The Post About Roads

This is the (edited) post I was trying to write when my other computer starting having issues. I've driven on my own since this many times and my confidence is definitely better. 

So this happened. 

Actually, it happened while we were in quarantine. I drove to Lockerbie and back. I even backed into the insanely narrow space next to the house.

I've actually driven during previous visits to Scotland, but it's a lot nicer driving your own car instead of your mother-in-law's car, even if I still don't think of the Volvo as "ours".  It just isn't; yet. It is a very nice car and I do like it, but it's a wide car and on Scottish roads, it feels gargantuan, and not like it belongs to us. I am getting use to it though and finding it far less intimidating, but we are going to look for a smaller second car in the near future.

This seems like a good time to talk about Scottish roads. There are several types of roads here and there is very little comparison for roads back home, except maybe Interstates.

Along the M74 headed towards the hills of Moffat

Here, there are "M" roads. M for Motorway which is an Interstate or Highway in the States. A large, wide, multi-lane road that is well taken care of.  I can drive on these with no problem at all. The area we are wanting to move to is along the M74.  It is, in fact, the main road going up through the middle of Scotland. We can hop on it and be at Marion's (my mother-in-law's) house in about 2 hours. It is a pretty easy drive and we currently use it daily to get to and from school. (Yesterday, the tops of the hills in the picture were covered with clouds.)

Next, there are "A" roads, which are like state roads.  Back home, the best comparison I can think of would be Franklin Road, Old Hickory Boulevard, or Hillsboro Road. A's are main roads that connect small towns to larger towns. They are usually 2 lanes, but can briefly be 4 for passing. These tend to be wider and taken care of. I can drive on these with ease and they are actually some of my favorite roads. 

An A Road

But don't be fooled. We drove down an A the other day which was crazy narrow for an A.  When a lorry (aka 18-wheeler) went by us, we literally moved as far off the road as possible (which wasn't far as there was a drop off) and held our breath. Hugh could have reached his hand out the window and easily touched the truck. I'm guessing there might have been 4-inches clearance. I actually asked if the truck was allowed to be on that road. The answer was yes. I wanted to know what happened if two trucks were coming from opposite directions. The answer? Let's hope we never find out.

One of the B roads we take to school

Next there are "B" roads. Some B roads want to be A roads, and a few could measure up, but on the whole, B roads definitely have their own character and I can't think of an equivalent in the US.  B roads are usually about a lane and a half wide with traffic in both directions. (So maybe a US neighborhood road, but I can't think of any that are that narrow.)  Sounds easy enough but add blinding curves, bicyclists, and people walking their dogs on the sides of the road and it becomes nerve wracking. 

If two cars are coming along in opposite directions, one, or both cars, have to move over to let the other pass. Who moves depends on several factors like who has the room to move over. Sometimes there are actual places to pull over but more often than not there is a ditch or a wall or a house on the side of the road. Sometimes it also depends entirely on the aggressiveness of the drivers. I'm not an aggressive driver. I'd much rather pull over, feel safe, and let the other person pass. I'm sure that it will change slightly as I gain confidence. I will say that, if anything, drivers are usually exceptionally polite and a quick wave is given to one another as people pass, be it a 'thank you' or a 'you're welcome'. And no, after a while, there's nothing exceedingly weird about it. It's just the way things are.

Following a school bus down a B road

South Lodge, our cottage, is on a B road, right on a curve. How people walk along these roads is beyond me, but they do and quite often with their dogs or children. Getting across to see the cows and cricket match in the fields across the street the other day was an exercise in faith. It isn't necessarily a busy road, but it is traveled and not by people going what I would call cautiously. Anthony said once we were out of quarantine, we could walk to the pub in Dalton, but it would take an extraordinary amount of gumption to make it down that road on foot.

After that, roads aren't actually classified by anyone but me. My next level are "C" roads for absolute crap. Not one way, but two-way single lane roads so narrow you can see the line side mirrors have created in the flora and fauna growing on the side of the road. These are rarely, if ever, taken care of, but they are there and you can use them. They usually connect small towns to smaller villages.

The bus and a car passing

Finally, there are gravel roads used to gain access to farms and logging sites. Not used frequently by the public, but can be used just the same.  When we've been here in the past, I've driven down a gravel logging road to get to a riding facility for the kids to ride horses.

Any road, except M's, can narrow down to a single lane. When that happens, because "why fix something that isn't broken?", there are stop lights set up on either side of where the road narrows to a single lane; usually when the part that is narrow is long and/or curvy.  Other times, when visibility is better, there's no stop light at all.

An A road that narrows to a single lane

The single lane bridge over the River Annan on the way to school

When I say houses right on the road, I mean it.

So that's roads. Signs and roundabouts are their own things. I will, however, end this with one of my favorite signs so far. It was at the entrance to the recycling center.

Not just slow. 

Dead Slow. 

Like quarantine. 

😂