B7004

The B7004 is a secondary road forming two sections to the north and south of Whithorn on Galloway's Whithorn Peninsula.

The route starts at a triangular junction on the A746 to the south of Kirkinner and heads southeast along three long undulating straight sections. The mountains on the far side of Wigtown Bay are clearly visible to the left and the bay itself occasionally comes into view on the far side of the low lying farmland that the route crosses. Patches of woodland line the roadside between the fields, and there are a scattering of farms to be seen, although few of the houses sit on the roadside. After four miles of pleasant, if undemanding driving along this quiet route, it comes to a crossroads on the edge of Garlieston. The village centre lies off to the left on the coast but the B7004 TOTSOs to the right. Another long tree lined straight follows, with the trees on the right hiding an old railway trackbed. This was the Garlieston branch line, built to serve the small harbour in the village. Although never successful as a passenger line, the harbour provided a sustainable volume of goods traffic and also offered seasonal steamer trips to the Isle of Man amongst other places.

Just under half a mile west of Garlieston, the B7004 reaches a T-junction and again has to TOTSO, this time turning left while the road to the right is the B7052. Now heading south, the route climbs a little to pass between two low hills, that to the east being wooded. It's not long before the B7063 turns off left signposted to the Isle of Whithorn, and therefore providing a shorter and quicker route than the B7004 which forks right. It continues southwestwards for a couple of miles, crossing open fields dotted with a few houses. The gently undulating landscape rises a little to the east, hiding the view across Wigtown Bay, but it is still a pleasant drive. A short steady climb at Outon leads onto a short straight, at the end of which the route kinks left to enter Whithorn adjacent to the former station site. After passing a couple of houses, the route reaches a T-junction on the A746. The two routes multiplex south along St John Street into the town centre, where the road widens out into the spacious George Street, the towns historic market place. This generous space is terminated by houses projecting into the road on either side.

Main Street in Isle of Whithorn

Glasserton Street continues south, but the B7004 soon forks left along Isle Street, which was once the A750, to regain its number. Whithorn is a small town, and the B7004 soon bursts out into the fields once more, initially heading south but soon curving to the south east across the moor-like fields of this part of the country. Presently a T-junction is reached; the unclassified road to the right used to be the A747 but was downgraded at the same time as the A750, so the B7004 now has to TOTSO for a third time, turning left to follow a straight road. This follows the Drummullin Burn downstream, avoiding the slightly higher ground to the right. There's a brief glimpse of the Irish Sea ahead just before the route reaches the village of Isle of Whithorn. At one time there was an actual (tidal) island, but now the connecting beach has been built over and the town connects it to the mainland.

The route follows Main Street as it curves left then right around the back of the sandy bay. The B7063 comes in again from the left, having taken a slightly shorter route to get here than the B7004. A small group of houses have been built out onto the beach, and a little further along a church also stands on a small square of reclaimed land built over the beach. Somewhere near the church lies the site of the tidal channel that separated the island, but the age of the houses along the roadside shows how long ago it was filled in. Beyond the church there's a right-hand bend onto Harbour Row, which runs along the western shore of the former island. The route runs along a quay to end at the start of the pier.

History

The route was originally unclassified but had come into existence as a loop off the A746 by 1930 when it is shown on the revised MOT map. The low number would however suggest that the route was created in 1925 or 26. The section south of Whithorn, leading out to the Isle of Whithorn, had been classified as the A750 in the mid 1920s, also probably in 1925 but became an extension of the B7004 in the 1970s.