B992

The B992 is a long B-road in central Aberdeenshire.

Route

Whitehouse - Insch

Winding through trees on the Howe of Alford

The route starts on the A944 a couple of miles east of [{Alford]] at Whitehouse and heads north, skirting the eastern edge of the Howe of Alford. The road winds gently, along the base of the hills to the east, passing through fields and a couple of woods before dropping down to the River Don. The river immediately meanders away and the comes back, to be crosses at the narrow Bridge of Keig a few hundred yards later to reach Keig. The route then climbs along a tree lined straight to the small village of Keig, with the grounds of Castle Forbes to the east. At the entrance to the village, which mostly lies off to the left, the B992 reaches a crossroads and TOTSOs right, curving round to follow the Burn of Keig upstream.

Now in hillier terrain the road crosses the nose of a hill to find the Towie Burn and follows its shallow valley upstream, passing between the hills. The climb is not particularly challenging, with a series of short straights between windier bits as the road passes between fields, dotted with occasional houses and blocks of forestry on the higher slopes. Eventually a summit is reached at just under 250m and suddenly a stunning view opens out ahead as the the road cascades steeply down a series of sweeping bends. A patchwork of fields and forestry on the gently rolling hills lies spread out ahead, but the view is soon lost as the road descends quickly to cross a burn and enter Auchleven, which rather confusingly also seems to be called Premnay.

At the bottom of the hill, the route crosses a small burn and turns left to climb into the village. It runs along the main street, crossing a crossroads in the centre before continuing north past the school and out across more rolling fields on the far side. There are only a couple of roadside properties in these fields, a handful more set back along side roads and driveways, before the route curves around the wooded Carrier's Hill. A steady descent leads down to a T-junction on the B9002 on the western edge of Insch. This was once the A979, so it maintains priority at both junctions and the short multiplex eastwards along North Road before the B992 resumes. The multiplex also features a level crossing over the main Aberdeen to Inverness line.

Insch - Towie

The B992 north of Insch

The B992 now heads north along Commercial Road, passing a selection of old, mostly detached stone houses into the centre of the town, where it becomes Commerce Street. Shops and businesses are strung along the roadside, before an offset crossroads with the High Street offers an awkward kink. The B992 then follows Drumossie Street as it winds northwards, past a large new housing estate and a business park, slowly climbing out of town. Shortly afterwards the road bends sharply to the right and descends to the east to reach the A96 at Kellockbank Crossroads. The junction is a staggered crossroads, which has been thoroughly rebuilt to remove a bend on the A96, and so the B992 now briefly multiplexes left before resuming its eastwards journey on the far side of a field to the original line.

The road soon loses its centre line as it heads east along a short straight before having to TOTSO left. A longer, undulating straight takes it north before it zigzags between farms to reach a T-junction on the A920 below Cairn Hill. The two routes then multiplex east for over half a mile, although the straight on the A920 is nearly 2 miles long in total. The B992 turns left to regain its number, remaining narrow, although generally wide enough for two cars to pass. It climbs steeply at first up the southern flank of the Hill of Rothmaise, before the gradient eases and the route crosses the shallow saddle. A sharp left turn leads to a long straight, at the end of which the route turns sharp right into the little village of Fisherford, which sits in a dip astride the Black Burn.

The route then winds northeastwards through fields, reaching a summit of over 180m in this sparsely populated landscape, before descending to a crossroads at Badenscoth, where it has to give way to the B9001. On the far side the road widens to full S2 once again - but not for long. It dips down the western flank of Gordonstown Hill on a long straight before crossing the River Ythan at Bridge of Templand. The valley is followed downstream to Kirkton of Auchterless, a single street village strung along the roadside for over half a mile. The route then climbs gently as it bears left to reach Dykeside, from where it undulates gently eastwards for a time before a short sharp descent around a double bend. A couple of short straights then lead to the end of the route at a T-junction on the A947.

The 1922 MOT Road List defines this route as: Whitehouse - Insch - Auchterless Station