A9 road
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The A9 is a major road in Scotland, which runs from Edinburgh to Thurso and the A836. It is also the longest road in Scotland.
Between Edinburgh and Stirling, the A9 is a motorway (the M9), while sections of the original A9 pass through the towns of Linlithgow and Falkirk, running alongside the motorway.
Just north of Stirling, the A9 from Bridge of Allan merges with the M9 at Dunblane and becomes a proper trunk road, travelling north east, bypassing Blackford and Auchterarder, and arriving at Broxden Junction in Perth. From here the road heads west and then north, towards Pitlochry and Aberfeldy then through the Grampian Mountains on a northerly route, taking in Dalwhinnie, Kingussie and Aviemore, before reaching Inverness. This 113-mile long section was substantially rebuilt in the 1970s to bypass these various towns.
Crossing the Kessock bridge, the A9 becomes the main route in the far north of Scotland, passing near Invergordon, Tain, Dornoch and Helmsdale before finally heading north to the port of Thurso.
The A9 is often nicknamed as the "Spine of Scotland", as it runs straight up through the centre of the mainland. However the Perth-Inverness section in recent years has gained a somewhat notorious reputation for speeding-related accidents and fatalities, which has seen it being dubbed "The Killer".
In Caithness
| A9 in Caithness | ||
|---|---|---|
| Places | Junctions* | Grid references |
| *with other classified roads | ||
| Ord | None | Template:Gbmappingsmall |
| Berriedale | None | Template:Gbmappingsmall |
| Dunbeath | None | Template:Gbmappingsmall |
| Latheron | A99 | Template:Gbmappingsmall |
| Mybster | B870 | Template:Gbmappingsmall |
| Georgemas | A882 | Template:Gbmappingsmall |
| Georgemas | B874 | Template:Gbmappingsmall |
| Thurso | A836 | Template:Gbmappingsmall |
| Thurso | B874 | Template:Gbmappingsmall |
| Thurso | A836 | Template:Gbmappingsmall |
| Scrabster | None | Template:Gbmappingsmall |
The northbound traveller reaches the traditional county of Caithness at the Ord of Caithness, about 3 miles (5 kilometres) northwest of Helmsdale. The road here is close to the North Sea coast, which it follows for a further 15 miles (23 kilometres), passing through Berriedale and Dunbeath to reach Latheron.
At Latheron the road has a junction with the A99 which offers a coastal route towards Wick and John O Groats. The A9 turns inland.
At Mybster, about 14 miles (22 kilometres) north of Latheron, the A9 is crossed by the B870, which offers routes east and west, to Watten and Westerdale.
In the Georgemas area, about 5 miles (7 kilometres) further north the A9 has a junction with the A882, which leads east/southeast towards Wick. Also in the Georgemas area the A9 is crossed by the B874, offering routes towards Lochshell and the A99 (near Wick) to the east/southeast, and towards Halkirk to the west. At this point the A9 traveller is about 5 miles (8 kilometres) from Thurso.
In Thurso the A9 has staggered junctions with the A836 and, between these, a junction with the B874. The staggered junctions are about one mile (two kilometres) apart and offer routes east and west towards John O Groats and Tongue. The B874 leads south towards Halkirk.
The A9 terminates at the Thurso Bay habour of Scrabster.