The Nest Roundabout

The Nest Roundabout is a small roundabout set amongst trees on the north bank of the River Tweed. It marks the western end of the A707, where it ends on the A72. In the past the route through the Tweed Valley was primary, so the A707 and western part of the A72 formed the primary route between Selkirk and Peebles. Today, however, neither are primary. The third arm of the roundabout is the northern portion of the A72 which crosses the hills to reach Galashiels, the largest urban area in the Borders. This means that the two arms of the A72 are far busier in terms of traffic volume than the A707 is. All three arms of the roundabout provide two approach lanes for turning traffic. The northern arm of the A72 also has two exit lanes to provide a climbing lane out of the valley.

History

The old fork junction in 1964

The current junction replaces a very sharp fork which survived into the 1970s. The gradient of the valley sides does not seem particularly severe today, but for some reason the northern arm of the A72 used to turn sharply west immediately before meeting the A707 and the two routes very slowly converged, This is suggestive of a substantial height difference which is no longer apparent. The general lie of the land, surviving field boundaries, and some old tarmac around a field entrance all suggest that the A707 has been turned and lifted up to meet the A72, rather than the latter cut down to the old level of the A707. However, nature has so thoroughly reclaimed the landscape since the roundabout was built that it is very difficult to be certain.

Routes

Route	To	Notes
A72	Peebles
A72	Galashiels
A707	Selkirk