B9085 (Shetland)

This article is about B9085 that ran within the Shetland Islands.
For the current B9085 in Edinburgh, see B9085.

The original B9085 was a short route in south Unst, in Shetland's North Isles.

The A968 (former B9085) towards Belmont

It started on the coast at Belmont to the north of the present pier. After zigzagging through the tiny settlement it headed northeast then east to meet the B9084 coming in from Uyeasound; this route originally continued north across the island. After World War II the entire B9085 was one of many roads taken over by the new A968. Belmont has since been bypassed.

The importance of the Belmont area is that it offers the shortest crossing between Yell and Unst. Old maps show the original ferry crossed from Cullivoe on Yell (where the B9080, B9082 and B9083 all originally met) and landed on Unst in Snarra Voe. A footpath then led to the road, passing to the north of the Loch of Snarravoe. That crossing was slightly shorter than the current route, between Gutcher and Belmont, but perhaps no quicker with the extra driving time that would be required. With the advent of car ferries, the islands were connected to Lerwick for the transport of cars, while a number of different passeneger routes between Yell and Unst seem to have been tried in a short space of time, before the current crossing was established in the 1950s.

The 1922 MOT Road List defines this route as: Uyeasound - Belmont