B801

This article is about the current B801 in Sutherland.
For the former B801 in Airdrie, see B801 (Airdrie).

The B801 is the north-westernmost B-road in mainland Scotland, serving the fishing port of Kinlochbervie.

Route

Approaching Kinlochbervie

Starting on the A838 at Rhiconich, between Laxford Bridge and Durness in the north west corner of Sutherland, the B801 follows the northern shore of Loch Inchard through Badcall to the small fishing port of Kinlochbervie. The road is almost S2 throughout, thanks to EU funding to provide a better link to the port for lorries to use. Two small sections of single-track road remain, the first around a rocky outcrop not far from the A838 junction. The second is somewhat longer at around quarter of a mile, and lies a little over halfway along past a small quarry and scrapyard area.

After reaching a low summit, the road then dips down to the head of Achriesgill Bay, before climbing again through the scattered settlement, to the north of which lies the second single track section. The road continues to gain height as it crosses the hillside above little Loch Sheigra, before reaching a summit above Badcall at around 80m. The final descent into Kinlochbervie is an impressive straight, before the road swings into the village, sweeping bends leading to the terminus outside the fish market. The original end of the road was on the quay on Loch Clash, turning right by the church. As with many of the roads in the area, this route is a stunning drive, with some spectacular views of loch, sea and mountain.

History

As the original B801 was in Airdrie, Glasgow, this road was unclassified in 1922. It is not marked on any map up to and including the 1956 Ten Mile, but is on the OS One Inch map from 1959, suggesting its classification came in the late 1950s. However, as it is also absent from the 1964 Ten Mile map, this route may have been repeatedly missed, and actually classified somewhat earlier.

Despite being a generally good S2 route today, the alignment appears to have changed little from that in use a century ago. Some of the kinks and bends have been ironed out, often simply within the width of the new road, and there is a new bridge at Achriesgill. Apart from a couple of laybys, the main evidence for the improvements is the cuttings excavated to accommodate the second lane. However, the new road has not been constructed to modern design principles, and despite being intended for HGV traffic accessing the harbour, some of the bends are rather tight for lorries to negotiate within their carriageway. Fortunately, of course, the road is lightly trafficked much of the year, and so this is not a big problem.