B9008

The B9008 is a cross-country B-road mostly in south Banffshire, though its extreme northern end just crosses the border into Moray.

Auchnarrow

The route starts on the eastern edge of Tomintoul on the A939 (former B970), at a T junction where that route has to TOTSO for the second time in half a mile. The B9008 initially heads northeastwards along a dead-straight road before crossing the Conglass Water at Bridge of Conglass and bending to the left. The road then climbs steadily through forestry to a summit of 390m before descending past fields and more forestry to reach Auchnarrow, which is at the bottom of a small valley. After crossing a burn, the road climbs a little above the narrow valley, before curving across the hillside and descending through patchy forestry into Tomnavoulin, in Glenlivet.

The road runs along the main street of the tiny village, passing a handful of buildings, although the large distillery is hidden away behind the trees. It then crosses the River Livet at Bridge of Livet and follows the glen downstream. After a mile or so the road bends round to the right to cross a side valley, with a wide and fairly flat hairpin bend in Auchbreck where the B9009 is met. The B9008 quickly returns to the banks of the Livet and winds northwards across the Bridge of Tombreckachie before turning westwards and being forced into a series of tight curves as it follows the meandering river along the narrow valley floor. This takes the route through the scattered settlement of Glenlivet, with a small riverside car park providing access to the ruinous remains of the Old Bridge of Glenlivet, a packhorse bridge possibly dating back to the 16th Century.

Just after passing Glenlivet cemetery, the route meets the B9136 which crosses the river, before slowly turning round to head north once more. Glenlivet soon runs into the valley of the River Avon, and so it is this river which is followed downstream for another couple of miles. The road is remarkably straight in places, and even some of the bends are gentle enough to offer decent forward visibility. Although never far from the river, the road sits a little way up the hillside and winds through trees for most of its run through Strath Avon. Eventually it bends to the left and after a final series of bends it ends on the hairpin bend on the A95 to the east of Bridge of Avon.

History

The southern section of this route was constructed c1794 by the Duke of Gordon as part of a new road he built across his estate between Dufftown and Tomintoul. The rest of that route is now the B9009. The remainder of the B9008 route appears to have been built in the early 19th Century as further improvements to his estates were carried out. Unlike many Highland roads built around that time, the Dukes roads appear to have been well constructed with good drainage, as there are no references to difficulties encountered on them. The route remains almost exactly as it was when first classified in 1922.

The 1922 MOT Road List defines this route as: Tomintoul - Bridge of Avon