A861 road

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UK road A861.svg
A861
Location
Country United Kingdom
Constituent country Scotland
Road network
A861 near Resipole in June 2009 A861 near Resipole - geograph.org.uk - 1357529.jpg
A861 near Resipole in June 2009

The A861 road is a circuitous, primarily coastal, road in Lochaber, within the Highland council area of Scotland. [1]

The A861 serves the communities of the remote Ardgour, Sunart, Moidart and Ardnamurchan areas Although the ends of this road are only 14 miles (23 km) apart (the direct link being by way of the A830 road) its total length is 80 miles (130 km). [2]

The last stretch to be built was the part from Kinlochmoidart to Lochailort. It was opened on 29 July 1966 by the Minister of State for Scotland, George Willis M.P. Mr Willis described it as the longest completely new road to be built in Scotland since the days of Thomas Telford, 150 years earlier. [3]

Route (clockwise)

The A861 is a long-way-round route in the Lochaber area of western Scotland, connecting the A830 Fort William to Mallaig road with itself via the shores of Loch Sunart. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lochaber</span> Ward management area of the Highland Council

Lochaber is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig, as they were before being reduced in extent by the creation of Quoad Sacra parishes in the 19th century. Lochaber once extended from the Northern shore of Loch Leven, a district called Nether Lochaber, to beyond Spean Bridge and Roybridge, which area is known as Brae Lochaber or Braigh Loch Abar in Gaelic. Lochaber is now also used to refer to a much wider area, one of the 16 ward management areas of the Highland Council of Scotland and one of eight former local government districts of the two-tier Highland region. The main town of Lochaber is Fort William.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argyll</span> Historic county in Scotland

Argyll, sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilchoan</span> Village on Ardnamurchan peninsula in Scotland

Kilchoan is a village on the Scottish peninsula of Ardnamurchan, beside the Sound of Mull in Lochaber, Highland. It is the most westerly village in mainland Britain, although several tiny hamlets lie further west on the peninsula. The western linear, coastal parts of the village are Ormsaigmore and Ormsaigbeg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ardnamurchan</span>

Ardnamurchan is a 50-square-mile (130-square-kilometre) peninsula in the ward management area of Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, noted for being very unspoiled and undisturbed. Its remoteness is accentuated by the main access route being a single track road for much of its length. The most westerly point of mainland Great Britain, Corrachadh Mòr, is in Ardnamurchan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch Shiel</span> Freshwater loch in Scotland

Loch Shiel is a freshwater loch situated 20 kilometres (12 mi) west of Fort William in the Highland council area of Scotland. At 28 kilometres long it is the 4th longest loch in Scotland, and is the longest to have retained a natural outflow without any regulation of its water level, being 120 m (393 ft) deep. Its nature changes considerably along its length, being deep and enclosed by mountains in the north east and shallow surrounded by bog and rough pasture in the south west, from which end the 4 km River Shiel drains to the sea in Loch Moidart near Castle Tioram.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ardgour</span>

Ardgour is an area of the Scottish Highlands on the western shore of Loch Linnhe. It lies north of the district of Morvern and east of the district of Sunart. Administratively it is now part of the ward management area of Lochaber, in Highland council area. It forms part of the traditional shire and current registration county of Argyll.

Moidart is part of the remote and isolated area of Scotland, west of Fort William, known as the Rough Bounds. Moidart itself is almost surrounded by bodies of water. Loch Shiel cuts off the eastern boundary of the district and continues along part of the southern edge. The remainder of the southern edge is cut off by Loch Moidart. The north is cut off by Loch Morar and Loch Ailort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenuig</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Glenuig is a small village in Moidart, Lochaber, Highland, on the west coast of Scotland. It is around 30 miles west of Fort William and 20 miles from Ardnamurchan Point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunart</span>

Sunart is a rural district and community in the south west of Lochaber in Highland, Scotland, on the shores of Loch Sunart, and part of the civil parish of Ardnamurchan. The main village is Strontian, at the head of the loch, which is the location of Ardnamurchan High School, the local fire station, police station and other facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morvern</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Morvern, historically also spelt Morven, is a peninsula and traditional district in the Highlands, on the west coast of Scotland. It lies south of the districts of Ardgour and Sunart, and is bounded on the north by Loch Sunart and Glen Tarbert, on the south east by Loch Linnhe and on the south west by the Sound of Mull. The highest point is the summit of the Corbett Creach Bheinn which reaches 853 metres (2,799 ft) in elevation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lochailort</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Lochailort is a hamlet in Scotland that lies at the head of Loch Ailort, a sea loch, on the junction of the Road to the Isles (A830) between Fort William and Mallaig with the A861 towards Salen and Strontian. It is served by Lochailort railway station on the West Highland Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Achaphubuil</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Achaphubuil is a small settlement to the north of Ardgour in Lochaber, in the Highlands of Scotland. Achaphubuil lies to the south of The Narrows, which link Loch Linnhe to Loch Eil. The village of Corpach is on the opposite shore, with Fort William across Loch Linnhe to the north-east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sound of Arisaig</span>

The Sound of Arisaig Lochaber, Scotland, separates the Arisaig peninsula to the north from the Moidart peninsula to the south. At the eastern, landward end, the sound is divided by Ardnish into two sea lochs. Loch nan Uamh lies to the north of Ardnish, Loch Ailort to the south. There are a number of small islands in the sound, of which Eilean nan Gobhar and Samalaman Island, both near to Glenuig on the south shore, are the largest.

National Cycle Route 78 runs from Campbeltown to Inverness. It was officially launched as the Caledonia Way in 2016 as part of the wider redevelopment of Scotland's cycle network. It runs from the Kintyre peninsula to the Great Glen and the route varies from on road to traffic-free forest trails and canal paths.

Corran is a former fishing village, situated on Corran Point, on the west side of the Corran Narrows of Loch Linnhe, in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. There are three small settlements set apart from the main cluster of houses: North Corran, Clovullin and Sallachan. The Highland Council Corran Ferry runs to Corran from eastern shore of the Narrows and the Corran Point Lighthouse is located there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corran Ferry</span>

The Corran Ferry crosses Loch Linnhe at the Corran Narrows, south of Fort William, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch Eilt</span> Body of water

Loch Eilt is a freshwater loch in Lochaber, in the West Highlands of Scotland. It is between the villages of Glenfinnan and Lochailort, 30 km west of Fort William. The A830 road runs along the north shore, while the West Highland Line railway follows the south shore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morar, Moidart and Ardnamurchan National Scenic Area</span>

Morar, Moidart and Ardnamurchan is a national scenic area (NSA) covering the coastal scenery of three peninsulas in the western Highlands of Scotland: Ardnamurchan, Moidart and Morar. It is one of 40 such areas in Scotland, which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development by restricting certain forms of development. The Morar, Moidart and Ardnamurchan NSA covers 36,956 ha in total, consisting of 17,220 ha of land with a further 19,736 ha being marine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inninmore Bay</span> Body of water

Inninmore Bay is a small shallow coastal embayment, on a chord of 1.74 miles, on a 215° orientation, in the Morvern peninsula in Lochaber, in the western coast of Scotland, and is some three miles east-south-east of the entrance to Loch Aline.

References

  1. Neil, Wilson (2008). Scotland . ISBN   9781741047257.
  2. "The Ardnamurchan Loop, stage-by-stage | Breathtaking Roads Coastal". Don't Risk It. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  3. "A new road between Lochailort and Kinacarra" (PDF). Moidart.org.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  4. "A861 - Roader's Digest: The SABRE Wiki". www.sabre-roads.org.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  5. Mary, Miers (26 December 2018). The West Highland Line. ProQuest   2175263796.

Coordinates: 56°41′16″N5°27′23″W / 56.68782°N 5.45643°W / 56.68782; -5.45643