Crieff

Crieff is an important town lying on the banks of the River Earn in Central Perthshire. For centuries it was home to the Crieff Tryst, a huge annual livestock market where cattle and sheep from the Highlands and Islands were sold by drovers to dealers from as far afield as London. It has therefore long been an important destination on the road network, indeed perhaps it was more important 200 years ago than it is now. The town itself is a very pleasant place of fine old buildings set around the main square and along the streets that climb the hill around it. Shops and Hotels abound, with Crieff being one of the larger towns in the area, so making it an ideal stop for many tourists.

The A85 is the main road through the town, running from Perth just 15 or so miles to the east, right the way across the country to Oban on the West Highland Coast. Whilst it is perhaps quieter than the A84 from Stirling, the A85 is nevertheless a busy road in the tourist season, and if it wasn't for the difficult topography around the town it would surely have had a bypass built many years ago. In the centre of town, the A85 passes along one of the main shopping streets, and then TOTSOs right into Comrie Street, the onward road being a short unclassified link to the A822. To make matters worse, however, as the A85 winds its way out of town along Comrie Road, it is restricted to a narrow ledge above the Turret Burn and Macrosty Park, retaining walls supporting the road as is twists tortuously along. It is narrow too, making it difficult for cars to stay within the centre line, let alone larger vehicles.

The A822, as mentioned above, meets the A85, Comrie Street, just to the west of the town centre. The road then heads south and, at the bottom of town, crosses the Crieff Bridge over the River Earn. The road beyond was first built nearly 300 years ago by Major Caulfeild, and the continuation of the route to the north of Crieff is even older, having been built by General Wade as one of his Military Roads. The route to the north is now largely lost, crossing the golf course and finding the A822 once more beyond Gilmerton, the A822 having multiplexed with the A85 for the 2 miles east of Crieff.

In the past, the very short link along Lodge Street between the A85 and A822 was numbered as the A825, but it has long since been unclassified. The only other classified road in the town is the B8062, which starts on the A822 between the town centre and bridge and heads south east to Auchterarder.

Routes

Route	To	Notes
A85	Perth, Methven, M90 Motorway
A85	Comrie, Lochearnhead, Crianlarich
A822	Muthill, Braco, Stirling (A9)
A822	Aberfeldy (A826), Dunkeld	Via A85 to Gilmerton
B8062	Auchterarder
A825		Lodge Street in town centre