B6371

The B6371 is a cross-country B-road in East Lothian.

The route starts on the B1348 coast road in Cockenzie (one of those Scottish names with a silent Z). The junction was clearly once a triangular layout, but converted to a simple T junction using the eastern side of the old triangle many years ago. A long row of houses sits on the right, with parkland opposite as the route heads south out of town on Lorimer Place and then Avenue Road. After passing through some trees, a small roundabout gives access to modern housing on the south side of the town. The B6371 continues south, skirting the old coal storage yard for the former power station complex, before kinking left to cross the site of the Battle of Prestonpans. At the end of this straight, the route meets the A198 at a roundabout, where the B1361 comes in from the west. Originally the B6371 and A198 crossed here but the A198 has now been rerouted south along the original line of the B6371 to reach the A1 Tranent bypass (with the bit vacated now the B1361) at Bankton Junction. There is therefore a short multiplex south as far as the A1.

The junction with the A1 is a modified dumbbell layout, with the B6371 regaining its number at the southern roundabout. It continues south along Church Street, which climbs between old stone buildings and areas of grass into Tranent town centre. The ruinous Tranent Tower, a 16th Century Tower House, sits down a lane to the left, and a little further along shops and business take over from the houses. It soon meets the A199 (pre-bypass A1), however, at a mini-roundabout. There is then a short multiplex east along Tranent High Street before the B6371 regains its number at traffic lights. The junction is laid out as a TOTSO, with A199 traffic having to turn left to stay on the High Street, while the mainline curves right onto Ormiston Road. Now heading south east, the route quickly becomes suburban as it climbs gently past a mixture of mid twentieth century housing. Towards the edge of town, the houses are set back behind green spaces or back onto the main road.

B6355 junction on southern edge of Tranent

At length, the B6371 reaches the edge of town, where the B6355 forks left, after which the B6371 curves around a large new housing development to reach open country. It follows a series of straights across gently undulating terrain to reach Ormiston. Just before reaching the village, it crosses an old railway line - now a popular cycle route - and the Puddle Burn on Puddle Bridge. There is then a sharp right-hand bend into the wide, tree lined Main Street. The street is lined with some fine old stone buildings and divides into a sort of mini dual carriageway to pass either side of the town cross by the shops. The central reservation doesn't last long, and then the route turns sharply to the left onto the much narrower The Wynd. As its name suggests, this winds round past the school and out of the village on a tree lined avenue. It crosses a narrow bridge over the infant Tyne Water before a short straight climbs up to a T-junction on the A6093 a short distance further on.

A final multiplex southwest along the A6093 passes the grounds of Ormiston Hall before the B6371 regains its number by turning left at a T junction. Now winding along the southern boundary of Ormiston Halls grounds, it heads southeastwards climbing gently into the hills. As it passes the small group of buildings at Ormiston Mains, some good views open up ahead, with the ridge of the Lammermuir Hills just visible on the horizon. A series of shorter straights across fields follows, with some sharp kinks between, leading onto a more pronounced double bend at Peaston. Another series of straights lifts the route up to a summit of 173m, before a winding descent takes the route past Keith Marischal (a country house) and down into the narrow valley of the Keith Water. The river is crossed on the narrow Keith Bridge. A steep climb soon eases, but the route continues to climb up to it's overall summit of over 180m. It ends a few hundred yards further on at a triangular junction at a sharp bend on the B6368 by Humbie war memorial.

History

As originally classified in 1922, the B6371 only went as far as the A6093 at Ormiston. The southern section to reach Humbie appears to have been added between 1936 and 1937, based on the OS Ten Mile Maps for those two years. At the time the B6368 had been renumbered as an extension of the A6137, but has long since reverted to its original number.

The 1922 MOT Road List defines this route as: Ormiston - Tranent - Cockenzie