A75 Road (Scotland)
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The A75 is a primary trunk 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 ...
, linking
Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...
and its ferry ports at
Cairnryan Cairnryan (;
or ) is a village in the historical county of < ...
with the A74(M) at Gretna, close to the border with
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 ...
and the
M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 motorway, M1 and the western end of t ...
.


Route

Heading west along the south coast of Scotland from its junction with the
A74(M) motorway A74 or A-74 may refer to: * A74 road, a major road in the United Kingdom * A74(M) and M74 motorways, another road in the United Kingdom that largely replaced the original A74 * Benoni Defense, in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings * HLA-A74, a ...
at Gretna it continues past
Eastriggs Eastriggs is a small village located in Dumfries and Galloway in the south of Scotland, the village is located around north of the mud and sandbanks of the channel of the River Eden, which extends west into the Solway Firth. Travelling by ro ...
,
Annan Annan may refer to: People * Annan (surname) Places Australia * Annan River, Queensland, a river just south of Cooktown Canada * Annan, Ontario, a community within the municipality of Meaford China * Annan (Tang protectorate), the so ...
,
Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...
,
Castle Douglas Castle Douglas () is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies in the lieutenancy area of Kirkcudbrightshire, in the eastern part of Galloway, between the towns of Dalbeattie and Gatehouse of Fleet. It is in the ecclesiastical paris ...
,
Gatehouse of Fleet Gatehouse of Fleet ( ) is a town, half in the civil parish of Girthon, and half in the parish of Anwoth, divided by the river Water of Fleet, Fleet, Kirkcudbrightshire, within the council administrative area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. ...
,
Newton Stewart Newton Stewart (Scottish Gaelic language, Gd: ''Baile Ùr nan Stiùbhartach'') is a former burgh town in the historical county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Scotland. The town is on the River Cree with most of the town to ...
,
Kirkcowan Kirkcowan is an area about 15 miles in length, and from nearly two to nearly seven miles in breadth, comprising 30,580 acres, of which 7000 are arable, 300 woodland and plantations, and the remainder meadow, pasture in Machars, in the historical ...
and
Glenluce Glenluce () is a small village in the parish of Old Luce in Wigtownshire, Scotland. It contains a village shop, a caravan park and a town hall, as well as the parish church. Location Glenluce on the A75 road between Stranraer () and Newton S ...
before ending at
Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...
. The majority of the road is of single-carriageway standard, although a few short dual carriageway sections exist, including a one-mile section past Gretna, a section past Collin (just east of Dumfries,) a two-mile section just west of Dumfries and a 1-mile section at Barlae (Between
Glenluce Glenluce () is a small village in the parish of Old Luce in Wigtownshire, Scotland. It contains a village shop, a caravan park and a town hall, as well as the parish church. Location Glenluce on the A75 road between Stranraer () and Newton S ...
and
Newton Stewart Newton Stewart (Scottish Gaelic language, Gd: ''Baile Ùr nan Stiùbhartach'') is a former burgh town in the historical county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Scotland. The town is on the River Cree with most of the town to ...
). The road is widely felt to be unfit for the current large volumes of freight using it, but successive Westminster and laterly Scottish Governments have repeatedly shelved previously planned substantive upgrades, and delayed much needed, meaningful, investment in the route for decades, believed to be a root cause of Wigtownshire now being one of the most deprived areas of the UK. There are also numerous three-lane overtaking sections which allow overtaking in one direction or on some occasion both directions. The road has recently been re-routed at
Carrutherstown Carrutherstown is a village in the civil parish of Dalton, in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is about east of Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth ...
(near
Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...
) and a bypass has been constructed to avoid the village of
Dunragit Dunragit () is a village on the A75 road, A75, between Stranraer and Glenluce in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. Dunragit is within the parish of Old Luce, in the traditional county of Wigtownshire. The modern village grew up around ...
and the frequently struck Challoch Railway Bridge, which has earned the title of "most hit bridge in the UK." There are only two service stations on the A75: one at Collin on the eastern edge of Dumfries, and one at
Castle Kennedy Castle Kennedy is a small village east of Stranraer in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. It is on the A75 road, and is within the civil parish of Inch. The village is to the south of the Lochinch Castle estate, which includes the rui ...
to the east of
Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...
. The road forms part of the international E-road,
European route E18 European route E18 runs between Craigavon, County Armagh, Craigavon in Northern Ireland and Saint Petersburg in Russia, passing through Scotland, England, Norway, Sweden and Finland. It is about in length. Although the designation implies the ...
. The majority of
heavy goods vehicle A large goods vehicle (LGV), or heavy goods vehicle (HGV), in the European Union (EU) is any lorry with a gross combination mass (GCM) of over . Sub-category N2 is used for vehicles between 3,500 kg and and N3 for all goods vehicles over ...
s which cross the short sea route of the North Channel via Cairnryan use the A75, with a much as 90% of HGV traffic using the A75. In January 2020,
Transport Scotland Transport Scotland () is the national transport agency of Scotland. It was established by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005, and began operating on 1 January 2006 as an executive agency of the Scottish Government. Transport Scotland, an execut ...
concluded a transport study of South West Scotland and outlined options for investment to the A75 and other trunk roads. In case of the construction of an
Irish Sea Bridge The Irish Sea Bridge, sometimes called the Celtic Crossing by the media, is a hypothetical rail and road bridge that would span the Irish Sea and connect the island of Ireland to the island of Great Britain. It is one of a number of such propos ...
from Great Britain to Northern Ireland (
Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the Counties of Scotland, historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an counties of Scotland, administrative county used for ...
to
County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...
), further road widening and potentially an upgrade to motorway status may be required.


History

The mostly single-carriageway road has been re-aligned, re-routed and bypasses most towns in recognition of the heavy freight traffic it carries between the A74(M)/ M6 and the ferry ports for
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
at
Cairnryan Cairnryan (;
or ) is a village in the historical county of < ...
. Only two settlements are now not bypassed by it (at Springholm and
Crocketford Crocketford (, also frequently ) also known as Ninemile Bar (), as it is approximately equidistant between Castle Douglas and Dumfries, is a village in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in the Dumfries and Galloway council area near ...
, which are situated 10 and 12 miles west of Dumfries respectively. The 1.3-mile stretch of dual carriageway and associated one-mile westbound overtaking lane one-mile west of Dumfries opened in 1999, which replaced the previous bottleneck road which snaked up a wooded glen and afforded no overtaking opportunity by way of solid double white lines for its duration, locally known as ''The Glen''. The new section claimed the title after the previous road was declassified and closed at the western end, allowing only local access to residential property and agricultural land. Transport Scotland has six completed projects announced in 2008 to improve stretches of the A75. # Barfil to Bettyknowes Project – westbound overtaking opportunity over a length of 875metres and re-alignment. # Cairntop to Barlae Project – eastbound overtaking opportunity of 2.5 kilometres, utilising the line of a disused railway line. # Dunragit Bypass Project – bypass of the village of Dunragit, to the east of Stranraer, through which the A75 runs at present. # Hardgrove Project – the construction of a new 3.6 kilometre stretch of the A75, between Carrutherstown and Upper Mains Farm in Dumfries and Galloway, providing improved overtaking facilities in both the east and westbound directions. # Newton Stewart DAL Project – westbound overtaking opportunity over a length of 375 metres. # Planting End to Drumflower Project – eastbound overtaking opportunity over a length of 1 kilometre Previously the road ran between
Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...
& Gretna further south than its current locale, The previous road which is identified locally as the "low road" can be recognised from the B721 and B724 roads. A large majority of the remaining road previously ran through towns & settlements which have been bypassed over time, most sections of the A75 have been straightened, bypassed and re-aligned, with the majority still visible as minor roads and easily identifiable by studying Ordnance Survey maps of the area. One of the earliest bypasses on the route is that of
Kirkcowan Kirkcowan is an area about 15 miles in length, and from nearly two to nearly seven miles in breadth, comprising 30,580 acres, of which 7000 are arable, 300 woodland and plantations, and the remainder meadow, pasture in Machars, in the historical ...
, which is believed to be the first village, town or settlement to have been bypassed by the original A75. The previous county and regional councils held responsibility for the A75 prior to 1996 and continually upgraded and re-aligned the A75 over several decades forming much of the current alignment. Bypasses at Glenluce, Shennanton, Newton Stewart, Blackcraig, Creetown, Carsluith, Skyreburn, Gatehouse of Fleet/Barharrow, Tywnholm, Valleyfield, Ringford, Bridge of Dee, Castle Douglas, Ramhill, Southpark, Dumfries, Collin, Raffles, Carrutherstown, Annan and Gretna along with substantial re-alignment elsewhere were built during the 80's and 90's to form much of the current standard of road seen today. The only limited improved sections still in existence but widened are between Barlae and Shennanton (Kirkcowan) and Kirkclaugh to Mossyard (Gatehouse of Fleet).


Reports of haunting

A four-mile stretch of the A75 known as the ''Kinmount Straight'' between Carrutherstown and Annan, is claimed by some to be haunted. The section adjacent to Kelhead Moss Plantation (an effective avenue of trees), near
Kinmount House Kinmount House is a 19th-century country house in the parish of Cummertrees in the historic county of Dumfriesshire in Dumfries and Galloway region, Scotland. It is located west of Annan. The house was designed by Sir Robert Smirke for the 6t ...
, is a main site of the alleged mysterious events. Sightings have been claimed to have been seen near the Swordwellrigg hamlet on the Annan bypass. 1962 Derek and Norman Ferguson were driving along the A75 near Kinmount, around midnight, when they claim that a large hen flew towards their window screen but vanished on the point of impact. They claim that the hen was followed by an old lady who ran towards the car waving her outstretched arms. They say that she was followed by a screaming man with long hair and further animals, including 'great cats, wild dogs, goats, more hens and other fowl, and stranger creatures', who all disappeared. They further claim that the temperature then dropped, and when the brothers stopped the car, it began to sway violently back and forth. Derek got out of the car and the movement stopped. He climbed back in and then, finally, claims that a vision of a furniture van came towards them before disappearing./


References


External links

*
A75 route description at SABRE
{{DEFAULTSORT:7-0075 Roads in Scotland Transport in Dumfries and Galloway Reportedly haunted locations in Scotland Gretna, Dumfries and Galloway Annan, Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries Castle Douglas Newton Stewart Stranraer Droving roads