A93 (Great Britain)

A93
The A93 in Gleann Beag
Route information
Length	107 mi (172 km)
Major junctions
South end	A85 at Perth
Northeast end	A956 at Aberdeen
Location
Country	United Kingdom
Primary destinations	Perth, Blairgowrie, Braemar, Aberdeen
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom E-roads Motorways A and B road zones
← A92 → A94

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 before crossing the A90 and terminating in Aberdeen.

Route

Leaving Perth, the A93 continues through the planned 19th-century village of Guildtown before crossing the River Isla and passing the Meikleour Beech Hedges. 5 miles (8 km) north lies Blairgowrie and Rattray, the largest town in Perth and Kinross, where the road crosses the River Ericht. 6 miles (9.7 km) up Glenericht it reaches the little village of Bridge of Cally and begins the long climb up into Glenshee. At this point, it climbs from Glenshee onto the moors of Glenbeg and the snow gates at Spittal of Glenshee, which are regularly closed in winter (which here can be from October to April) to prevent motorists becoming stranded overnight. At the Cairnwell Pass, the road reaches its maximum elevation of 670 metres (2,199 ft) above sea level, which makes it, at this point, the highest public road in the United Kingdom. The southern approach to the Cairnwell Pass used to include a notorious double hairpin bend with steep gradients known as the Devil's Elbow. This was bypassed by a new stretch of road in the early 1970s but the old hairpin bends and World War II anti-tank traps can be accessed on foot from a lay-by part way up the hill.

Over the summit of the Cairnwell Pass, the road enters Aberdeenshire and the standard of the carriageway improves considerably, wider and better surfaced than the 42 miles (68 km) in Perth and Kinross. Descending now, it runs along deserted Glen Clunie alongside the Clunie Water for 8 miles (13 km) to Braemar. So far the road has been running roughly north, but here it turns east for the 60-mile (97 km) descent to the North Sea at Aberdeen. 10 miles (16 km) from Braemar, it passes Balmoral Castle, then continues through Ballater, Dinnet, Aboyne, Kincardine O'Neil, Banchory and Peterculter before entering Aberdeen.

Storms of 2015

A section of the A93 near Crathie collapsed on 29–30 December 2015 due to pressure from the overflowing River Dee. The Dee had burst its banks due to the effects of Storm Frank, which caused very severe flooding across Deeside.