B9005

This article is about the current B9005 from Fyvie to Ellon.
For the former B9005 along the Aberdeenshire Coast, now the A975, see B9005 (Newburgh - Cruden Bay).

The B9005 is a largely rural road in north Aberdeenshire.

Route

The B9005 TOTSO in Fyvie

The route starts at a realigned T junction on the A947 in Fyvie and heads north across the River Ythan for the first time. Fyvie is a strangely laid out village, where the shops and services normally asosciated with a village centre are clustered around the junction and river, while the main block of housing sits a little to the east, separated by a couple of small fields. The B9005 is just as odd, as it TOTSOs to the right by the war memorial to curve around the southern edge of the residential area, passing the church and heading out into open country. It climbs steadily up out of the valley, winding between fields to gain height before levelling out at Greenmyre. A straighter section then leads east into Woodhead, where it forks left in the middle of the village.

Now heading north east, a series of long straights lead through Cottown of Fetterletter and on across fields scattered with farms and blocks of woodland. A sharp right bend at a realigned crossroads turns the route eastwards through Gight, with a long gradual descent back into the valley of the River Ythan. After emerging from the trees, the road crosses Little Burn on Waterloo Bridge which was rebuilt in 2018, and then follows the Ythan downstream past Ardo to Methlick. A long line of bungalows look out across the river as the B9005 runs down to a T-junction with the B9170 (former A981). The two routes then multiplex south across Methlick Bridge over the Ythan and into the village centre on Main Road.

The B9170 had maintained priority at the first junction, and thanks to being the former A981 it is the dominant partner. However, after passing the war memorial the B9170 TOTSOs right and the B9005 regains its number by continuing ahead along Main Road, once more lined by large detached properties looking out across the river. Continuing downstream, with the river to the left, the substantial grounds of Haddo House (home of the Marquesses of Aberdeen, now owned by the NTS) lie behind the trees to the right. The road winds gently, never straight for long, with the river meandering back and forth across the shallow valley floor alongside. Two left turns lead across Tangland Bridge over the river, and a couple of miles further on a sharp left-hand bend takes the B9005 back over the river on the Bridge of Auchedly and into Ythanbank.

The B9005 looking toward Ythanbank

On the west bank of the river, the B9005 is curved to cross the bridge, but in Ythanbank it has to TOTSO right at a T-junction. The village is not large, however, and soon the road is winding through fields once more, before climbing a little away from the river. As it drops down towards the river once more, there's another T-junction and a TOTSO to the left, the right turn leading back across the river at the Bridge of Ardelthen. Two short straights later and the route runs into Ellon along Craigs Road, with modern housing estates set back behind trees to either side. Craigs Road curves round to become Station Road, which leads right into the town centre. Here, at a crossroads the B9005 TOTSOs right into Bridge Street which leads down to a roundabout at the north end of the Bridge of Ellon.

The A920 comes in from the left here and the two routes multiplex south over the Ythan on the new bridge which stands alongside the historic older crossing. The multiplex ends at the next set of lights where the A920 turns right and the B9005 continues ahead to climb out of town along South Road. The last house is soon passed, and the route heads south east across fields to a roundabout, where the route ends on the A90 eastern bypass.

History

The route was originally unclassified but had gained its number by 1932, making it an early example of a recycled number. Apart from a couple of improved junctions, as noted above, there seem to be few changes to the route since it was first classified. However, the construction of the A90 and A948 bypasses have led to some changes in Ellon. Originally, the route continued ahead at the Bridge Street crossroads to the very end of Station Road, Bridge Street being the original southern end of the A948. The B9005 then ended on the old A92 at The Square. With the opening of the A948 bypass, the route was extended southeast from Ellon along the original line of the A92. This road became an extension of the A948 when the first bypass (now the A90) was built in the 1980s and only became an extension of the B9005 when Ellon gained its northern bypass some years later.