the ice retreated some 10,000 years ago, small groups
of hunter gatherers explored what is now Scotland. They
moved along rivers and the coast and had summer and
winter camps in different localities. Later populations
took increasingly to farming and raising livestock in
more permanent settlements. This was so successful that
by the time of the Romans, Scotland was well populated
with an extensive network of tracks.
their initial campaign the Romans explored much of southern
Scotland as shown by their marching camps. Shortly thereafter
many of these were replaced by forts and a network of
roads built to connect them. There are two main lines
of road on the east and the west of Scotland with linking
roads and an extension north into the highlands. The
roads remained in use even into the middle ages and
many stretches can still be seen today.
The Dark Ages
was a turbulent age, precipitated by the departure of
the Romans. In Scotland, the southern tribes were under
attack both from Ireland and tribes north of the Antonine
Wall. A little later the Angles expanded their territory
in Northumberland up the east side of the country as
far as Angus and over to Galloway and Ayrshire. There
are a number of clues that can be used to reconstruct
the routes that must have been used at this time such
as settlement patterns and place names.
a time Scotland had a "golden age" of peace and prosperity.
The civilising influence of Queen Margaret, wife of
Malcolm Canmore, saw the start of this and the innovative
ideas of David I and his successors saw it develop further.
New towns were built and the foundations of mercantile
trade established. The great abbeys played an important
part in this not least because they built bridges and
roads but the campaigns of Edward I and later kings
put an end to all this. Various sources of evidence
allow a reasonable reconstruction of the road network
in the middle ages, especially near the end of the period.
was at this time that roads were made the responsibility
of parishes where all able-bodied persons were required
to work for up to 6 days a year without pay. Known as
the statute labour system, it was widely resented and
very inefficient. A modification of the system allowed
a set sum of money to be paid instead. This helped a
little but there were problems with collecting the money.
Despite these difficulties a great number of "roads"
were built at this time, as well as many bridges. The
period also saw the building of military roads in the
Highlands after the 1715 rebellion, and the Military
Survey maps of the 1750ís which show almost all the
roads and tracks in the country.
Although there had been some early toll roads, it was
not until the mid-1700ís and later that these became
firmly established as a means of improving the road
system particularly when advances in agriculture and
industry made the need for good roads apparent. Counties
could apply for an Act of Parliament allowing them to
raise funds to construct roads and recoup the money
through the collection of tolls. The system proved very
successful and resulted in the country having a good
network of roads, although the parish roads funded by
the statute labour commutation money were not always
in good condition. A separate programme of road building
in the Highlands and one or two roads in the Lowlands
was carried out from 1802 onwards under the Commission
for Highland Roads and Bridges. Competition from the
railways from the 1830ís onwards and inherent difficulties
with both the turnpike and statute labour system led
to a review that eventually led to the disbanding of
the turnpike trusts and passing all roads over to the
newly formed county councils in the 1880ís.
The Road Trusts
and County Councils
all roads were managed by trusts and then by county
councils. Over the years, considerable improvements
were made to the existing roads and new roads built.
Many of the main roads today are former turnpikes although
now surfaced and with improved alignments. As there
could be variations in road standards between counties,
the Ministry of Transport took over responsibility for
main routes and increasingly set out guidelines and
standards to ensure a more uniform road network. Local
government was reorganised in 1929 leading to the formation
of highway committees in counties and again in 1974
with the formation of regional councils. As these were
larger, a more strategic view could be taken of the
road network and many major road schemes date from this
period. A further reorganisation took place in 1996
when unitary authorities were formed.
Research into prehistoric tracks in Scotland has been
very limited and as a result very little is known about
them. In addition, the time period covered is very long
and it is very difficult to assess when a particular
track was formed.
Nevertheless, some sort of picture
can be gained from examining the distribution of finds.
The Mesolithic population seemed to favour shorelines,
lagoons, lakes and rivers, environments which they could
exploit for tools, shelter and food. Neolithic and Bronze
Age peoples also used these environments but they practised
farming and raising livestock so their settlements were
more permanent. Celtic (Iron Age) populations were also
farmers and had settled in many parts of the country
as shown by Ptolemyís description of the tribes at the
time of the Romans.
The distribution of finds in
relation to local geography while not exact does at
least offer the possibility of identifying many of the
routes these peoples must have taken. It is not known
if there were any long-distance tracks as are found
in England and Ireland although one or two researchers
have suggested that in places the Romans used already
The Romans invaded Scotland three times. The first invasion
was by Agricola in 78 AD and the occupation lasted until
the end of the century when there was a withdrawal to
the Tyne - Solway line. This was followed by the Antonine
invasion in 142 AD when the Antonine Wall was built.
The occupation lasted sometime into the 160ís when there
was a withdrawal to Hadrianís Wall though a presence
was maintained in the south of the country. There were
two further campaigns by Severus between 208 and 211
The majority of the roads appear
to date from the first invasion. A main road (Dere Street)
ran from Corbridge across the Cheviots to Newstead and
the Forth near Edinburgh and then probably over towards
Falkirk and up towards Stirling. Another main road (Watling
Street) ran from Carlisle north to Crawford, continuing
on the east side of the Pentlands to the Edinburgh area.
An east-west route crossed this near Biggar which may
have run from Newstead to Barochan, with an extension
to Loudoun Hill. A loop road ran from the westernmost
road near present day Lockerbie over to Nithsdale and
then northwards to rejoin the main road near Crawford.
From the Falkirk area, a road has been traced someway
beyond Perth connecting the forts sited at the mouths
of the glens.
In the Antonine period it is thought
a road was built to link the east and west roads through
Raeburnfoot, as well as the military road running to
the rear of the Antonine Wall.
A great deal of work has been
done to determine what other roads there might have
been and also to fill in obvious gaps between known
stretches of road. For example, in the south-west, a
road is posited to Glenlochar and Gatehouse of Fleet
and perhaps beyond; as well as roads running up the
Cree, Ken and Nith valleys into Ayrshire. The road to
the Loudoun Hill fort may have continued to the Ayrshire
coast and it is thought roads may have ran from Castledykes
to Crawford and up past Castle Greg.
Although this is a complicated period of history and
very little work has been done on routes, a number of
points can be made that could throw some light on routes
at this time.
- The network of Roman roads
still existed in good condition and indeed was being
used in mediaeval times for the movement of troops
and artillery. It is quite likely that the roads were
used in the troubled times of the dark ages, particularly
for military offensives
- The main territorial divisions
of the different races within Scotland, viz. of the
Scots, Picts, Britons and Angles, and later the Vikings
will each have had their own internal communication
routes related to their settlements and to the geography.
For example there appears to have been a division
between the northern and southern Picts forced on
them by the Grampians. As they were still one people,
they must have used the passes of the Grampians to
communicate. Another example is that higher sea levels
meant that much of the area east and west of Stirling
was impassable except at one or two places.
- The whole period was characterised
by great unrest with constant battles being fought
between the different peoples and even amongst themselves.
Where these could more properly be called invasions,
for example, the expansion of Dalriada eastwards into
Pictish territory, or the Angles northwards as far
as Forfar and west into Galloway and Ayrshire, the
campaigns must have followed suitable communication
- Placenames offer valuable clues
both to settlements and to routes. The occurrence
of names such as tref, bal, ham
denoting a settlement can give a very detailed picture
of where these peoples lived. Examples of route-related
placename elements are balloch, a pass, drochaid,
a bridge, conaire, a path, wath, a ford,
gate, a road or way. The name Birgham is interesting
as it indicates a very early bridge over the Tweed
although the course of the river has changed so that
the bridge is now thought to be on dry land.
- Pilgrim routes to Whithorn
are thought to have existed from very early on, and
there may have been others.
- At the start of the mediaeval
period, a number of charters were granted to newly
formed burghs which listed locations where tolls could
be raised on goods coming into the province of the
burgh. An example from Ayrshire lists toll points
at Maich, Karnebuth, Loudoun, Croseneton and Laicht
Alpin which allows us to posit routes from these points
to Ayr. It is more than likely that the implied routes
were already in use for trade and may have been so
for a long time especially as they were on natural
When David 1 came to the throne in 1124 he, and those
who followed, introduced major changes in the way Scotland
was governed which had a profound effect on all aspects
of life, including roads and transport. David was brought
up in the Anglo-Norman court and when he became king
called on many of his friends from the court to help
him establish his new kingdom. He introduced a variant
of the feudal system, encouraged the Church to play
a key role in developing the country, promoted local
and foreign trade principally through the formation
of new towns that were given special trading privileges
and formed shires where law and order was administered
The king granted land to his major
followers who in turn would provide others with land
and in many cases these smaller areas became parishes.
Typically they would set up a fortified site which usually
had an associated church and usually a mill. As these
settlements grew, a network of tracks developed around
them. Many of the castles built at this time guarded
The burghs with their trading
privileges would hold markets and fairs to which the
smaller settlements would take their produce. Later
in the middle ages a number of the larger towns were
created burghs with the right to hold markets and this
helped consolidate the existing routes into those towns.
The church played a key role as
they had skills in building, mining, agriculture and
husbandry. Following the kingís example it was common
for major landowners to found a monastery and endow
it with land. The monks with these skills quickly made
the land productive and helped develop trade. It is
thought that a number of routes started at this time,
or at least were used by the monks and some of these
may have been actual made roads as well as bridges.
Examples are routes between Newbattle Abbey south of
Edinburgh over to the Monklands near Glasgow, Kelso
Abbey and Lesmahagow where there was an outlying priory,
and Melrose up to Edinburgh. Abbey charters have references
to roads used as boundaries to gifts of land. To help
pilgrims, and travellers in general, the Church provided
spittals where they could rest.
While these changes did not apply
to the whole of Scotland, they were very widespread
and probably the only parts of Scotland where they did
not apply were initially Galloway and the north-west
highlands and islands.
All this ended of course with
Edward I, though even here the itineraries of his incursions
into Scotland give an indication of routes.
At the end of the period we are
fortunate to have the maps of Timothy Pont who carried
out a survey of Scotland in the years around 1600. These
were published in Blaeuís Atlas of 1664 and some of
the maps show roads and others include river crossings
and placenames related to routes which indicate where
roads may have run. There are also numerous references
to roads and bridges both in early charters and in state
documents such as the Register of the Privy Council
showing that Scotland had a fairly well developed network
of routes and in some cases, actual roads in the middle
In the succeeding Post-Mediaeval period, from about
1600 to the mid-1700's, the statute labour system was
in operation and in theory at least provided a basis
for the proper upkeep of roads and for building new
ones where required. Responsibility lay with the parish
and required people to work for 6 days each year, without
pay. Those who did not turn up could be fined. The difficulty
was that people did the work reluctantly and had very
little idea of how to repair or make a road. There is
also some evidence that the system was not fully implemented
in some areas.
To help overcome this, a "commutation"
system developed which allowed a monetary payment to
be made instead of working on the roads and this seems
to have had some success as it allowed more knowledgeable
road makers to be employed. However, it is clear that
there were wide variations across the country and the
roads were very poor in many places.
Bridges were the responsibility
of the Commissioners of Supply and a great many were
built in this period. It is quite clear that a number
of the old bridges replaced at this time were in a "ruinous"
There are various sources of evidence
which are enough to show that a quite extensive network
of routes existed in the 1600ís, both between major
towns and to main market towns as well as local tracks
and it is these that would have been worked on under
the statute labour system.
It is at this time that Military
roads were built in the Highlands after the 1715 uprising.
Under the command of General Wade a network of roads
was built linking forts along the Great Glen and Ruthven
Barracks as well as linking to the road system further
south. This was later extended by Major Caulfield. Another
military road was built to Portpatrick for troop movements
Measures to suppress the 1745
rebellion made the authorities acutely aware that they
lacked adequate maps and in 1746 William Roy was ordered
to conduct a survey of the whole country. The resulting
maps, known as the Military Survey of Scotland, are
at a scale of 1 inch to 1000 yards and give us an almost
complete picture of the road network at the time.
In the latter half of the 18th century, massive changes
in the economy of Scotland led to major improvements
in the life of the people. The new enclosures and better
farming methods along with the exploitation of mineral
resources and the development of industry resulted in
a growth of population and better health and living
conditions. The Act of Union in 1707 had a crucial part
in this as it opened up the large markets of England
Improved roads were an essential
part of this revolution, helping to stimulate all aspects
of the economy and opening new horizons to people by
making travel much easier than before. The system which
allowed these new roads to be built was the turnpike
system, tolls being levied to meet the considerable
cost of building them. To build a turnpike, an Act of
Parliament was required and once passed, allowed a trust
to be formed which could then arrange for the roads
to be built.
Throughout Scotland, hundreds
of trusts were formed and a huge programme of road building
started which completely revolutionised travel in Scotland.
Coaches became more frequent and journeys faster and
more comfortable. There were numerous carters and carriers
transporting agricultural produce and raw materials
like limestone and coal. The New Statistical Account
written by Ministers of parishes in the 1830ís speak
almost uniformly of the great changes since the previous
Statistical Account written in the 1790ís. Even the
parish roads had in many cases been improved.
Side by side with the turnpikes
was a new network of roads built in the Highlands by
the Parliamentary Commission for Highland Roads and
The 1830ís were perhaps the high
point of the turnpike system but it was about that time
that railways began to be built. Rail travel was much
faster, cheaper and more comfortable and as a result
the turnpikes were more and more reduced to taking local
traffic and were becoming more uneconomic. The huge
debt of the turnpike trusts, the high tolls which were
often unfairly applied with some people paying none
on a short journey and others having to pay three or
four times for an equivalent journey, and the wide variation
on how the commutation money was raised led the government
to set up a Commission to assess the situation and see
how it could be improved.
In its report of 1859, the Commission
recommended that turnpike and statute labour roads should
be under the same management in a county and should
be funded by a fairer rating system. They also recommended
that the Highland Roads and Bridges be placed with their
This led eventually to the 1878
Roads & Bridges Act and the Local Government (Scotland)
Act of 1889 that re-organised local government. The
1878 Act abolished the turnpikes and statute labour
and Section 11 placed the management and maintenance
of highways in counties in a County Road Trust, and
in burghs in burgh councils. This continued until 1889,
when the County Councils took over roads and bridges.
Trusts and County Councils
The new system worked well enough though interestingly,
prior to the motor car, as long distance travel and
transport was conducted mostly by rail, many of the
major cross-country routes were little used and deteriorated
accordingly. The situation did improve with increasing
use of motorised transport but even then some through
routes could be adequate in one county and very poor
in a neighbouring county. This situation was remedied
when the Ministry of Transport took over responsibility
for major routes to create a strategic network for the
whole country that would be to a uniform standard.
Another change took place in 1929
when County Councils set up Highways Committees responsible
for most of the roads in a county and this continued
up to the formation of regional and district councils
in 1974 when the new regions took over the roads function.
As the regional councils covered larger areas it was
possible to take a more strategic approach to the road
network they were responsible for and a number of major
road schemes date from this time, often with financial
grants from Europe.
Local government was re-organised
again in 1996, this time as unitary authorities. As
they covered smaller areas, the roads function was usually
incorporated into functions dealing with the infrastructure
of the area. Initially funding for major schemes was
limited although this is now improving. Funding was
made available however for small scale improvements
aimed at improving safety and encouraging a shift from
motoring to cycling, walking and public transport and
this has made a recognisable difference to the urban