B9081

The B9081 is a B-road in the south of the Shetland island of Yell forming a loop off the A968.

Route

Passing Houlland

The route starts on the A968 at Bay of Ulsta, just to the north of the ferry terminal connecting Yell with Mainland. To begin with the road heads northeast and climbs a long straight onto the moors, reaching a summit of nearly 60m above the small Loch of Ulsta. It then winds eastwards down hill, dropping down to the island's south coast at Hamnavoe. A long straight runs between the village and the sea, continuing past Houlland village as well before turning inland and passing to the north of the Loch of Littlester. The route then passes the scattered houses of Kettlester and climbs a blind summit to enter Burravoe, a small coastal village which is the largest settlement in the south of the island. The road then doubles back on itself to head north at a sharp bend by the school.

The route quickly leaves the village behind and climbs steadily north, roughly parallel to the coast but about a mile inland. It slips through a gap in the hills, which offers some fine views from the summit of around 70m. There is then a long snaking descent down into the small valley of Gossabrough Dale and out again, running along the hill above the Wick of Gossabrough, with a side turning leading down to the scattered houses around the head of the bay. Although the route now stays much closer to the coast, it starts climbing again to avoid the steep slopes above the coast, meaning that the views become more widespread, looking across to the cliffs of Fetlar. A summit of 88m is reached before it dips down into the small scattered village of Otterswick. Here the C502 turns off and takes a more coastal route north to Mid Yell.

Another climb reaches the overall summit of 135m next to the transmitter station, from where a long, sinuous descent leads into Mid Yell, the largest settlement on the island. A new piece of road was built here in 2009, leaving a complex junction layout. The B9081 now turns hard right to head down towards the centre of the village, briefly gaining a centre line on the bend. It then TOTSOs left onto the new piece of road, the route ahead being the other end of the C502, and doubles back, past the now closed up section of the former route. Although this layout makes little sense for traffic following the B9081, it is a big improvement for the residents of Mid Yell, who are the primary users of the junction.

The last section of the B9081 winds north west across the moors, climbing a little at first before dropping down to the head of Mid Yell Voe. Bits of it are single track still, but many of the passing places have become so long that they have joined together, nominally forming a two-way carriageway for over half of the distance. Before long, however, the route turns round to the right and climbs a little to meet the A968 at a simple T junction, with one of Shetland's characteristic parking areas next to the bus shelter.

History

The original route of the B9081

The original route of the B9081 started on the pier at Ulsta and then went via West Sandwick on the islands west coast instead of Burravoe on the east coast, using the route now numbered A968. The current B9081 is therefore on part of the route of the original B9080. However, the reason behind all of this is that the A968 was originally extended over the B9080 route in the early 1950s, before later swapping with the more direct B9081 in 1971!

The 1922 MOT Road List defines this route as: Ulsta - Sandwick - Mid Yell