B843

Drumlemble

The B843 crosses the wide, flat plain at Machrihanish that almost bisects Kintyre to the west of Campbeltown. It starts at a TOTSO junction with the B842 in the village of Stewarton (formerly the A83 terminus) and heads west through Drumlemble. To the north of the road, across the Macrihanish Water, lies the former Machrihanish Airbase, now home to Campbeltown Airport, although the low-lying landscape restricts the view somewhat.

Then, as the route approaches the coast, the long line of dunes and beach beyond come into view. The dunes are home to a golf course, which lies alongside the road as it enters the small village of Machrihanish on the Atlantic coast of Kintyre. After turning inland, the route terminates at the western side of the village, also the highest point of the route, with an unclassified road giving onward access to farms and Forestry land. The exact end of the road is an arbitrary point which differs according to which map is used.

History

Whilst the route of the B843 does not appear to have changed at all since 1922 (with the possible exception of the exact location of the western end), it is interesting to note that it was once paralleled by the Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light Railway. After leaving Campbeltown Pier, and curving to the south of the town the line crossed the then-A83 just to the east of the B843 junction, before crossing the plain north of the B843. The railway re-crossed the road just before the village of Machrihanish, with the station located to the rear of the hotel. The trackbed is still visible behind the houses to the south of the B843 in Machrihanish but elsewhere there there is little trace of it.

The 1922 MOT Road List defines this route as: Campbeltown (Stewarton) - Machrihanish