From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A93 road |
Direction |
South-northeast |
Start |
Perth |
End |
Aberdeen |
Roads joined |
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The A93 is a major road in Scotland and the highest public road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from Perth through Blairgowrie and Rattray, then through the Grampian Mountains by way of Glenshee, the Cairnwell Pass and Glen Clunie to Braemar in Aberdeenshire. At Braemar, the road then switches east down the strath of the River Dee, via Ballater, Aboyne, Banchory and Peterculter before terminating in Aberdeen.
At the Cairnwell Pass, the road reaches its maximum altitude of 670 metres (2199 feet) above sea level and passes the Glenshee Ski Centre, Scotland's largest ski centre. The southern approach to the Cairnwell Pass used to include a notorious double hairpin bend with steep gradients, known as the Devil's Elbow, but this was bypassed by a new stretch of road in the 1960s. Another important landmark on the route is the Meikleour Beech Hedges, some 5 miles south of Blairgowrie. These are the tallest and longest hedges in the world.