B9091

The B9091 runs parallel to the A96 to the west of Nairn.

Balblair

The route starts at an almost blind T junction in a cutting below the railway line on the B9090 on the southern edge of Nairn. Immediately to the north, the B9090 passes under the railway, leading to the tight confines of the junction. It climbs west on Balblair Road, climbing past the Inverness-bound platform of Nairn station then levelling out as it continues alongside the railway line. Soon it bears left, briefly narrowing to almost single track as it passes a substantial timber yard and sawmill before heading out into open country. The road then meanders gently across the fields, often lined with trees, and climbs over a low ridge. Along the way, it narrows and loses the central white line. The descent from the ridge is steep and leads to a sharp left-right zigzag near Kildrummie.

The road continues to gently meander south west, climbing slowly onto the Muir of the Clans, named from its role in the Battle of Culloden in 1746. A series of straights then leads past a couple of farms and into a larger block of forestry. A couple of houses are passed in a clearing on a sweeping S-bend and presently the road emerges from the trees and widens as it enters Clephanton. Here it meets the B9090 again at a crossroads; and has to give way as it continues ahead. Beyond Clephanton, the B9091 remains S2 as it takes over as the 'bypass' route between Moray and Inverness. It soon passes into mixed woodland again, with a smooth curve replacing a couple of sharp bends before straightening up. It leaves the wood just before reaching Croy, where the road splits. The right fork follows the original route of the B9091 into the village, ending at a T-junction on the B9006 by Croy Shop. The newer B9091 mainline bypasses the village to end at a TOTSO on the same road, which continues ahead to Culloden and Inverness.

History

The route was originally unclassified but gained its number in around 1924/5, and is shown on the 1926 Michelin Map. This map, perhaps erroneously, shows the B9090 reaching Croy, with the B9091 only being a short route north from Clephanton to meet the B9006 near the A96. If this is correct as the original route, then it is not known if it was extended east towards Nairn before it swapped numbers with the B9090 here. The current routes are shown on the 1932 OS Ten Mile Map. As noted above, there have been a couple of more modern changes to the B9091 route around Croy. A short distance to the east of the village, a right-angled double bend has been bypassed since 2014, with the old road still being visible, blocked by boulders, at the western end. In the village itself, the route used to follow the spur through the village to meet the B9006. The straighter bypass route is somewhat older than the other improvement, perhaps dating from the 1990s.