This is a long-term personal project to describe in detail some of the single-digit and two-digit A-class roads in Scotland. It is very much a work in progress, and will probably remain so for many months yet.
At this stage, none of the roads have been completed - most are completely empty. Some, inevitably, will remain empty - I don't want to make promises that I can't live up to. Please do not advertise that this page even exists!
If others manage to publish their own descriptions of these roads before I get round to it, so be it!
The A7 is the traditional route between Carlisle and Edinburgh, and passes through three of the Border towns, Hawick, Selkirk and Galashiels - all three known for the textiles and for rugby. The road has seen little drastic improvement since the 1960s, and is still single carriageway with frequent speed limits through the towns and villages which punctuate its route. However, it's not an extremely busy road, and still can be quite fun to drive.
The route begins at a roundabout in Carlisle, with the A6 heading south through Carlisle and the start of the A7 leading over the River Eden to the north. The first couple of miles are still within the town of Carlisle, with a 30 mph limit. Approaching the outskirts of the built up area, the road becomes dual carriageway - a side road on the left at the start of the dual carriageway is the original start of the A74. The north end of the dual carriageway is the M6 J44, and the present start of the A74.
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The A7 is a primary route between Carlisle and Galashiels only.
The A70 starts at Edinburgh's Haymarket junction, and runs along Dalry Road. It passes under the West Approach Road (no access) before the Ardmillan Terrace junction, where the A71 splits off. One block later, the A70 turns onto Lanark Road, joining traffic from Dundee Street and from the Wester Approach Road. Lanark Road is a 'Greenway', a bus priority route, and runs through the Slateford district
After crossing the Water of Leith, the road climbs steadily, following a ridge, and occasionally giving glimpses south to the Pentland Hills. The the A720 City of Edinburgh By-pass without a direct connection. To the southwest of Edinburgh, the only significant development outside the A720 is the string of villages along the A70: Juniper Green, Currie, and Balerno. To the south, views open up to the Pentland Hills. The road is well constructed and well aligned, and has gaps of three to five miles between side roads, so long stretches can be driven comfortably at the speed limit.
The A71 branches off the A70 in Edinburgh,
The first few hundred metres pass through the Gorgie district, a mix of former slums and industrial land, but now refurbished with new flats and shops. The first major feature of the road, just into Gorgie
Unlike the other early Scottish motorways, the M73 was built some distance from its namesake, and
The A74 is a road which has changed considerably in character over the years. Through the 1960s and 1970s, most of the route was progressively upgraded to either motorway or to fast dual-carriageway. In the 1980s, and 1990s, most of the dual-carriageway was further upgraded to motorway. Very little remains of the road which carried traffic in the early years of the 20th century, and virtually none of the dual carriageway built in the 1960s.
Formerly Monkton-Irvine-Gourock
Link to separate A8 page.
Link to separate A82 page
Formerly only to Kyle of Lochalsh.
Number originally used for Inverness to Scrabster, which is now part of the A9.
With the construction of the new Edinburgh-Glasgow Road between 1924 and 1928, the sections of the old A8 which were replaced west of Bathgate were renumbered as A89. A second phase of road building, which saw the new A8 supplanted by the M8 as the main route, also saw the A89 number extended east from Bathgate to the motorway terminus at Newbridge.
Link to separate A9 page.
Link to separate A90 page.
The A93 is a tourist route through some of the best of the central highlands.
The road begins in the outskirts of Perth, with a junction off the A94