B867

This article is about the current B867 between Bankfoot and Birnam.
For the former B867 into Dornoch, see B867 (Dornoch).

The B867 today is the former route of the A9 through Bankfoot between Perth and Dunkeld. That road has been replaced with a new alignment that curves further east across the Muir of Thorn and is now mostly dualled, since the section north of Luncarty was completed in 2021.

Route

Starting at the southern end, the B867 leaves the A9 at Bankfoot Junction, which was originally a simple at-grade fork. However, additional slips were provided in c2012 on the southbound lane of the A9 via the Murthly Road, and these have been rebuilt again to allow for the A9 dualling. The A9 and B867 very slowly diverge as they head north, the latter heading into the village of Bankfoot. In the village, the road ahead climbs steeply past a ruined church, but a slight kink to the left keeps traffic on the B867, which seems to quickly pass through the village and out into the open countryside beyond.

Leaving Bankfoot

Soon after passing the last houses, the road sweeps right then left through the small shallow valley of the Corral Burn. It is a good wide road, however, as it climbs through the small settlement of Waterloo, belying its previous life as the main road north. There are a few bends as the road continues north, slowly climbing out of the valley, but while the map makes it look quite wiggly, there are good sight lines to allow overtaking. Of course, if this were still the A9 oncoming traffic would make such a manoeuvre impossible! A long sweeping right hander then takes the road over its summit, and around past the curiously names Staredam, a small loch which seems to be entirely natural.

As the road starts to drop, it passes a right turn to Murthly and then descends more rapidly into the forestry of the Pass of Birnam. A relatively blind bridge under the railway lies in a slight dip before the B867 turns north west and runs parallel with both the railway on the left and the A9 on the right for about a mile. Not that you are really aware of either, with the roadside being thickly wooded. This stretch is reasonably straight and level with a couple of rough parking areas on the left. After the second, the trees on the railway embankment have been clear felled, revealing the steep slope. The road ends at a wide at-grade T-junction with the A9 just to the south of Birnam, the original line of the A9 continuing ahead as a cycle track when the B867 turns to meet the new A9 line.