A83 road

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A83 road
Length (miles) 97.8
Length (km) 157.4
Direction North-Southwest
Start Tarbet
End Campbeltown
Roads joined A82 road
A814 road
A815 road
A816 road
A819 road

The A83 is a major road in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, running from Tarbet, on the western shore of Loch Lomond, where it splits from the A82, to Campbeltown at the southern end of the Kintyre peninsula. It is the latter part of the principal route from Glasgow to the towns of southern Argyll. The road was closed around the Rest-and-be-Thankful, due to a 400-ton landslide on October 28, 2007.[1] The road was partially reopened on Monday 10 November.[2]

[edit] Route

From Tarbet it goes west across the watershed between Loch Lomond and Loch Long to Arrochar near the head of Loch Long. It then goes round the head of the loch, down the western shore for a short distance, before going westwards, up Glen Croe to the Rest-and-be-Thankful viewpoint picnic area, before the pass through the Arrochar Alps from the shore of Loch Long to that of Loch Fyne.

Rest-and-be-Thankful are the words which are located on a stone near the junction of the A83 and the B828, placed there by soldiers who built the original Military road in 1753, which is referred to as the 'Drovers' road'. The original stone fell into ruin and was replaced by a commemorative stone at the same site.

The section is so named as the climb out of Glen Croe is so long and steep at the end that it was traditional to rest at the top, and be thankful that you had got to the highest point. The current road no longer keeps to the valley floor of Glen Croe but steadily climbs across the southern slopes of The Cobbler, on the north side of the Glen, to the highest point of the pass. The descent to westward Loch Fyne is through Glen Kinglas, and in this section the main road to Dunoon and the Cowal peninsula leaves to the south.

On reaching the shore of Loch Fyne, the main road follows the east shore of the loch northwards to its head and then goes south west down the western shore through Inveraray and then on to Lochgilphead and Ardrishaig, where it crosses the entrance to the Crinan Canal.

From Ardrishaig the road travels south on to Tarbert, where it crosses over onto the western shore of Kintyre. In the final section it passes through the villages of Kennacraig and Tayinloan before finally crossing back to the east, Firth of Clyde coast just as it arrives in Campbeltown.

Glen Croe viewed from Rest-and-be-Thankful viewpoint

Glen Croe, November 18, 2006

[edit] References

  1. ^ "'Flatout' efforts to reopen A83" - BBC News
  2. ^ Weblog - A83

[edit] External link

Rest-and-be-Thankful : ( 56°11′54″N, 4°44′14″W)