# Easter weekend tour to and through the Borders



## Rasmus (3 Apr 2013)

After very enjoyable trips to the Highlands the last two easters, I was keen to try somewhere different for this year's expedition. My choice fell on the Scottish Borders - it is an area I am probably unlikely to visit in any other context, and I have read and heard nothing but good things about the area as a cycling destination.

Route planning: I placed a number of restrictions on myself: Start in on near my home in Glasgow, end somewhere near a mainline train station. 3 day trip. Also, I really wanted to go through the Mennock Pass that I had read about in some "top UK climbs" book. With that, the route soon sorted itself out. Day 1 to Moffat, day 2 to the youth hostel in Kirk Yetholm, and day 3 to Berwick-upon-tweed and the train home.

In the weeks leading up to the trip I was getting a little worried about the unseasonably cold weather with strong easterly winds. But the last of the nastyness departed on Wednesday, and my weekend was as a whole in glorious weather conditions

Equipment: I used once again my magnificent Trek 7.3FX hybrid, which has the very low gears I knew I would need with long days in hilly terrain. I packed a bar bag to the brim with a spare set of clothes, and otherwise made do with jersey and jacket pockets for food etc.

Day 1, Glasgow to Moffat - route map

I set off southwards on Good Friday morning and after a short trip though the suburbs I soon reached Eaglesham moor, where the Wind Farm was in full operation.






My legs were feeling great as I proceeded further through Galston and Sorn to Auchinleck, where I made the turn into the Nith valley. The wind started to pick up a bit, and I realized I was only a bit less than half way - it was going to be an afternoon of hard work! In New Cumnock I got onto the A76, which had a surprisingly low amount of traffic. I still chose to take the very scenic back roads around Kirkconnel and Sanquhar, from where I took a break admiring the snow-clad hills that I would soon venture into.





After 90km of riding I turned off and on to the Mennock pass - 10km of climbing lay ahead. At first it was very gentle, but the gradient soon increased, and my legs started to really feel the pain. Luckily the scenery was absolutely spectacular, so I could take a great many breaks to admire the view!








I eventually arrived at Wanlockhead, the highest village in Scotland. Very picturesque, and very covered in snow!





From there a descent into a surprisingly heavy headwind took me down to the M74 at Elvanfoot, and I proceeded south along the old road before finally reaching my destination of Moffat after nearly 7 hours of riding time. I spent the night at the 29 Well St B&B, which I can recommend throroughly. Decent price for single occupancy, secure bicycle storage, and an excellent breakfast the next morning.

Day 2: Moffat to Kirk Yetholm - route map
Day 1 was hard work with rewarding scenery, and day 2 was more of the same, as I traversed the border region to end up within a mile of England. I started by heading south to Eskdalemuir, where I stopped off to take a look at the Buddhist centre.




I then passed through the most remote section of my trip, crossing through Ettrick forest park and heading east towards Hawick.










So far, the terrain had been mostly gently rolling hills, but I had somehow left the hardest work still to come. After two very tough climbs on either side of Jedburgh I was very happy to finally see the church of Kirk Yetholm in the distance.

I spent the night at the SYHA affiliated Friends of Nature hostel. As hostels come it was perfectly adequate, but unfortunately the small room heaters were not really able to cope with the very cold evening - luckily the blanket was suffuciently thick to keep me warm overnight.

Day 3: Kirk Yetholm to Berwick-upon-Tweed - route map
I had realized already when planning the trip that my legs would probably be very weary after the first two days (they were!), so day three was somewhat shorter, and a lot less hilly! Within minutes of setting off, I crossed the border into Nurthumberland.





I proceeded almost due east to the coast, where I wanted to visit the Holy Island, aka Lindisfarne, connected to the mainland by a causeway. The island is a bit of a tourist trap, but a bench below the old castle was a nice enough place to enjoy a lunch.





Back onto the mainland I proceeded a few miles north on the NCN1 route, taking in possibly the worst bit of cyclepath to be found anywhere, a path barely suitable for walkers, nevermind a bicycle. I image it must be nearly impassable in poor weather. I then proceeded to detour inland, as I wanted to visist a second tourist attraction, the Union Bridge. Evading a massive landslip on the banks of the Tweed, I arrived safely.













From here it was only 6 or 7 miles into Berwick and I arrived in good time to get a meal and pint (or two) before the uneventful train journey home.

All in all a very enjoyable trip, although I might reduce the somewhat optimistic cistance and climbing numbers for me next tour. I am already beginning to ponder the destination...


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## GBC (3 Apr 2013)

Rasmus said:


> After very enjoyable trips to the Highlands the last two easters, I was keen to try somewhere different for this year's expedition. My choice fell on the Scottish Borders - it is an area I am probably unlikely to visit in any other context, and I have read and heard nothing but good things about the area as a cycling destination.
> ...


 
Sounds really fantastic Rasmus and I'm glad that you enjoyed it as much as you did. I'm quite familiar with that part of the world, having done a lot of hill walking down there, and at it's best, the scenery is absolutely stunning. Wanlockhead though, was probably much improved by a few tons of snow. 

I've never got round to taking a bike down there, but each time I've driven over the Mennock Pass, my determination to do it on the bike some day is reinforced. Some day, and preferably before I get very much older.....


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## Rasmus (4 Apr 2013)

GBC said:


> Wanlockhead though, was probably much improved by a few tons of snow.


 
You could well be right, I didn't actually venture down into the village itself. The neighbouring village of Leadhills looked pretty unappealing, though...


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## Rasmus (4 Apr 2013)

[QUOTE 2392958, member: 9609"]Your Route Maps just show your elevation profile, Is their a road map of where you went. Since you were in my back yard I'm quite curious as to the roads you used.[/quote]

Ohh, I guess you only see the elevation if you're not logged into strava. Good to know. I'll replace the links with ridewithgps ones - I deviated ever so lightly from the planned route in a couple of places, but nothing really significant.


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## tug benson (4 Apr 2013)

How did you find the mennock pass rasmus?

when i done it we had a really windy day and i was getting blown all over the road,it was getting dangerous, it ws lucky that i passed about 3 cars all day.... when i was doing the pass i made it 3/4 way up the radar road before having to tuen back because of the snw and wind....i feel i`ve got unfished busniess with that area


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## Hardrock93 (5 Apr 2013)

Great write up and pictures, Rasmus. You're obviously a lot fitter than I am (no way I could have managed that first stretch in a single day), but it's great to see what can be achieved on a relatively modest bike. I think it's so easy to become convinced that we can't venture further than Tesco's without investing in a dedicated and expensive tourer.


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## Col5632 (5 Apr 2013)

Great writeup Rasmus, very jealous of your trip indeed, looks like an awesome part of the country, i've camped in Moffat before but that was a good few years ago now.


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## Pat "5mph" (5 Apr 2013)

Rasmus is a cycling





Great report and pictures: you must have been freezing while taking them.
My Easter Sunday ride was baltic, the only solution was to keep on the move!


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## Rasmus (5 Apr 2013)

tug benson said:


> How did you find the mennock pass rasmus?
> 
> when i done it we had a really windy day and i was getting blown all over the road,it was getting dangerous, it ws lucky that i passed about 3 cars all day.... when i was doing the pass i made it 3/4 way up the radar road before having to tuen back because of the snw and wind....i feel i`ve got unfished busniess with that area


I had a headwind as well, although it wasn't too significant. It was the long day in advance of arrival at the climb that caused me trouble... There were some walkers setting off up the radar road when I passed - it was covered in snow right from the start.

I too would like to return and do it on the road bike - but I'll probably take alternate transport on part of the way down.

[QUOTE 2394270, member: 9609"]Unfortunate choice of road you used to approach Jedburgh, It may look like a B road on the map, but as well as being a big hill, it's a bit of a rat run and is often busy with a lot of fast traffic. If you had stayed on the north side of the Teviot after Hawick there would have been few cars and little ascent. Still, after the big climb out of Jed it would have been great cycling all the way to Yetholm (unless you had that big easterly wind)
[/quote]
Well I'm one of those silly people who actively seeks out hills just for the fun of it :-). Not much traffic at all on this day - just a few speeding white vans as you'd get pretty much anywhere...

[QUOTE 2394270, member: 9609"]RE: bad NCN1 path after Holy Island - I wonder if you got a little lost here, there is a reasonable track just a little closer to the coast than the one you used.
[/quote]

I actually did use the real NCN1 path near the cost, not the alternate route plotted in advance. I still say it barely qualifies as "reasonable". 

[QUOTE 2394270, member: 9609"]Was the landslip just before the Chain Bridge ? I thought they had fixed that last year, wonder if it has all collapsed again!
[/quote]
It was indeed, right outside the honey farm. I couldn't say how long ago the landslip happened.


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## Rasmus (5 Apr 2013)

Pat "5mph" said:


> Rasmus is a cycling
> 
> 
> Great report and pictures: you must have been freezing while taking them.
> My Easter Sunday ride was baltic, the only solution was to keep on the move!


 
An accurate depiction, Pat  I must remember to bring my sword and axe next time!


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## Seamab (7 Apr 2013)

Great write up Rasmus. Glad you managed to keep warm through it all. I bet you never had a tailwind the whole trip with that nagging Easterly wind?

I did a couple of sportives some years back that took in the roads around Moffat and Wanlockhead. The Drumlanrig (which went up the Mennock Pass which was surprisingly easy given it's a Cat A climb - on a road bike of course)and the Radar Ride (which started with the descent of the Mennock Pass and eventually came back up to the radar station at the top of Lowther Hill via Elvanfoot - at the end of a 100 miler that was a beastly climb). Some of those borders roads are on the Hawick Ken Laidlaw route and are hard enough on an unweighted roadbike. Great cycling country.

Hats off to you!


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