B7016

The B7016 is a lengthy cross-country road, which comprises three sections as it stretches across rural Lanarkshire.

Route

Forth - Carnwarth

The route starts at a T junction on the A706 to the north of the large village of Forth. This is the second highest point on the whole route at around 280m. It initially heads eastwards, before kinking right at a junction where the small settlement of Wilsontown lies just beyond a popular walkers car park. Now heading southeastwards, the route winds round some bends to follow the Mouse Water downstream past the closed up Cleuch Bridge over the small river and a restored opencast coal mine on the far bank. The Mouse Water is crossed a little further along, after which the route meanders southwards across farmland with a scattering of farms and houses. The landscape is relatively flat, offering expansive views, with Forth prominent on its hillside to the north west. A short climb leads into the small village of Braehead, which mostly comprises single storey cottages, although there is a small block of two storey council houses where Main Street turns off Carnwarth Road.

The village, as its name suggests, sits astride the crest of a ridge, and the route descends past the last house onto the vast empty moorlands, known locally as 'mosses. Woodend Moss lies to the east, while the forested Blackgate Moss and Ryeflat Moss lie to the west, all drained by the little Dippool Water. At the far end of the Moss, the road climbs a little past a couple of houses, and then snakes up onto the crest of a prominent ridge ahead. There seems to be no reason why the road does this, as there appear to be easier routes to the side of this strange landform. After a short run along the ridge, the road drops down the side, with some good views ahead across young forestry. A few more bends lead past a large cemetery to reach a T-junction on the A70 next to the railway bridge. The two routes then multiplex eastwards (along with the A721) over the Edinburgh branch of the West Coast Main Line and into Carnwath.

Carnwarth - Biggar

Roseburgh Bridge

In the centre of Carnwarth, the B7016 bears right at traffic lights to regain its number. It heads south on Biggar Road, which is mostly lined with older houses. After passing a playing field on the right, a right turn leads into a modern housing estate, and then the road leaves town and continues south across open fields. A series of short straights lead it steadily downhill, past a scattering of farms and other buildings to cross the Medwin Water on Roseburgh Bridge. More straights, alongside a strip of woodland, lift the route up a little, now heading south east, to reach the small village of Libberton. Biggar Road carries the route through, past a mixture of old housing and some rather out of place modern properties. The Clyde Valley lies off to the west, but the B7016 turns progressively eastwards, and climbs into forestry, passing between the trees on a wide moorland ride. The summit of the route, at 286m, lies towards the far end of the forest, beyond which it snakes past a couple of farms on a series of bends that rise and fall across the undulating landscape.

There are more wiggles from time to time, with straighter sections between as the route crosses the increasingly hilly landscape before reaching Biggar. A short climb, after dipping to cross the Biggar Burn, leads onto a long, relatively straight descent into the town, which is entered on Carwood Road. New housing lies on the left at the entrance to the town, with fields and then a park on the right as the route drops down to pass between two churches and enter the town centre on Kirkstyle. The route then splits around a block of buildings, with the mainline forking right while a left turn is one-way southbound for left turning traffic; both arms quickly reaching the A702, High Street. There's then another three-way multiplex (A72/A702/B7016) left through the town centre on the wide High Street, with the A702 dominant.

Biggar - Broughton

The route resumes a few hundred metres to the east with the B7016 turning right onto Broughton Road at the eastern end of the wide High Street. The road winds out through Victorian Suburbs of elegant detached houses with a handful of modern infill properties. A slight bump is climbed just past the entrance to the golf course, beyond which the route emerges into fields, and continues east through a few miles of lovely countryside. The route runs downstream through the valley of the Biggar Water, a tributary of the Tweed, even though Biggar itself lies closer to the Clyde Valley. At first the road is meandering across the foothills above the valley floor, with expansive views to the south across the fields to the hills beyond. After a sharp dip to cross the Spittal Burn, however, it remains closer to the flat lands of the flood plain and also becomes narrower, losing the centre line. It is perhaps not a coincidence that the Spittal Burn is the old county boundary! The Spittal Burn is also the only point of the whole route below the 200m contour.

After a couple of miles of easy running, the route starts to climb once more, lifting up the slopes to pass behind a farm with a series of tighter bends. A long left hander then curves around Corstane Hill, offering some stunning views to the south, before reaching the small village of Broughton. There are only a couple of houses on the B7016 as it follows Biggar Road to its end at a simple T junction on the A701 opposite the village hall.

History

The B7016 appears to have been classified in two stages. The northern sections between the A706 near Forth and the A702 in Biggar were first numbered in c1927, as shown on that years revised MOT map. The route was subsequently extended east to meet the A701 at Broughton before 1932 when the full length is shown on the OS Ten Mile Map.