B9048

The B9048 is a short spur from the B9047 at Lyness on Hoy to the Flotta & Hoy Ferry Pier.

Route

The end of the B9048 at Lyness Pier

Leaving the B9047 opposite the Hoy Hotel the B9048 heads east across former military land. It follows a series of short straights down towards the shore where it passes a couple of disused piers. Although the road has been S2 since the beginning, it only gains a centre line as it enters the 'shorebase' harbour area. Here it curves left then right, passing the entrance to the Scapa Flow Museum before continuing east to end at the present ferry pier.

History

The B9048 in 1923

The B9048 has always existed in the Lyness area, however, its original route was quite different. It started on the B9047 just to the north of its current western end and headed north for about 150m before ending at the next road junction. There seems no reason why this road was even classified.

Owing to the short length of the road it is often missed off maps, or at least not numbered, and so it is not known how long this short distance lasted, although it appears to have still been here in 1991. Logically the road should have been extended to the Ly Ness pier with the introduction of regular ferry services although this does not appear to have happened; in fact the original section of the B9048 was probably only declassified when the number was reassigned to the current route to the pier.

The 1922 MOT Road List defines this route as: Branch to Lyness