B780

The B780 is a medium-length B-road in North Ayrshire, running from Kilbirnie to Stevenston. It is quite hilly too; the northern section is more fun as it goes though the hills.

Route

Kilbirnie – Ardrossan

Kilbirnie's Main Street

The route starts at a roundabout on the A760 in the centre of Kilbirnie and heads south through the town centre on Main Street, passing the shops. Main Street becomes Newton Street, and is soon lined with trees to the left and older housing sitting up a bank on the right. Avills Place follows, and then the route kinks right onto Holmhead, which soon reaches a mini-roundabout where the road ahead is the B777 and the B780 bears right. Now following Dalry Road, the route curves through mid twentieth century council housing, with the properties to the right sitting up a steep tree lined bank. Before long, fields appear on the right and a short distance further on the route reaches the edge of town and heads south west across the fields. The route meanders gently across the fields, passing a few farms, to meet the B784 at a T Junction. It then starts to turn southwards and shortly afterwards the road becomes urban once more as it enters Dalry.

A large industrial site, home to the DSM factory, spreads out to the left, and the route curves round to cross the Rye Water on Braehead. Housing slowly takes over from the commercial premises on the edge of town, with an assortment of fine old stone houses closer in to the town centre. A staggered crossroads sees North Street turn left, but this is not the B780, which is both of the other roads. A spur continues ahead along Roche Way, a modern relief road, to reach the B714 (former A737) at traffic lights but the mainline of the B780 had to TOTSO west at the crossroads onto James Street. The through route heads west, passing more older housing, and then has to TOTSO a second time, turning right at a T-junction onto West Kilbride Road. This leads out past a cemetery, and between modern housing estates which back onto the main road to reach the edge of town.

The B780 then winds westwards across the fields, climbing a little over one low hill, before dipping to cross a small burn at Giffordland. Here it briefly turns south, as it climbs again to reach Munnoch Reservoir where it TOTSOs left; the road ahead is the B781. The route then skirts the northern shore of the reservoir before turning south again to pass along the eastern shore of Busbie Muir Reservoir. The routes summit of 127m lies between the two as it runs beneath Busbie Moor with its easily visible wind farm. It then heads, winding down a small valley, from which the Firth of Clyde can be seen ahead. As the valley narrows, the route climbs out onto a ridge, and soon reaches the Chapelhill Roundabout on the A78 Ardrossan bypass.

Ardrossan – Stevenston

Dalry Road, Ardrossan

On the far side of the bypass, the route continues south along Dalry Road. This is a modern distributor road in layout, with numerous junctions including a couple of mini roundabouts, but no properties accessed directly from the road. This remains the case after the route crosses the railway, and curves round to meet the A738, Eglinton Road, at a signalised crossroads. From here, there is a short multiplex to the east before the B780 resumes by turning right onto Glasgow Street. The rest of the route is basically the former A738 though the three towns, so retains some of the feel of an A road. Glasgow Street is wide and dead straight, with most of the properties standing directly at the back of the pavements. At first it is predominantly residential, with long lines of old stone houses, but newer buildings then appear, serving businesses or civic functions, and then some shops.

In Ardrossan town centre the route reaches a set of traffic lights at a crossroads. From here it has another spur as it continues ahead along Harbour Street, apparently ending at the railway level crossing, or the roundabout just before it. However, the mainline TOTSOs left along Princes Street and crosses the Ardrossan Branch Line to the ferry port at another level crossing. Just beyond, the route curves sharply to the left as it comes to the coast at Ardrossan South Bay. The route then sweeps along South Crescent Road around the back of the wide expanse of the beach lawns. To the left is a row of find old Victorian villas, with some more modern infill. Many of these properties undoubtedly have histories as guest houses or hotels, a couple survive, but most seem to have been converted into flats. A car park lies at the eastern end of the lawns, but just before it the B780 forks left at a mini roundabout onto Ardrossan Road. The right fork is one of the former routes of the B714, and continues around the bay.

Ardrossan Road briefly comes alongside the railway, as it curves between older housing on its way into Saltcoats. It forks left again at a larger roundabout in front of a supermarket onto Manse Street, and so passes to the north of the town centre, which the A738 originally passed through. A tight little wiggle leads onto Vernon Street, this whole section lined with a mixture of homes, businesses, car parks and other properties normally found on the periphery of a town centre. Another, wider, wiggle takes the route over the railway at the eastern end of Saltcoats station and then the current line of the B714 turns off to the left. The sea can be glimpsed again to the right, albeit at a distance, before Canal Street kinks a little to the left onto a long straight. After passing some housing, the route crosses open parkland, with a leisure centre and schools on the left and a golf course to the right.

Another left fork at a roundabout marks the entrance to Stevenston, with Boglemart Street quickly leading into its small town centre - this is the smallest of the Three Towns (at least for its centre) and so it is passed through quite quickly. A short, sharp climb along Townhead Street soon leads to the A738 at Hayocks Roundabout - this was where the A738 used to multiplex with the A78 but now marks the end of the B780. The options are left for Saltcoats, right for the rest of Stevenston and the A78.

History

The B780 originally only ran between the A737 in Dalry and the A78 (now A738) in Ardrossan. In 1934 the route was extended north along the ex-B783 to reach Kilbirnie. The southern section of the B780, through Ardrossan, was formerly the A738 (although Glasgow Street was the A739 until 1934). This section was renumbered in 2005 to the current number when the Three towns bypass on the A78 opened, causing routes within Ardrossan to be renumbered.

The 1922 MOT Road List defines this route as: Ardrossan - Dalry
An official document from 16/05/1934 details the following changes: To be extended from Dalry to Kilbirnie over the whole length of Route B783 from a junction with Route A737 (Kilwinning-Glasgow) at Dalry (Ayrshire) northward via Burnside and Brierysink to a junction with Route A760 (Yardfoot - Largs) at Kilbirnie.