Gravel
Scotland Borders

The ride heads out of town towards the Cairnsmore of Fleet Nature Reserve before heading under the iconic brick arches of the now disused Big Water of Fleet railway viaduct. It takes on a section of the famous Raiders Road gravel before using a combination of tracks and quiet back lanes through pretty, rural Dumfries and Galloway towns. The Ae Forest is on the route, offering more miles of sublime gravel forestry tracks. The area is famous for its mountain bike downhill trails too. The perfect gravel here follows the Roman and Reivers route and continues into the market town of Moffat. A long-term preserve of hikers, the town is full of great cafes and is now becoming a favored cycling stop-off due to the great gravel and road riding in all directions from the town.

Today’s ride  heads up and up into the vast Clyde Wind Farm, at the time of construction this was the largest onshore wind farm in the UK, only overtaken by Whitelee near Glasgow. It also has a huge network of upland gravel tracks offering fast descents and epic views of the Border and Southern Upland hills.

From the wind farm the route drops down to the source of the infamous River Tweed. This upland area is mostly bog between the hills and serves as the starting point for what is one of the best fishing rivers in the world.

The tour takes in the remote village of Tweedsmuir, with its famous rocky bridge over the Tweed, before skirting around the hills on a network of tracks along the River Tweed.

Drumelzier (pronounced drum – mell e-er) is the last resting place of Merlin the Wizard and Merlin’s Grave. According to legend, which is at least as old as the 15th century, the wizard was buried 200 yards NNW of Drumelzier church. There are ruins of Merlin’s Castle visible on a nearby hill and an associated alterstone is visible along the route, adding to a feel of myth and legends that the Borders thrives on.

A sublime short track heads past the magnificent Stobo Castle before a spin along the Tweed to the bustling market town and Royal Burgh of Peebles.

From Peebles the route heads back south via Cardrona Forest, a pleasant forest with great views and sparse pretty larch trees. A slightly technical descent brings us down to the Glen Estate and the turrets of Glen House, long associated with royalty and celebrity and a few rumours of wild parties in the 1960’s. It is ideally isolated and almost Disney-like with spires and turrets.

Langholm (also known as ‘Muckle Toon’) grew around a number of textile mills. While many of these have long been closed, more recently the local community purchased 5,000 acres of surrounding moor to rewild and have a focus on attracting tourism. The next town of Newcastleton is the last stop in Scotland, before a section of the cross border cycling route follows a river into the vast Kielder Forest in England. This is gravel heaven with endless tracks in all directions. The day ends with a scenic ride around the waters of Kielder Reservoir, this is the largest man-made reservoir in Europe holding an estimated 200 billion litres of water and stretching to over 9 kilometers long.

The final day starts by taking in one of the finest gravel tracks in all of Kielder Forest, before heading due east on a challenging but rewarding final day to the North Sea coast. Much of the ride is within the fabulous scenery of the Northumberland National Park, one of the UK’s largest, least populated and most rugged. The huge Kielder Forest Park ends after the small village of Bryness, then the ride heads along some fun gravel sections but most is on the quiet backlanes of the Northumberland countryside. Alnwick is famous for its historic centre and sprawling medieval castle which has played home to Harry Potter films, Downton Abbey and many more.

Unfortunately, your trip across Scotland has come to an end.

Our shuttle will drop you off at Edinburgh Airport.