clashmore
(A9) Clashmore - Camore
A949 Camore - Dornoch
This article is about the current A949, formerly A9 and B9167 in Sutherland.
For the original A949, in Aberdeenshire heading south from Peterhead, see A949 (Toll of Birness - Peterhead)
.


The A949 is a lovely route stretching along the northern side of the Dornoch Firth. The greater part of it is the old A9 between Bonar Bridge and Clashmore in Easter Ross, while a small portion is the main approach road into Sutherland's traditional county town of Dornoch.

Route

The road begins at the junction with the A836 and the little road to Migdale in the middle of Bonar Bridge, a short distance north of the eponymous bridge. It runs south east out of the village along Dornoch Road, the former path of the A9, past rows of often elegant stone houses, with occasional glimpses of the firth beyond. For the first couple of miles, the road runs right along the banks of Dornoch Firth, although the steep bank down to the water is wooded, often obscuring the views. The steep hillside continues above the road, covered in dense forestry with large gorse bushes overhanging the verge and providing a bright yellow avenue in spring and summer.

After passing the old Creich chapel, the road eases away from the coast and heads due east, climbing a little between fields. Beyond the fields, the wooded knoll of Dun Creich rises up above a bay, with the road disappearing into woodland at the mouth of the bay. It continues to climb through the trees and then, just before Spinningdale, a ruined castle can be seen down to the right and the Dornoch Firth Bridge can be glimpsed in the distance, as the road winds inland, dipping down across the Spinningdale Burn. Beyond the tiny village, the road passes through more woodland, briefly climbing to its summit at around 70m before dropping down out of the trees. The Firth is no longer in view as the road winds through Whiteface and Ospisdale, blocks of trees along the shore hiding the water, and even when the road climbs again, only glimpses of the water can be seen.

The grounds of Skibo Castle (onetime home of Madonna and Guy Ritchie) are on the right hand side and now a luxury resort, with the road passing in a pair of long straights. Then the small village of Clashmore is reached and shortly after the A9 is reached at Clashmore Junction. From here, the two routes multiplex north east for a little over a mile to Evelix.

Dornoch Square

The last, and older section of the A949 Continues to head east and has an easy run into the middle of Dornoch. A long straight takes it past the houses of Camore, then across a low ridge through a slight cutting before the town appears ahead. Dornoch is the historic religious and administrative centre of Sutherland, with the cathedral as the focal point of the town and remains a thriving town today. Maps suggest that the A949 continues into the main square of the town where it TOTSOs left to run north along Station Road, ending on an unclassified road by the old station, whose building still exists on the edge of an industrial estate.

History

Being north of Inverness, the entirety of what is now the A949 was in the 8 zone on classification in 1922. The road from Bonar Bridge to Evelix was originally part of the A88 whilst the remainder of the road into the centre of Dornoch (but not the station) was the B867. The extension of the A9 in 1935 altered the numbering of the area completely, with that number taking on almost the whole of the A88. To avoid being out-of-zone, the B867 was renumbered B9167.

This situation remained until the early 1960s when the A949 came into being (OS maps from 1959 still show the B9167, but by 1962 it is the A949), as a simple renumbering of the B9167, but adding the extension to Dornoch station, which, perhaps ironically, closed in 1960. The opening of the Dornoch Firth Bridge in 1991 shortened the A9 in the Dornoch Firth area, extending the A949 along the section of road on the Sutherland side of the firth to reach Bonar Bridge, and thus becoming out of zone.

Mileage listing

Distance (m) (km) Name
0 0 Bonar Bridge
5 9 Spinningdale
9 15 Skibo Castle
10 17 Clashmore (A9S)
18 29 Evelix (A9N)
13 21 Dornoch

Signage

Westbound: Out of Dornoch, it's Inverness. Along the main bit, it's Bonar Bridge.
Eastbound: Out of Bonar Bridge, it's Dornoch and Wick. Along the short stretch of the A9, it's Thurso. After Camore, it's Dornoch.




A949
Junctions
Roads
Places
Related Pictures
View gallery (5)
On the A949- Dornoch Academy is on the left.. - Geograph - 226448.jpgA9 Easter Ross + Dornoch bridge.jpgDornoch- the centre of town - Geograph - 2526453.jpgSt Michael's, Station Road, Dornoch - Geograph - 5545283.jpgA949 Dornoch - No waiting signs.jpg
Other nearby roads
Dornoch
A900-A999
A900 • A901 • A902 • A903 • A904 • A905 • A906 • A907 • A908 • A909 • A910 • A911 • A912 • A913 • A914 • A915 • A916 • A917 • A918 • A919

A920 • A921 • A922 • A923 • A924 • A925 • A926 • A927 • A928 • A929 • A930 • A931 • A932 • A933 • A934 • A935 • A936 • A937 • A938 • A939
A940 • A941 • A942 • A943 • A944 • A945 • A946 • A947 • A948 • A949 • A950 • A951 • A952 • A953 • A954 • A955 • A956 • A957 • A958 • A959
A960 • A961 • A962 • A963 • A964 • A965 • A966 • A967 • A968 • A969 • A970 • A971 • A972 • A973 • A974 • A975 • A976 • A977 • A978 • A979
A980 • A981 • A982 • A983 • A984 • A985 • A986 • A987 • A988 • A989 • A990 • A991 • A992 • A993 • A994 • A995 • A996 • A997 • A998 • A999

Defunct Itineries: A920 (Perth) • A920 (Banff) • A921 (Perth) • A921 (Fife) • A922 • A949 • A951 • A968 • A982

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