B735 (Glenluce - Glasserton)

This article is about the original B735 along Luce Bay in Wigtownshire.
For the current B735 north of Kirkcowan in the same county, see B735.

The A747 *(former B735) at Chippermore Port

The original B735 was a long B-road along the southern Wigtownshire coast. It started on the A75 to the east of Glenluce, at a point now bypassed, and headed south to reach Luce Bay, from where it followed the coast eastwards for some distance. This is one of the most spectacular coastal roads in the British Isles, with stunning views out to sea. Presently it reached Port William where it met the A714 (now B7085). A couple of miles further on the road reached Monreith, where it turned inland, climbing as it headed east to Glasserton. Hereit met the B734 at a T junction; the two routes ended end-on.

The eastern extension of the B735

The route was quickly upgraded to Class I status, becoming the A747 in 1924 or 25, as it remains today. However, the 1926 Michelin Map and the 1932 OS ten mile map, left, shows that the B735 number remained in the area until the 1930s. It ran east from its original eastern terminus to end on the A750 (now B7004) well on the way to Isle of Whithorn. It is not known whether the B735 was actually extended, or whether this road was given the number after the original B735 was upgraded to A747. The latter seems more likely due to the short timeframes involved. Certainly, the A747 number must have been allocated before or at the same time as the A750 number but this does not mean that the A747 took over the whole of the B735 when first allocated. It is of course possible that the B735 was extended all the way to Isle of Whithorn, part of which later became the A750, prior to the A747 and A750 being created.

What is certain is that the 'extension' of the B735 was upgraded to be an extension of the A747 by 1936 and was then declassified when the A750 was downgraded to Class II status in the 1980s.

The 1922 MOT Road List defines this route as: Glasserton - Port William - Glenluce