Riding the Border B-roads

The English/scottish Borders offer fantastic riding roads and places called Foulbog. And if that’s not a reason to get on your bike and ride…

The B6318 and B709 are the UK’S longest B-roads – the

18 is the longest at just over 60 miles and runs east-towest from Heddon-on-the-wall, west of Newcastle, to Langholm in Dumfries and Galloway. But for the most part it follows alongside Hadrian’s Wall – and the Romans probably had a hand in constructing the B6318 because it’s mostly straight and fairly uneventful.

The B709, which starts in Langholm and ends up just under 60 miles later bumping into the A7, a few miles outside Edinburgh, is a different matter…

It wiggles and it swings past a variety of landscapes and landmarks. But first it starts a few miles out of Langholm when, between the dry-stone walls and fields, a big gold Buddha appears floating on a pond. It’s the Kagyu Samye Ling Tibetan Buddhist Centre, established in 1967 and the first in the West. It’s open to visitors too, and runs courses – worth a stop just to see such a sculpture slap bang in the middle of the Borders.

Further along and the B709 swings up and down, and sideways,

as it gets seriously giddy. And as it flows it passes through places such as Fingland and Foulbog, but it is always narrow and sometimes so rutted and broken it’s like riding off road (repairs to various lengths of the road have been going for over a year). At the tiny hamlet of Crosslee the road turns left and dives into Borders moorland, then round a sharp right-hander into the Altrieve Lake Valley, a hidden gem of Borders scenery with a dramatic view from one end of the U-shaped bowl to the other.

From here the B709 hugs the ridges of the hillsides north towards the town of Innerleithen where you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to picking a cafe – try the wonderfully-named Sitooterie for a bite to eat and a coffee.

From Innerleithen you’re not far from the end – but it’s a glorious last few miles between steep slopes, either side of the road, that are carpeted in heather which, when in bloom, is like riding over a great big purple quilt.

And perhaps the best thing about the B709 is when you’ve finished it – in just over two hours – you’ve plenty of time to turn around and ride back the other way. And another chance for a sitdown at the Sitooterie. Chippy Wood

‘Between the dry-stone walls and fields, a big gold Buddha appears floating on a pond’