5 GREAT ROUTES IN SOUTHERN SCOTLAND
Very little traffic, few tourists and great roads. Too good to be true? Actually not. Southern Scotland nd is one of those places that’s slipped under the radar…
Southern Scotland is made up of the Borders and Dumfries & Galloway, and it’s a brilliant place to ride a bike. It doesn’t have the highest mountains or the biggest lochs, but there are miles and miles of stunning roads, awesome scenery, rolling hills and valleys, wide open spaces and best of all, few tourists…
The three Lochs Run is a gem. Start out from Moffat on the A701 – signposted the scenic route to Edinburgh. It’s a good, flowing warm-up with grippy bends through the Devils Beef Tub, a deep hollow formed by four hills – Great Hill, Peat Knowne, Annanhead Hill and Ericstane Hill. Turn right at Tweedsmuir and head over the hills to Talla and Meggett reservoirs. It’s a narrow road with good passing places, but there’s so little traffic they really aren’t necessary. Turn right again onto the infamously challenging A708 back towards Moffat, but not before stopping for a cuppa and bacon butty at the Glen Café which overlooks St Mary’s Loch.
The Lowther Hills link three magical passes through the Lowthers and this ride takes in the two highest inhabited villages in Scotland. Yes, we’re still in the Lowlands,
From Moffat, head over the Dalveen Pass and ride to New Galloway on the A702. This is a great riding road – fast and gently curving. Enter Galloway Forest Park on the Queensway through forests and bends. Hit Newton Stewart and take the A75 west – the main road to the Ireland Ferry Port – before turning onto the smaller roads into Port Patrick, a very pretty but these high hills were mined for lead by the locals and produced some of the world’s purest gold. Start the Dalveen Pass in Elvanfoot, riding south on the A702 to Carronbridge. Turn right on the A76 to arrive at the Mennock Pass. This is the B797 that cuts across to Leadhills. Ride along Mennock Water in the summer to see gold panners in various states of undress. Take the time to pop into the Museum of Lead Mining, Wanlockhead (Scotland’s highest village). A look round costs £12.50 for adults, and a five-hour gold panning course is £95. Ride north to Crawfordjohn and the Crawick Pass, the gentlest of the three passes. Top-quality tea and cake establishments line the route: search out the Drumlanrig Café in Thornhill or the Burnside Café in Sanquhar for sustenance. harbour village. If you set off mid-morning, it’ll now be lunchtime. Park your bike behind the harbour-front bollards and cross the road to the Crown Hotel. Order the seafood platter: a half lobster, moules marinieres and crab claws for £22. Order an ice cream from the van on the other side of the harbour for dessert and ride back east on the A75 and A701. A lazy and sweeping return – perfect after a Port Patrick lunch.
For a real great escape of a route that hops the English border on brilliant riding roads start by turning south off the A708 between Selkirk and Moffat. This is the B709 to Hawick, but just a mile or two out of Hawick follow the signs to Bonchester Bridge. This means you can catch the B6357, a wicked road through some dense forests, delivering so much more than its B-road status implies. Take a right onto the Kielder Dam road and run past the biggest man-made dam in Europe – bends and swoops galore. A tip: about a mile past the dam wall is the bike friendly Pheasant Inn, and the time will be about right for a light lunch. Return to Moffat on the B6318 running alongside Hadrian’s Wall. Visit Housesteads Roman fort (£7.80 per adult) just before the village of Once Brewed, or
Vindolanda fort to the south (£7.90 per adult). The final leg is the speedy B7076 which runs parallel to the A74(M) motorway and is virtually traffic free.
If you are looking for remote roads the route from Hawick to Moffat is for you. Leave Hawick on the B6399 for a joyous ride down to Newcastleton. The road here burrows south along waterways, constantly bending and cresting over humps and hills. The surface isn’t tip-top, so a softly-sprung mid-size naked might be the best bike to enjoy it on. Stop in Newcastleton at the bike-friendly Olive Tree Café. Its green awnings are slap-bang in the middle of town so you can’t miss it. More remoteness? Get on the B7068 between Langholm and Lockerbie. Thirty minutes of brilliantly quiet and winding road.