B903

Near Burnshot

Today the B903 provides a link from the A904 to the village of Blackness on the Forth Coast, although this is not the original route of the road.

It starts on the A904 barely 150m north of its TOTSO with the A803 at Champany, and heads east, initially running parallel to the A904 with just a field between them before the two routes start to diverge. There are houses dotted along the roadside as the route winds between fields, working its way north eastwards, following the little valley of the Blackburn down towards the coast. The B9109 comes up from the south, connecting back to the A904, and then a tree lined avenue appears to lead directly to the Forth. However, a sharper left turn turns the route northwards, across the gentle slopes before a steeper, winding descent leads down into the village and its small square. Here the B903 ends; turning left leads to the spectacularly sited Blackness Castle, and right curves around the head of the small beach, both are dead ends.

History

In 1922 when the number was first allocated, the B903 was a little to the south, running from Linlithgow to Champany, where it ended on the then-B902. By 1932 the B902 had become the A904 and the B903 route had been extended to Blackness. Much later the A9 through Linlithgow was downgraded, following the construction of the parallel M9. As such the A803 was extended through Linlithgow and then along the original section of the B903 to meet the M9 at Champany before terminating as it still does on the A904. This, therefore, truncated the B903 back to its 1920s extension. The reason why such a tiny village as Blackness is served by a classified road at all is probably due to Blackness Castle's former role as an ammunition depot, although this role had ended before the road was classified!