315
Chap. XVI. App. No. 7.
An Account of the principal Roads in Scotland .
From that laudable spirit of improvement which of late year*has every where manifested itself in Scotland , substantial roadshave been made in all directions. The great leading highwaysbeing connected by cross roads, the communication with thetowns, villages, and sea-ports, is open to every district or parish;and thus, the products of industry are freely circulated through-out every part of the kingdom. The following roads, however,may be considered the principal highways in Scotland ; and theyare turnpike over their greatest extent, with the exception of thosein the Highlands termed military, from having been made by thearmy; and those also in the northern districts where the publicaid has rendered the collection of toll-dues unnecessary; andwhere, indeed, from the small number of travellers, any toll thatmight be levied would not probably defray the expense of thecollection.
1st, Roads from Edinburgh to England, the Western Coast of
Scotland , See _From the extremity of Caithness to the borders
of England, it may be said that the country is now intersectedby roads in every direction. * But for the sake of distinct enu-meration, we shall first mention those which, diverging from Edin-burgh, intersect the southern and western counties of Scotland .From Edinburgh to Berwick, a great road passes through Flad-dington and Dunbar, 55 miles. Another road goes through Dal-keith and Lauder, to Jedburgh, 45 miles; and thence to New-castle-upon-Tyne . A third road passes through Middleton andMelrose, to Jedburgh, 46 miles. These roads intersect the shiresof Edinburgh, Haddington, Roxburgh , and Bei wick. In a west-ern direction, two roads go from Edinburgh to Carlisle , in Eng-land;—the one, through Middleton and Baukhouse, to Haw-ick , 47 miles—the other through Howgate and Peebles, to thesame place, 54 miles; and thence by Langholm to Carlisle .In a still more westerly direction, two roads pass from Edin-burgh to Dumfries ;—the one by Howgate and Moffat, 71 miles—and the other bv Linton and Moffat, 74 miles. These roadsintersect the counties of Edinburgh, Peebles, and Dumfries .Fwo roads also go from Edinburgh to Kirkcudbright , and to^igton and Whithorn. The one passes through Biggar, &c. toKirkcudbright , 99 miles—and the other, through Linton, Dol-phingtpn, and Biggar, to Whithorn, 116 miles. These roads
* About 12 miles from Wick to Thurso remain to be completed, but the nowssary measures are taking for that purpose,