B160 (Northern Ireland)

Ballyronan

The B160 is a winding road in central Northern Ireland. It was originally unclassified but gained its number in the late 1920s.

The road starts at a roundabout in the centre of Magherafelt. The other three directions are all numbered B40 but this has only been the case since October 2016 when the A31 bypass was opened. We head southeast along Ballyronan Road and leave town before crossing the bypass at a roundabout. The B181 turns right shortly afterwards.

We continue southeast along a largely straight road (although oxbow lay-bys can be seen occasionally showing that the road has been improved) and presently reach Ballyronan and a T-junction on the B18. There's a short multiplex to the right, apparently with our number dominant, ending where the other road turns right. We continue with Lough Neagh visible to the left then bear right to avoid ending up in the lough; this takes us inland gradually. The road is still largely straight with the occasional corner.

After going through Ballylifford we cross the Ballinderry River (at a narrow bridge which needs a pedestrian footbridge adjacent) and then cut off the river's corners as we head upstream into Coagh. The B73 is crossed at a mini-roundabout in the village centre then we follow the river (which we don't actually see) back into open country. After a couple of miles we bear left to turn away from the river and follow a winding road southwards across undulating terrain. Presently we reach Stewartstown, where we run head-on into the B520 in the market place and turn right. That road is then the dominant number in a multiplex along West Street, which ends as we turn left on the edge of open country.

We lose the central line as we continue west. The next road to the right is a spur of the B160 heading back to the B520, after which we wind across the fields, widening again just before reaching the A29 and cross it at a long staggered crossroads. The road now remains S2 as it continues west and goes over the River Killymoon. The road now straightens out but loses the central line.

The road widens after zigzagging around a hill spur and then continues on before detouring to the right to avoid crossing a small valley. Soon the B160 ends where the B43 comes in from the left and takes on the road ahead into Pomeroy.