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A97

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A97
Location Map ( geo)
Cameraicon.png View gallery (10)
From:  Dinnet (NO459987)
To:  Banff (NJ686646)
Via:  Huntly
Distance:  56.1 miles (90.3 km)
Meets:  A93, A944, A941, A96, A920, A98, A953
Former Number(s):  B9119, A96
Old route now:  B9119
Highway Authorities

Aberdeenshire • Moray

Traditional Counties

Aberdeenshire • Banffshire • Moray

Route outline (key)
A97 Dinnet - Battlehill
(A96) Battlehill
A97 Battlehill - Banff
(A98) Banff
A97 Banff - Banff Harbour
The A98's junction with the A97, heading out of Banff.

Route

The A97 is the twisty, scenic route from Royal Deeside to Deveronvale through the Gordon countryside and the valley of the River Bogie. If any or all of these names seem unfamiliar, then it raises the question as to why a road from Dinnet to Banff via Huntly gets to sport such an important number. There is no obvious answer to this question. The combined population of all the settlements along the A97 is only about ten thousand, and while the Banff area still boasts fishing and shipbuilding, it might be asked why traffic from there would need a numbered route inland to the sparsely populated Grampians? There is perhaps some salvation in the fact that the townscape of Banff comprises many townhouses built by Scottish nobility and gentry for whom the location served as something of a coastal resort during the 19th century, while the route of the A97 passes through an area characterised by whisky distilleries, castles, and landed estates. The road also connects Banff to Huntly which, although small, is the most important market town for many miles around. One distinction held by the A97 is that whereas every other A9x road has been a primary route at some point in its existence (and many of them still are), the A97 is alone in that it has never held such status.

Dinnet - Huntly

Anyway, a route there is and to cover it one starts (or ends) in the village of Dinnet, east of Ballater. The road immediately climbs out of the Dee valley, and shows that it's going to be a challenge to drive with some tight bends and narrow stretches. To be fair, these are well signposted (the A97 does have a poor safety record) and you would do well to heed each and every one; a warning sign definitely means a gear drop to make the turn safely, chevron boards probably two. Logie Coldstone, decked out in unmistakable Aberdeenshire granite, is the first settlement encountered at roughly the five-mile mark, sitting on the Logie Burn at one of the sharper bends on the route. The incessant curvature, both horizontal and vertical, continue well into the burns and lochs above the village and the sightlines are further reduced by the wooded landscape. Despite the fact that this is the toughest part of the route geographically, the aid of the warning signs is removed at around this point forcing the driver to fend for themselves.

Bridge of Buchaam, by Deskry, is the most impressive crossing on the route.

At the highest point in the valley of the Deskry Water the A97 performs curiously, becoming its own long-way-around-route. By doubling back on itself to fall into line with the River Don, it adds almost four miles compared to the direct road via Towie. From a solely motoring perspective this is strange, especially given the ungainly TOTSO right at the A944 junction, but take the short cut and you will miss out on the extremely handsome Bridge of Buchaam over the Don in the shadow of Ben Newe. The Don and A97 are a valley apart for a bit, with the road taking the hard line up through Kildrummy; the switchback at Greenstyle Farm requiring acute attention. After Kildrummy there is a welcome flat section into Mossat and a T-junction where the A97 TOTSOs left and the duplexing A944 with its friend the River Don can leave for Aberdeen by turning right.

In relative terms, the towns get bigger from here on in, and Lumsden is just a short and straightforward drive further north. On this relatively flat plain the A97 can plough a straighter path up to the Water of Bogie crossing. The road will follow the river valleys for much of its length now, and both share a route via the old Pictish stronghold of Rhynie, where one can turn off for the A941 due west to nowhere soon but eventually Elgin and Lossiemouth. There are ten more miles between Rhynie and the A97's biggest destination Huntly, which resemble closely the first ten miles from Dinnet north; windy but again well-signposted, very little urban interruption, and relatively flat. Strathbogie is even broad and level enough to support the railway between Aberdeen and Inverness which runs parallel to, but is much better engineered than, the road.

Huntly - Aberchirder

All of a sudden, here's Huntly and we're about to cross the thoroughly modern A96 bypass at a roundabout, ending rural life with a thump. The A97 will now add to its litany of curiousness by refusing to multiplex with the A96 and instead run on its own into town from the south and back out to the east, stealing some of the pre-bypass A96, via an abrupt right turn at the central square and onto the narrow (and therefore one-way) Duke Street; traffic heading the other way is left to fend for itself. It's a weird situation, doubly so because the classification of the route is barely supported by signage in town; arguably it serves only to let the A920 butt-end on to another A-road but both could just as easily be curtailed to the A96. Just like on Donside, there is a bridge (over the River Bogie) that the lengthier route graces, but this one is nowhere near as grand. So, after some sharp bends just after the railway bridge the A97 runs back to the A96 at the east of town and now decides it needs that road's help to get on its way. However, it separates a second time after about 500 yards!

After that, it's a relief to see the A97 making its own way north again. The run from here up to Aberchirder is a much easier drive, the curve radii are much larger and it becomes feasible to maintain the National Speed Limit. There are still troublesome parts, such as the Bridge of Marnoch over the River Deveron which is probably not wide enough for two 4x4s to pass (perform this experiment at your peril). The Deveron will be the new companion all the way to the end, having swallowed up the Bogie, and more pleasant rolling hills must have enticed the creation of Aberchirder in this area, an attractive planned settlement albeit of the 18th century variety. The grid street layout is more suggestive of the States than of Deveronvale, although this has been done elsewhere in this country (for a bigger example, see Helensburgh). Given the intentional nature of the town's design it is only built up to the north of the road; the A97 is even called South Street here. I suppose it's the closest the A97 will ever come to a bypass of its own.

Aberchirder - Banff

Although the signage submits the decreasing distance to our final destination of Banff regularly, the hills continue to roll and the coast never seems to come into view. Even at the gateway into town when the limit drops to 30 the road continues uphill into some very typical new-build suburban areas. Banff's twin claims to fame are its history of sculpture – designers' offices and the Sculpture Park line the A97 – and fishing with boats sailing from its still well-used harbour; however the A97 now ends a few streets back from the mouth of the Deveron and the Moray coast on the High Street at a T-junction with the A98.

History

The bridge over Monandavan Burn is one of the plentiful pretty but narrow bridges on the route. This one, near Ordie, fell under the guise of B9119 for most of its life.

Although the A97 follows almost precisely the route it did in 1923 – save for the rejigging in Huntly due to the A96 bypass – there is a historical tale to tell.

A97 historic route from 1922/3 numbering

Shortly after classification, the southern end of the A97 was transferred westwards to take over the previously unclassified road between Cambus o’ May and Milton of Logie, with the road running to the north of Loch Davan and the west of Loch Kinord, via what is now the B9119. The B9119 remains the faster route when heading from Braemar/Ballater to the north, so it seemed fitting that the A97 would be diverted to the more direct route. However, the two roads were swapped over at some point during the 1980s; the 1979 OS Routemaster map shows the A97 and B9119 as connecting to the A93 near Cambus o'May and Dinnet respectively, so it was later that the A97 reverted to its original alignment by starting once more at Dinnet.

North Castle Street, Banff

At the other end in Banff, the A97 continued north, after a short multiplex with the A98 along Banff High Street until a review by Aberdeenshire Council in 2017. As the A98 TOTSOs westward towards Portsoy, the A97 re-emerged and carried on straight-ahead up North Castle Street and into the harbour. No sign suggested that the route was carried forward and mapping evidence offered a split opinion at best. At the harbour, it met the almost invisible A953 which ran for another 300 yards down the quayside. The change of number seemed confusing; the allocation of another number for an incredibly short route is strange today but a legacy of the importance of the harbour, even if the A97 did not continue beyond its junction with that road.




A97
Junctions
Crossings
Roads
Places
Miscellaneous
Related Pictures
View gallery (10)
Entering Dinnet from the north - Geograph - 1352470.jpgNorth Castle Street, Banff (C) Richard Webb - Geograph - 3204691.jpgA97 at Blacklaw.jpgA97 Bridge over Deskry Water - Geograph - 445961.jpgA97 NB.jpg
Other nearby roads
Huntly
Banff
Aberchirder
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