B869 (Lairg)

This article is about the former B869 (now A839) at Lairg.
For the current B869 from Unapool to Lochinver, see B869.

Heading east

The original line of the B869 was from Lairg west over the hills to Invercassley and Rosehall. It therefore made a connection between the valleys of the Kyle of Sutherland and Achany Glen, through a sparsely populated area. However, by 1932 the road was already part of an extended A839, which it remains. The B869 number had by then also been reallocated to its present home in NW Sutherland.

Apart from in Lairg, the road still follows its original line, and is entirely single track. The changes in Lairg primarily relate to the dam creating Little Loch Shin, where the road has been moved a little to the west to allow for the water level to be raised. The subsequent junction with the B864 has also been subtly realigned, but everything to the west remains much as it was in 1922.

The 1922 MOT Road List defines this route as: Invercassley - Lairg