B9075

The B9075 is a cross-country B-road on Shetland Mainland.

Route

The B9071 in lower Weisdale

Weisdale

The route starts on the A971 at Weisdale, at the head of Weisdale Voe; the A971 has to detour this far north to cross the stream and the B9075 continues northwards along the valley. It therefore climbs gently as it heads north, passing a prominent roadside church and then the scattered houses and farms that make up Weisdale village. There are also a number of blocks of trees to either side of the road - a rare sight on windswept Shetland. After a little over a mile the route bends sharply right at Setter and drops down quite steeply to cross the Burn of Weisdale. A new windfarm is being developed to the north, and so a new haul road now runs alongside the B9075 immediately to the north. It is not clear if this is intended to be removed when works are complete or if it will become the new line of the B9075.

After crossing the Burn, the road winds up the hill onto the moors, finding the lowest point in the long north - south ridge. Near the summit, a branch on the haul road heads north along the ridge from one turbine to the next. The B9075, meanwhile, descends again to the boggy north shore of Sand Water. It winds round the loch, crosses the Burn of Pettawater and climbs up the next hill a little to meet the A970 a T-junction. There is then a multiplex south for well over a mile before the B9075 regains its number.

Catfirth - Laxo

The route resumes at another T junction and quickly drops down the hill to skirt the northern end of Cat Firth, another inlet of the sea. After winding round the head of the firth, it reaches the scattered community of South Nesting, a collection of tiny villages which spread out westwards across the rugged landscape to the coast. The road passes a row of houses, and the local shop before heading northeast across the fields to reach the east coast. After winding round the southern shore of the Loch of Houlland, two long straights take it most of the way to the coast, the road becoming twistier again as it drops down to the shore of the West Voe of Skellister. The road then climbs a little to run along the often steep hillside a little above the water for a couple of miles to Brettabister, where the road bends sharply left, running round the war memorial, to head inland.

Road to North Nesting

The route now climbs again to cross a high ridge, with a summit of over 100m, before descending to the settlement of Dury. This is part of the community of North Nesting, another collection of small settlements, with a couple of side roads leading out to the coast. Dury itself is just a scattering of properties set on the hillside around the head of Dury Voe, another inlet. For the remainder of its route the B9075 contours around Riven Hill above Dury Voe. As Dury Voe narrows to form Laxo Voe, the road descends into the narrow valley at the head of the inlet. The stream is crossed and the road climbs to end at a T-junction on the B9071 at Laxo.

History

When the B9075 was first classified in 1922 it only ran through Weisdale, connecting the A970 and A971. The route had been extended to Laxo by 1932. Although there is a hint here and there that the road has been improved locally, this is no more than a slight easing of a bend, or improvement at a junction. Even the two terminal junctions, which have been improved, remain essentially single track. At the start on the A971, the B9075 has been extended a short distance south, with the A971 originally travelling further into Weisdale to cross the old bridge, which still survives before the church. The Laxo junction has also been improved, thanks to the B9071 being realigned and widened, creating a square crossroads in place of the original fork junction.

The 1922 MOT Road List defines this route as: Moustoft - Sandwater