The A697 is a road that can be used an alternative to the A1 for those travelling between

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 ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

via the

North East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

Route

It connects Morpeth on the A1 to the A68 at Oxton, near

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 ...

. The road runs via

Wooler Wooler ( ) is a town in Northumberland, England. It lies on the edge of the Northumberland National Park, near the Cheviot Hills. It is a popular base for walkers and is referred to as the "Gateway to the Cheviots". As well as many shops and ...

and

Coldstream Coldstream () is a town and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream was where the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army, originated. Description Coldstream li ...

, and passes through a largely

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

area of the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

Devil's Causeway

Stretches of the route overlay the Devil's Causeway, a

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

Speed

The A697 is around shorter and an average time of 23 minutes quicker than travelling up the A1, according to figures from the

RAC RAC or Rac may refer to: Organizations * Radio Amateurs of Canada * RATCH-Australia Corporation, electricity generator * Refugee Action Collective (Victoria), Melbourne, Australia * Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, US * Rent-A-Cent ...

route planner.

Settlements on route

The road runs through * Morpeth * Espley *

Longhorsley Longhorsley is a village in Northumberland, England about northwest of Morpeth, and about south of Alnwick. The A697 road passes through the village linking it with Morpeth, Wooler and Coldstream in Scotland. There are 8 "Streets" in Longhorsl ...

* Weldon *

Longframlington Longframlington is a small village in Northumberland, England, located on the A697, north-west of Morpeth and south-east of Rothbury. Longframlington is a former pit village and on the site of the pit now stands Fram Park, a log cabin holid ...

* Thrunton * Powburn * Wooperton * Haugh Head *

* Low Humbleton * Akeld *

Milfield Milfield is a village in Northumberland, England about northwest of Wooler. The A697 road passes through the village. History Milfield is the likely location of the Northumbrian royal settlement of Maelmin. Bede tells us that a residence ...

* Crookham * Cornhill on Tweed *

* Orange Lane *

Greenlaw Greenlaw is a town and civil parish situated in the foothills of the Lammermuir Hills on Blackadder Water at the junction of the A697 and the A6105 in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of ...

* Houndslow *

Thirlestane Thirlestane Castle is a castle set in extensive parklands near Lauder in the Borders of Scotland. The site is aptly named Castle Hill, as it stands upon raised ground. However, the raised land is within Lauderdale, the valley of the Leader Wat ...

* Oxton

References

External links

* Roads in Northumberland Roads in Scotland Transport in the Scottish Borders Coldstream Greenlaw Wooler {{England-road-stub