Wednesday 4 September 2013

North of the border

Over the Bank Holiday weekend, I managed to get away to Scotland, a country I had visited before but never cycled in. I headed directly to North Queensferry and rode Route 1 into Edinburgh, making use of the Forth Road Bridge (1), which is superb and has wonderful views of the Firth of Forth, the railway bridge (2) and North and South Queensferry. NCR1 is a varied and a pleasant ride, including some ex-railway line (3). I bought a ticket for a stand-up in the evening (it was the last day of the Festival) and then rode back to my car, had a Chinese meal in South Queensferry and then drove to Edinburgh for the show (quite funny), a pub (I sampled several different real ales unfamiliar to me) and the Youth Hostel. The next day, I pedalled first to Leith by Route 75, then retraced my steps back into town on the Water of Leith Walkway (4) and on to Glasgow by NCR75 and 754. Once out of town, NCR754 follows two canals, the Union and the Forth & Clyde, which are connected at Falkirk by the famous Wheel (8), an amazing piece of engineering for lifting boats. Obviously, this ride was very flat but it took me through pleasant countryside with plenty of interest: aqueducts (7), castles, red hills (6) and wooden sculptures (5). Day three saw me riding back to Edinburgh, this time by Route 75. This was hillier, but I had the wind behind me! The route began with Clyde following the Clyde (9), passed through a few built-up areas (this impressive piece of artwork (10) above the trail is at Coatbridge), ran alongside a brand-new railway line from Aidrie to Bathgate (some 15 miles of beautifully tarmacked path (11) created when the line was built), passing through the tranquil Almondell and Calderwood Country Park and under Camps Viaduct (12), eventually joining the Water of Leith path (13) and merging with Route 754 again before entering Edinburgh. The weather was very kind to me and I was pleased to have covered these 266 km in Scotland over the three days. Strongly recommended! Map: Sustrans "Discover: Forth and Clyde")
















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