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B725

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B725
Location Map ( geo)
Cameraicon.png View gallery (5)
From:  Dumfries (NX973758)
To:  Waterbeck (NY244774)
Distance:  29.8 miles (48 km)
Meets:  A781, A756, B726, B724, A75, B7020, B723, B7076, A74(M), B722
Former Number(s):  B724
Primary Destinations
Highway Authorities

Dumfries and Galloway

Traditional Counties

Dumfriesshire

Route outline (key)
B725 Dumfries – Ruthwell
(B724) Ruthwell – Ruthwell Station
B725 Ruthwell Station – Carrutherstown
(A75) Carrutherstown
B725 Carrutherstown – Dalton
(B7020) Dalton
B725 Dalton – Hoddom Bridge
(B723) Hoddom Bridge
B725 Hoddom Bridge – Ecclefechan
(B7076) Ecclefechan
B725 Ecclefechan – Waterbeck

The B725 is a long B-road zigzagging across much of southern Dumfriesshire.

Route

Dumfries- Ruthwell

Passing through Kelton

The route starts on the A781 in the centre of Dumfries, although pedestrianisation means that it can no longer run along the High Street as it once did: the route now starts at traffic lights on a one-way loop and heads south along St Michael Street, which is one-way northbound. Southbound traffic therefore has to use the unclassified Dockhead along the riverbank, which is one-way southbound. After crossing the A756, again at traffic lights, St Michael Street becomes two-way. The tall, slender tower of St Michael's church stands overlooking the junction and beyond this the route passes a mixture of business premises with a few houses and flats interspersed, as is often the case on the periphery of the town centre. After forking right at a mini roundabout, the route becomes more suburban, with the leafy grounds of a hospital on the left and large houses opposite. The next junction is a pair of forks, with the B726 turning right at the first, dropping down to the banks of the River Nith, and the B725 keeping right at the second which is signalised.

Glencaple Road is semi rural in character, with the extensive grounds of the modern hospital largely hidden behind hedges and trees to the left, and houses scattered intermittently to the right. A couple of modern housing estates stretch down towards the river, the second accessed by a small roundabout, while to the left the Hospital grounds have given way to the University campus. At length the urban area is left behind and the road winds gently across the hillside, through fields, with good views of the hills to the west. A scattering of houses and farms, largely set back from the road, are passed as the route gently drops towards the river, where the tiny village of Kelton sits on the river bank. A quick double bend brings the road right down to the riverbank, and so into the pretty shoreside village of Glencaple, with it's brightly painted houses looking out across the estuary.

Crossing the flat land by the Lochar Water

For the next couple of miles, the road winds along the shore between the fields and the mud flats and marsh of the estuary. As the river draws closer to the sea the B725 turns away, winding round a block of woodland and then passing the stunning Caerlaverock Castle which can just be seen across the fields. Somewhere near here (the exact location is not clear from maps) is the original southern end of the B725, where it ran head-on into the B724. However, by 1932 that road had been made redundant and the B725 was extended over virtually all of its former route. As the route turns north, it keeps to the low lying land at the base of Ward Law and Bankend Hill, to reach the small settlement of Bankend. As it wiggles between the houses it has to TOTSO right at a Triangular junction, and then winds across the Lochar Water before heading south east once more across fields.

The stream is then followed almost back to the sea, with the road following some long sweeping bends across this largely featureless coastal landscape of fields and forestry. A couple of longer straights lead towards the village of Ruthwell, with the road bending sharply to the left before reaching it. It therefore passes to the west of the village centre, navigating some more sharp bends to reach a T-junction on the B724. There is then a multiplex to the left through Clarencefield before the B725 regains its number by turning right.

Ruthwell - Waterbeck

The route has now left the coast behind and begins a long meandering route inland. Shortly after resuming, the B725 goes under the Carlisle to Dumfries railway line to enter the small settlement of Ruthwell Station (although the station itself is long-gone). It continues northeastwards and as the road narrows it begins to climb along short straights punctuated by sharp bends. A mile or so later it widens again just before reaching the A75 Carrutherstown bypass which is crossed at a staggered crossroads. The route then briefly uses a section of the pre-bypass A75 into the centre of the village, where it TOTSOs right at a crossroads; the dead-end road on the left was the B725 before the bypass was built. It continues north, crossing the 80m contour a couple of times before it straightens up and starts to drift downhill. It forks right at a junction, and then winds across fields into Dalton where the road reaches a T-junction on the B7020, which marks the eastern end of the former B724.

Signage implies that the B7020 is the dominant number as the two routes multiplex eastwards through the village. It certainly gets priority at both junctions. The B725 regains its number a short distance further on by turning left, and heading out across fields once more. The route slowly loses height as it follows the River Annan downstream, although not particularly closely for most of the time. After a couple of miles it reaches a T-junction on the B723, with which it multiplexes north across the river on Hoddom Bridge. Again, the B725 appears to be the junior partner throughout. After turning right on the north bank the route heads north along a long straight road across fields into Ecclefechan and a T-junction on the B7076. Originally the B725 went straight across here, through the centre of the village and out the other side; however, when the A74(M) was built it severed the route (although a right-of-way is maintained by a pedestrian footbridge). The B725 now has to navigate around three sides of the village.

The B725 to the west of Waterbeck

Today, therefore, there is a multiplex to the north west along the old A74 bypass, now the B7076, as far as a roundabout. From here the B725 heads north through two more roundabouts to cross the A74(M) at J19. At the third roundabout, the B725 turns right and runs alongside the motorway for about half a mile to a fourth roundabout where it meets the southbound onslip and turns left, rejoining its pre-motorway route. Heading away from Ecclefechan at last, the B725 narrows and climbs round some sharp bends as it crosses over the West Coast Main Line. It then dips down to cross the West Gill in its little wooded valley, with a long horseshoe bend at Cleuchbrae. Another climb lifts it above the 100m contour for the first time as it continues northeastwards across hilly terrain. More tight bends follow as it zig-zags through Middlebie, climbing up to a summit of 122m. The last couple of miles are straighter although not flat, as the route drifts steadily downhill. Eventually the road descends towards Waterbeck, where it ends at a T-junction on the B722 at the entrance to the small village.

History

The original meeting point of the B725 and B724

As noted above, the B725 has been greatly extended from its original route. As allocated in 1922, the B725 headed south out of Dumfries, to meet the B724 end-on somewhere near Caerlaverock; the exact change in number is not identified clearly. The B724 then completed the route as far as the A75 at Carrutherstown, the remainder of the route being unclassified. By 1928, the B724 had been extended to meet the newly created B7020 at Dalton, but no further. However, only four years later, the OS Ten Mile Map from 1932 shows the B725 extended along the former B724 and on to its current terminus at Waterbeck.

There are several places along the route where evidence of minor realignments and improvements can be found, but mostly this is limited to wide verges, laybys and junction improvements. However, the route does make a substantial deviation at Ecclefechan. The original line passed straight through the village, crossing the old A74 bypass at a crossroads and running down Academy Street to meet the original line of the A74. It then doglegged right onto Langlands Road and followed it to where it now ends. The footbridge is slightly offset from the old road line, but it is easy to identify as it crosses the motorway to meet the current B725 alignment at the roundabout.

The 1922 MOT Road List defines this route as: Bowhouse - Glencable - Dumfries





B725
Junctions
Crossings
Roads
Places
Related Pictures
View gallery (5)
Milk collection - Geograph - 406295.jpgGreengatehouse - Geograph - 387488.jpgB725 West of Waterbeck - Geograph - 221549.jpgEcclefechan - signs showing A74 - Coppermine - 18484.JPGDroopy Tree near Upper Locharwoods (C) Chris Upson - Geograph - 118265.jpg
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B760 • B761 • B762 • B763 • B764 • B765 • B766 • B767 • B768 • B769 • B770 • B771 • B772 • B773 • B774 • B775 • B776 • B777 • B778 • B779
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Earlier versions: B705 • B706 • B707 • B708 • B713(E) • B713(W) • B714 • B715 • B716 • B724 • B727 • B730 • B734
B735 • B736 • B739 (S) • B739 (N) • B743 • B744 • B746 • B752 • B761 • B762 • B763 • B765 • B773 • B783 • B785 • B789 • B791 • B795
Anomalous numbers: B77


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