This is a ride across southern Scotland, from the west coast to the east coast.  It will become an officially designated route later in the summer, but this is a chance for a sneak preview.  The ride will cover about 250 miles in four days, over countryside that is undulating rather than wickedly steep, with no more than 1200 m climbing each day, or there are flatter options.  Each stage starts/ends in a reasonably-sized town and there is the potential to do only part of the route.  For this reason, each stage is bookable separately.  You will also book your own accommodation, for maximum flexibility.

We are joining forces with Out Velo for this trip.  People who are members of both please book via one or the other, not both so you don’t claim two spaces!

The route is generally on less-busy roads, although there are a few unavoidable sections of trunk road to get over bridges.

The overall plan is:

• Day 0, arrive Stranraer
• Day 1, Stranraer to Kirkcudbright. 74 miles, or a shorter 56 mile route
• Day 2, Kirkcudbright to Lockerbie. 46 miles.  Lockerbie is rail-connected to Edinburgh, Glasgow and England and is a possible leave or join point.
• Day 3, Lockerbie to Hawick. 53 miles, or a shorter 45 miles
• Day 4, Hawick to Eyemouth. 72 miles, or to Berwick-upon-Tweed, 48 miles, or take 2 days over this leg.
• Day 5, travel home

You need to book separately for each day you intend to participate.  Please let me know should a day in the middle fill up so that you can’t book end-to-end.

Day 0 – Stranraer – Saturday 15 July

Arrive Stranraer for the start .  Stranraer is a former ferry port on the shore of Loch Ryan, one of the gateways to Ireland, but the ferry now goes from a short distance up to coast.  If you have time, you may wish to cycle to Portpatrick on the west coast to dip your wheel in the sea; it’s about 10 km with 200 m of ascent, each way.  Alternatively, you can do your dipping with rather less effort at Stranraer beach, but it doesn’t face west.

If you were to arrive at Stranraer a day or two early, there is lots to explore in the area.  Possibilities include the Mull of Galloway (the southernmost tip of Scotland), and the Logan Botanic Garden, an outpost of the Edinburgh Botanic Garden that takes advantage of the mild climate.  A little further afield, the Isle of Whithorn is steeped in the cult of Ninian, one of Scotland’s early saints.  Garlieston is an early planned village, which also played an important part in the preparations for D-Day.

Day 1 – Stranraer to Kirkcudbright – Sunday 16

This potentially quite a big day so there are two options, both intended to minimise time on the A75, which isn’t a great road for cyclists:

• Via Wigtown (famous for its book festival and rather a lot of bookshops – Scotland’s Hay-on Wye), 74 miles, 1040 m of ascent;
• Through the forest, 56 miles, 830 m of ascent.

Both routes go through Newton Stewart for lunch and follow the same route to Kirkcudbright for the night’s stop.

Kirkcudbright is an arty town on the estuary of one of the many Rivers Dee.

Photo credits

Stranraer towards Agnew Park by Billy McCrorie geograph.org.uk - 4027435.jpg <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Beach Huts, Kirkcudbright by Leslie Barrie geograph.org.uk - 3686256.jpg  <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons