B7081
| B7081 | ||||
| Location Map ( geo) | ||||
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| From: | Irvine (NS322389) | |||
| To: | Kilmarnock (NS426377) | |||
| Via: | Dreghorn, Crosshouse | |||
| Distance: | 6.9 miles (11.1 km) | |||
| Meets: | A736, B7080, B730, B751, B7064, A735, A759 | |||
| Former Number(s): | A71 | |||
| Primary Destinations | ||||
| Highway Authorities | ||||
| Traditional Counties | ||||
| Route outline (key) | ||||
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The B7081 provides a minor back route between Irvine and Kilmarnock and also provides access to Crosshouse Hospital. The road follows the original line of the A71 between the two towns, gaining its number with the completion of the present A-road around 1990.
The B7081 begins its life in the centre of Irvine. The town centre is left behind quickly and we pass though an area of flats as the road bends sharply south and then east at a mini-roundabout. We continue past a mix of traditional and modern flats and town houses with the odd corner shop. Reaching the Annick Roundabout we leave the town behind; the speed limit rises to 40mph as we pass over the river Irvine and the A78.
Passing over Newmoor Roundabout, where we cross the B7080, we are back to 30mph as we enter the town of Dreghorn. We go past a school and some typical suburban semis then hit a traffic-light-controlled crossroads before entering the town centre. A fairly typical mix of town centre shops and flats is our backdrop through Dreghorn until we leave it behind at the Dreghorn Roundabout.
On the far side of the roundabout we enter Springside, a settlement consisting of post-WWII council houses and more modern semis. After leaving town the road becomes NSL briefly as we climb over a summit and down into Crosshouse and back to 30mph. Crosshouse takes us through more post-WWII council housing into the town centre. Here the B751 joins us in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it multiplex over the Carmel Water before peeling off at a traffic light T-Junction.
Leaving Crosshouse the road becomes NSL just before the roundabout entrance to Crosshouse Hospital. We pass over another roundabout, from where our road is the dominant number in a multiplex with the B7064. The limit then drops to 30 as we enter Kilmarnock. A traffic-light-controlled crossroads sees the B7064 leave us and we then head down through an area of large, traditional houses and bungalows into Kilmarnock town centre. After passing under the railway we reach a traffic-light-controlled crossroads, where we meet the A759 and A735 one-way loop, which also marks the end of the road.
