The A72 road is a major route 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 ...

connecting

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

South Lanarkshire South Lanarkshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary authorities of Scotland. It borders the south-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains some of Greater Glasgow's suburban towns, as well as many rural towns and villages. It also shares bor ...

, with

Galashiels Galashiels (; , ) is a town in the Scottish Borders with a population of around 12,600. Its name is often colloquially shortened to "Gala". The town is a major commercial centre for the Borders region with extensive history in the textile in ...

in 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 ...

. It travels for over in a south-easterly direction, along the Clyde and

Tweed Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained ...

valleys, passing the towns of

Larkhall Larkhall (, ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, around southeast of Glasgow. It is twinned with Seclin in northern France. Larkhall sits on high ground between the River Clyde to the East and the Avon Water to the West. Larkhall ...

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 ...

, Biggar and

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 ...

Route

Hamilton to Lanark

Starting at the junction with the A724, the road parallels the M74, following the original A74 (now B7078) before descending into the forested

Clyde Valley The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. T ...

as it skirts around the town of Larkhall. The road follows the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

, with some tight bends, sheer drops and adverse cambers, and meets the A73 just north of Lanark.

Lanark to Causewayend

This section of the road follows the course of the A73 through the town of Lanark and, just before Symington, again becomes the A72. It meets the main A702,

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 Abington,

road; this short section of road is narrow as it passes through Symington.

Causewayend to Kaimrig End

This section of the road follows the course of the A702 for approximately 3 miles through the town of Biggar. The A72 enters the village of Skirling before ascending onto higher moorland. This section of road is notorious for accidents due to its high elevation, poor weather and winding route.

Kaimrig End to Galashiels

On this last section of A72, it is the secondary route on the A701. Just south of

Blyth Bridge Blyth Bridge is a small hamlet in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, near to West Linton. It is located in a bend on the A701 which goes from Moffat to Edinburgh, close to the junction with the East-West road the A72 which goes to Peeb ...

, it meets the A721, and less than a mile further, it leaves the course of the A701. The A72 ascends a high plateau, then descends into the valley of the

River Tweed The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, is a river long that flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England. Tweed cloth derives its name from its association with the River Tweed. The Tweed is one of the great salmon rivers ...

at Stobo, and parallels the Tweed for the remainder of its length. The road passes through

and then

Innerleithen Innerleithen () is a civil parish and a small town in the committee area of Tweeddale, in the Scottish Borders. It was formerly in the historic county of Peeblesshire or Tweeddale. Etymology The name "Innerleithen" comes from the Scottish G ...

and

Walkerburn Walkerburn () is a small village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, on the A72 road, A72 about from Peebles and from Galashiels. It was founded in 1854 to house the workers for the tweed mills owned by the Ballantyne family. It is the h ...

towards Galashiels. It comes to an end at a junction with the A7, which leads on to the

Ring Road.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:7-0072 Roads in Scotland Transport in South Lanarkshire Transport in the Scottish Borders Hamilton, South Lanarkshire Larkhall Lanark Peebles Innerleithen Galashiels Clydesdale Tweeddale