B961

The B961 is a cross-country B-road in south Angus which heads north east from Dundee.

Route

The route starts at the Scott Fyffe Roundabout at the eastern end of Kingsway and winds north along Douglas Road, passing a retail area to the left and housing on the right. Beyond the next roundabout, a section of dual-carriageway, is more of a suburban distributor road past leisure facilities, leading to the routes third roundabout. The B961 then follows Drumgeith Road as it slices across Drumgeith Park, bending sharply right to run along the parks northern fringe. Pitkerro Road, the original line of the B961 comes in from the left here at this bend. To the north of the park, the 1970s local authority housing estates are being redeveloped, some of the buildings appear to have been removed long ago with areas of parkland created, but these look as though they will be built on in the near future.

Beyond the park, the B961 passes an industrial area and more housing estates, but all are set well back from the road, often screened by trees, giving a spacious feeling to the road. This all comes to an end at Baldovie Toll, where the road sweeps round to the south onto Baldovie Road. This, however, is the B978, so the B961 must turn left here at a TOTSO for the B978, and then after a very short multiplex, the B961 turns right onto Drumsturdy Road. This marks a big change from the spacious Drumgeith Road, as it is a narrow road without pavements, hemmed in by old stone walls covered in ivy and with tall trees overhanging. The road does steadily open out, however, particularly after reaching the end of the speed limit and heading off across the fields.

Heading south into Newbigging

It crosses the fields on more-or-less flat land on a couple of long straights, passing a scattering of properties before becoming a little windier. Drumsturdy itself is little more than a couple of rows of roadside houses lying to the north of an obvious hill. At the far end is a T-junction where the road TOTSOs left; to the right is the B962. The B961 then heads north through the small village of Newbigging on Pitairlie Road, before starting to climb. A wee dip takes the road over the Pitairlie Burn before the climb resumes, to reach the Monikie Reservoirs. The road skirts the largest of these; however, owing to a shallow earth bank surrounding the reservoir it is rarely visible. The village of Craigton is nestled alongside, with the road curving between the village and the water, before turning north east once more and heading away from the reservoirs.

Junction with the B9127 near Redford

The road is now dead-straight for a few hundred yards to Kirkton of Monikie, after which there are several sharp corners - and some less sharp - as the road undulates across the fields and into Clearie Wood. A driveway to the left leads into the Crombie Country Park around Crombie Reservoir before the road reaches the B9128, which is crossed at a staggered crossroads. The next couple of miles are also quite straight, with the B9127 crossed at another staggered crossroads, after which the road begins to climb over the eastern end of the Sidlaw Hills. It passes through the tiny village of Redford, nestled in a fold in the hills, before climbing between Boath and Cairnconon Hills, reaching a summit of around 164m. A long steady descent across fields follows, mostly fairly straight, but with one sharp right kink at Cononsyth, and another just before the end. Presently the road reaches a T-junction on the A933 to the south of Friockheim, where it comes to an end.

History

The B961 originally started on the A929 to the north of Dundee city centre and headed northeast along Pitkerro Road, crossing the A972 Kingsway. After the next roundabout, Pitkerro Road crosses the DOughty Burn and curves to the east, reaching a gate. The B961 previously continued ahead here, winding across the parkland to reach the current route at the north west corner of Drumgeith Park. Since the 1970s this first section has been declassified and the southern end moved further east to the Scott Fyffe Roundabout on Kingsway, with the old road closed up in the middle.

Continuing east, the old layout at Baldovie Toll formed a crossroads, with the B961 continuing straight on into Drumsturdy Road. Differing traffic flows with the growth of the new housing estates clearly led to the current layout.

The 1922 MOT Road List defines this route as: Dundee - Carymyllie - Friockheim