B9006

The B9006 is a U-shaped road which heads east from Inverness and curves across the hills back to the shore at Ardersier.

Route

To Cawdor Castle

The route starts at the Millburn Roundabout junction with the B865, just to the west of the Raigmore Interchange on the A9 Inverness bypass. It heads south at first, winding along the tree lined Old Perth Road, the former route of the A9, which runs up a shallow valley for much of this stretch. A few houses appear on the right just before the route reaches a mini roundabout at a fork with Culcabock Road, the B853. From here the B9006 heads east, still following Old Perth Road, past Raigmore Hospital to the Inshes Roundabout, where it meets the A8082. The A8082 provides a link to the northbound A9, while the B9006 continues east on Culloden Road to cross the dual carriageway on a bridge and reach a signalised crossroads at the entrance to the new University of the Highlands and Islands Campus. A short spur to the right here connects with the southbound carriageway of the A9.

A very brief section of dual carriageway leads to another signalised junction, but beyond this the B9006 reverts to two lanes, having been 3, 4 or even 5 lanes wide through all of the junctions. The route now starts climbing the hill into the overspill suburban areas of Westhill, Smithton, Culloden and Balloch, collectively referred to as Culloden by those not familiar with Inverness, but each area has its own separate identity for the local residents. A little way up the hill, the B9177 forks off right to continue the former line of the A9, while the B9006 continues eastwards, now on a slightly realigned version of its historic route as it curves around to the south of the suburbs. Soon the road is out in fields, albeit liberally scattered with houses as it continues to climb onto Culloden Muir.

Part of the old road at Culloden Battlefield

Culloden Muir is a small part of the ridge of hills called Drumossie Muir, which run along the north side of Strath Nairn, separating it from the coast. It is also where the Battle of Culloden was fought in 1746, ending the Jacobites' attempts to reinstate the Stuart Kings. The road used to cross through the middle of the battlefield, but has been re-aligned in a sweep to the north to avoid this important historic and archaeological site, although it undoubtedly still crosses part of the wider site. The visitor centre lies at the eastern side of the Battlefield and just beyond the route meets the B851 at a difficult set of junctions around Cumberland's Stone. Turning right here leads past the spectacular Nairn Railway Viaduct or to the prehistoric Clava Cairns - several thousand years of history in a small area!

The route has crossed the 150m contour a couple of times near the battlefield, but now starts the long, gentle descent into Strath Nairn. There are some great views south across the valley, while houses and forestry line the roadside to the north. The road levels off before reaching the river, and then turns north east following a series of short straights punctuated by slight kinks through the scattered settlement of Cantraywood. Eventually it reaches the growing village of Croy and forks left at a TOTSO junction with the B9091. Before leaving the village, the road has dropped to single track, and then it crosses the eastern end of the Drumossie hills, down a much sharper descent to another TOTSO, this time with the B9090.

Now heading north, along one of Major Caulfeild's military roads, the route soon meets the A96 at Brackley Junction, a re-aligned staggered crossroads. A quick dogleg to the right leads onto the home straight, quite literally, as the road runs dead-straight across the fields to Ardersier. A slight hump takes the road over the railway, but otherwise the route follows a long gentle descent, to meet the B9092 at the entrance to the village. The junction is a staggered crossroads, the B9006 continuing ahead, finally finding a corner as it passes the War Memorial and drops sharply to almost sea level. A short distance further on, it meets the B9039, and as it leaves the village it starts to curve around the bay. The last mile runs along the back of the dunes to Fort George, the beach almost completely invisible, with the route ending just after the car park. A private, military road continues through a walled cutting into the fort itself.

History

The B9006 in 1922

As mentioned above, the first few miles out of Inverness is the old alignment of the A9, as far as the B9177 junction. The next section was originally unclassified but was added to the original B9006 route before 1932, with the exception of the new alignment around Culloden Battlefield, but it is only the piece north of the A96, running up to Fort George, which was originally allocated the B9006 number in 1922. The route originally continued further, running past the fort and ending at a slipway from where a ferry crossed to Chanonry Point (and thence along an unclassified road to Fortrose); this has not run for many years.

The 1922 MOT Road List defines this route as: Lower Crossroads - Fort George