B874

This article is about the current B874 between Thurso and Wick.
For the original B874 in Wick, see B874 (Wick Harbour).

Route

The B874 follows a route that sticks close to the A9 - A882 road from Thurso to Wick.

Starting on the A9 in the centre of Thurso the road heads southwestwards along Princes Street to pass the station and leave town. There's then a TOTSO left to enter Glengolly, where the B870 turns off to the right and we continue, following the railway line relatively closely. A couple of miles further on we enter Halkirk, where we cross the River Thurso and then pass the Ross Institute (an ornate village hall) before we TOTSO left to leave town. There's an ungated crossing on the Thurso branch line before we meet the A9 again at a staggered crossroads.

Sibster

The B874 continues east along a narrow, straight road, thinly scattered with isolated buildings. We pass to the north of Loch Watten then a couple of sharp corners take us to meet the B870 again. There's a short multiplex with the B874 dominant before that road bears off left and we continue ahead, now with the railway line to Wick just off to the right. We continue along the flat land along the Wick River, which is on the far side of the railway line, for a few more miles before a couple of bends take us to the end of the road at a sharply angled T-junction on the A99 just west of Wick Airport.

History

All of the above was unclassified in 1922, with the exception of the short section as far as the station in Thurso, which was the A840. The B874 had come into being by 1932, continuing south from the A840 and along the left bank of the River Thurso as far as Halkirk. Here it turned eastwards to end on the A88 (present A9) at Roadside.

The road was extended further east in 1935, giving it its current eastern end near Wick. However, the A840 hung on for many more years before being downgraded in the 1970s, thus allowing the B874 to be extended into the centre of Thurso.