B880

This article is about the current B880 on the Isle of Arran.
For the former B880 on the Isle of Bute, see B880 (Bute).

The B880 bisects Arran from the island capital of Brodick on the east coast to Blackwaterfoot on the west coast. For much of its life met the A841 at each end, but with that route's curtailment its western end is now on an unclassified road just short of Blackwaterfoot itself. It is locally known as 'The String', although the origins of the name seem unclear.

Route

Birchburn

The road starts at a sharp corner on the A841 on the northern edge of Brodick and heads west into Glen Shurig. After a brief wooded section the terrain opens out and it climbs a narrow glen before a steeper section (with excellent views over the Firth of Clyde in the rear-view mirror) climbs up to the road's summit at 234m. The descent is much longer but not as steep, as the road initially drops below a forestry plantation with scattered woodland on the lower slopes of Gleann an t-Suidhe. Then, as the valley starts to open up, the road reaches a junction, the first since leaving Brodick. The B880 bends to the left, with hills to the left and the flat moorland either side of the Machrie Water to the right. The river flows out across Machrie Moor, an important area of prehistoric monuments including stone circles and cairns.

The road is now heading almost due south, skirting the eastern edge of the moor and becomes far more built-up, running through the villages of Ballymichael and Shiskine. The latter is the larger village, with a mixture of old cottages and modern bungalows along the roadside. A mile or so further on, the B880 comes to its end at a sharply angled T-junction on the now-unclassified former A841. The coastal village of Blackwaterfoot lies a short distance to the right, while either direction will ultimately bring you back to Brodick.

History

This route was originally numbered as the A842, which continued to the coast in Blackwaterfoot. However, there was a review of the road numbers on Arran during the 1920s and by 1932 the route had been renumbered as the B880, which it remains to this day. The route itself is an ancient route across the island, and originally traversed the hillside on the north side of Gleann an t-Suidhe, dropping down to Monyquil farm. Although difficult to trace at the ends, the central section can be readily seen as a line on the hillside from the B880, and 2 miles at the eastern end remain a well trodden footpath, although there are streams to ford further west.