The A70 road is a major road in
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. It runs a total of from
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
to
Ayr
Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...
. It begins as Dalry Road at the
junction with the
A8, passing near but not through
Lanark
Lanark ( ; ; ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a populatio ...
and ending as Miller Road in
Ayr
Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...
. Between Edinburgh city centre and Lanark it passes through the Edinburgh suburbs of
Slateford
Slateford () is an area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is east of the Water of Leith.
The former village of Slateford lies on the Lanark Road where it crosses the Water of Leith, south west of Slateford Station. The name "Slatefo ...
,
Juniper Green
Juniper Green is a village on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated about south-west of the city centre. It bridges the city bypass, and extends along the foothills of the Pentlands. It is bordered by Colinton to the east, Baberto ...
,
Currie
Currie is a village and suburb on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated south west of the city centre. Formerly within the County of Midlothian, it now falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edinburgh Council. It is situated be ...
and
Balerno
Balerno () is a village on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland situated south-west of the city centre, next to Currie and then Juniper Green. Traditionally in the county of Midlothian it now administratively falls within the jurisdiction o ...
; then
Carnwath
Carnwath (Gaelic: ''A' Chathair Nuadh''; English: "New Fort") is a moorland village on the southern edge of the Pentland Hills of South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The village lies about south of both Edinburgh and Glasgow. It is bounded by the N ...
(where the A70 joins the A721 for three miles),
Carstairs
Carstairs (, Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteal Tarrais'') is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Carstairs is located east of the county town of Lanark and the West Coast Main Line runs through the village. The village is served by Carstairs r ...
(where the two roads separate again), and
Ravenstruther
Ravenstruther ( ; ) is a small hamlet in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, near the town of Lanark. In 1517 the lands of Carstairs
Carstairs (, Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteal Tarrais'') is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Carstairs is loca ...
, while between Lanark and Ayr it passes through Hyndford Bridge,
Rigside
Rigside is a small village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, about from the town of Lanark, and less than from Douglas Water. It lies on the A70 road to Ayr, and has approximately 800 inhabitants.
Rigside is a former mining village. The villa ...
,
Douglas
Douglas may refer to:
People
* Douglas (given name)
* Douglas (surname)
Animals
* Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking
* Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...
,
Muirkirk
Muirkirk () is a small village in East Ayrshire, southwest Scotland. It is located on the north bank of the River Ayr, between Cumnock and Glenbuck on the A70.
Conservation
The Muirkirk & North Lowther Uplands Special Protection Area was s ...
, Smallburn,
Cumnock
Cumnock (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cumnag'') is a town and former civil parish located in East Ayrshire, Scotland. The town sits at the confluence of the Glaisnock Water and the Lugar Water. There are three neighbouring housing projects which lie j ...
,
Ochiltree
Ochiltree is a conservation village in East Ayrshire, Scotland, near Auchinleck and Cumnock. It is one of the oldest villages in East Ayrshire, with archaeological remains indicating Stone Age and Bronze Age settlers. A cinerary urn was found i ...
, and
Coylton
Coylton () is a village and civil parish in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is east of Ayr and west of Drongan, on the A70 road, A70. Sundrum Castle Holiday Park is to the west of the village, in the grounds of Sundrum Castle, which partly date ...
.
The Scots name of the road is the "Lang Whang", a whang in the
Scots tongue being a narrow strip of leather, usually a long leather bootlace. Much of the road is over elevated, desolate moorland; it ascends several times on its course to heights over 1000 feet above sea level. Because the wind enjoys an easy and uninterrupted passage over its length, in winter the road is frequently closed by snow, even by modest snowfalls. The road passes elevated farmland and grouse moor and presents extensive views over central Scotland to the north.
According to tradition,
Robert Burns
Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...
stopped at the formerly thatched Wee Bush Inn in Carnwath on his way to Edinburgh: quite a likely event since the road is the most direct link between the Scottish capital and Burn's native Ayrshire. As the story has it, all Burns could think of to engrave on the inn window (a habit for which he had a reputation) was, "Lang Whang, Lang Whang, Lang bloody Whang", which neatly sums up the prospect for anybody facing the walk, ride or cycle along it, especially in winter. It was one of the roads along which the murderers
Burke and Hare
The Burke and Hare murders were a series of sixteen murders committed over a period of about ten months in 1828 in Edinburgh, Scotland. They were undertaken by William Burke and William Hare, who sold the corpses to Robert Knox for dissection ...
brought the cadavers of their victims for the Edinburgh Medical College to dissect.
The Collins 2012 Big Road Atlas shows the A70 as one of the five most dangerous roads in Scotland, based on the number of serious and fatal accidents between 2007 and 2009 in proportion to traffic. There are many extremely dangerous sections: particular blackspots are the crown of Auchinoon Brae on the approach to Harperigg Reservoir and the right angled bends at the east end of the reservoir. Any of the undulating and winding terrain between Balerno and Carnwath where oncoming cars can be concealed by dips in the road can be considered dangerous and there is barely a half-mile stretch of the Lang Whang between Balerno and Carnwath which has not witnessed a fatal accident over the past twenty years.

The A70 is purportedly the scene of one of Scotland's best-known
UFO
An unidentified flying object (UFO) is an object or phenomenon seen in the sky but not yet identified or explained. The term was coined when United States Air Force (USAF) investigations into flying saucers found too broad a range of shapes ...
incidents, now known as 'the A70 incident'. Two men, Garry Wood and Colin Wright, were travelling one evening in 1992 from the outskirts of Edinburgh to the village of
Tarbrax
Tarbrax (Scottish Gaelic: "An Tòrr Breac" - meaning "the speckled tor") is a small village in the Parish of Carnwath, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is at the end of a dead end road off the A70 road between Edinburgh and Carnwath.
Tarbrax ...
. Something evidently caused them to be delayed, for they arrived at their destination much later than expected. Several months later the pair underwent
hypnotic regression
Age regression in therapy is a psycho-therapeutic process that aims to facilitate access to childhood memories, thoughts, and feelings. Age regression can be induced by hypnotherapy, which is a process where patients move their focus to memorie ...
and claimed to recall that they had been abducted, examined and communicated with by alien creatures.
From Little Vantage on the A70 near Harperrig Reservoir, a footpath (called Thieves Road) heads south across the upper reaches of the
Water of Leith
The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing through central Edinburgh, Scotland, that starts in the Pentlands Hills and flows into the port of Leith and then into the sea via the Firth of Forth.
Name
The ...
and continues across moorland to a pass over the
Pentland Hills
The Pentland Hills are a range of hills southwest of Edinburgh, Scotland. The range is around in length, and runs southwest from Edinburgh towards Biggar and the upper Clydesdale.
Etymology
The hills take their name from the hamlet of Pe ...
called Cauldstane Slap and on to
West Linton
West Linton () is a village and civil parish in southern Scotland, on the A702. It is in the county of Peeblesshire (also known as Tweeddale) and the Scottish Borders council area. Many of its residents are commuters, owing to the village's pr ...
. This was part of a
much longer drove road used in past centuries for transporting cattle south from the central belt and northern Scotland to
Peebles
Peebles () is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in ...
and ultimately to the English markets, and for moving sheep north from West Linton market.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:7-0070
Roads in Scotland
Transport in South Ayrshire
Transport in Edinburgh
Ayr
Transport in East Ayrshire
Transport in South Lanarkshire
Cumnock
Carstairs
Transport in West Lothian