B9086

Burrafirth

One of Britain's most northerly classified roads, the two-mile-long B9086 on the isle of Unst runs to within four miles of Muckle Flugga, the nearly-northernmost point of the United Kingdom (the smaller Shetland islet of Out Stack is actually a little further north).

The route starts at the UK's most northerly classified road junction at Haroldswick, where the B9087 turns off the A968, which itself morphs into the B9086, albeit very quickly losing the centre line and becoming single track. It then heads northwest across a wide, flat area of moorland fields, passing a scattering of houses and farms, with many more dotted about the landscape and accessed via the numerous side roads. The route is entirely single track, and so far has formed a series of straights, but after the junction for Quoys, a sweeping bend starts the gentle climb into the low hills ahead. A slight dip between the hills provides a route for the B9086, and as this dip narrows, the few scattered houses of Burrafirth sit to either side of the road. Back down at sea level, the route crosses the outflow of the Loch of Cliff and ends soon after at a T junction with a track and an unclassified road. This minor road runs out to the old Muckle Flugga Lighthouse Shore station on the shores of Burra Firth, with a large car park above.

There appears to be some local confusion about this road, however, as signs at its starting point near Haroldswick suggest that the B9087 heads in both directions. This is believed to be a signing error, as maps show the B9086 as extant, and at the very next junction it is correctly signed. Furthermore, some maps claim (in equally unlikely fashion) that the coast road through Haroldswick is a disconnected spur of the B9086 despite its being the original route of the B9087.

The 1922 MOT Road List defines this route as: Haroldswick - Burrafirth