B887 (Skye)

This article is about the former B887 on Skye.
For the current B887 on Harris, see B887.

The A855 (former B887) in Portree

In 1922, the A855 was only classified as a Branch to Portree Pier. The onward route north (which to be fair did turn off the A855 before the end of the road) was the B887, as far as Brogaig at Staffin at least, where it ended at a fork. From here an unclassified road continued north along the coast whilst another headed west towards Uig.

However, the original B887 did not last for long. The A855 had been extended along its modern route by 1932, allowing the B887 number to be reused on Harris.

Comparison of the route north of Portree in 1922 (green) and today (red)

The exact line taken by the B887 is perhaps not so clear. The MOT map from 1922 shows the road taking a substantially different route over the hills to reach Loch Fada compared with the current A855 route, with further questionable deviations further north. The 1922 MOT maps were drawn up on base mapping from around 20 years earlier, and as a result did not always reflect new roads that had been built in the intervening years. As a result, the B887 is shown as following an old hill path which is marked on the first OS 6 inch sheets from the 1880s. Although no investigations have yet been carried out on site, the evidence from modern mapping, satellite imagery and Google Street View reveals nothing resembling a 'motorable' road along the section between Portree and Loch Fada.

Based on the OS Six Inch mapping, this hill path climbed to 763 feet or 232m above sea level, considerably higher than the current road. It also crossed some steep slopes above Loch Fada (and to the south) which show no obvious signs of a ledge wide enough for a car to pass along. Further north, the same can be said for the line shown through the now ruinous township of Rigg.

On balance, it seems probable that the line of the B887 shown on the 1922 map has been drawn along the route of the old hill path, but that a new road had been built since the base mapping was last revised. This followed a mixture of old paths and tracks, with some lengthy new alignments. However, until the route marked has been walked and examined on site this is only a best guess.