Touring - Where to ride in Scotland in Aug?

My wife and I will be visiting the UK late in August which among other things will involve about a week in Scotland. Exact destinations and dates have not been determined yet, but we will definitely spend a couple days in Edinburgh and want to be within a reasonable distance.

My wife is not a cyclist, though she can handle a 60-70 mile ride just fine. We would need to rent equipment. The purpose of the ride would be more to see the countryside than the ride itself, so scenery is important and it would be preferable if the ride is no more than moderately challenging. Any recommendations?

My brother and wife just spent 6 weeks in Scotland doing walking tours and tracking ancestors. I would go for the Speyside area. Scottish equivalent of wine country, just distilleries instead :D . Just a monent while I find the thread that shows all the bike routes in Great Britian in my old bike route maps thread.

AH HA! Try http://sustrans.co.uk/default.asp These people sent me a free waterproof map of all the bike routes in Great Britian and some leaflets with detailed tour info. Try there.

I spent 4 weeks in May 2004 cycling from Edinburgh to the west coast, around the Isle of Lewis & Harris and the Isle of Skye, then south through Mallaig, Tobermory, Oban, Isle of Arran, and down to Troon where I caught a ferry to Ireland. West and north of Pitlochry was where I really started to enjoy Scotland, the coast from Mallaig south to Tarbert was (IMHO) the most scenic. Take a train from Edinburgh to somewhere on the west coast, rent some bikes, and set off. Fort William is a fairly major center for outdoor activities of all kinds, it would probably be a good place to rent bikes.

The ferries in western Scotland offer discounted "Island Hopscotch" itineraries, which save you a few pounds on a series of crossings and get your bike on the ferry for free. The bicycle/ferry combination is an excellent way to see western Scotland.

The canals from Edinburgh to Glasgow then to Loch Lomond is a nice flat ride and I think there might be a cycle path along the west shore of the Loch, not sure though. If there is then bike up towards the northern end of the Loch and grab the train from Ardlui (or Balloch if ther is no cycle trail) to Fort Lincoln and then take the loch/canal path(Great Glen Cycleway) to Fort Agustus and then onto Inverness all along Loch Ness.

You can also head southwest from Glasgow to the west coast on the national cycleway (sustrans) and take the ferry from Irvine(?) to Arran for a couple of days or the Isle of Cumbrae for an afternoon from Largs. You can also hop on the train with bikes most if not all the time although if there is an interuption of services and they substitute with buses you will be screwed! It happened to me once in Edinburgh.

These rides I think would better suite a person who is not a cyclist although 60-70 miles is still impressive.

You will need patches and tubes as there is no deposit on bottles here and breaking them seems to be the favorite pastime of the 'neds' especially on the west coast where I had three punctures in about an hour of riding.

Consider taking your own saddle and/or pedals for use on a rental bike.
The W coast is generally more scenic, esp the islands, you cant really go wrong with an island-hopping trip staying in B&B or youth hostels. Dont be afraid to check out some of the smaller islands. Skye and Arran are 2 of the larger busier ones.
Oban is a good base on the coast, accesable by rail (http://www.firstgroup.com/scotrail/content/travelinfo/mapsandroutes.php)with plenty of ferry (http://www.calmac.co.uk/)services and bike hire (http://www.obancycles.com/).

I just came back from Scotland. We had a short stay of only a few days, but did the ride around the Isle of Arran (90km). It was fantastic! Riding clockwise, there's a climb coming out of Brodick, the town at which the ferry arrives. I estimated it at around 2 miles, perhaps. The first part was quite steep but in all quite manageable. The terrain is rolling thereafter for a while. There are some very long. flat stretches on the west side of the island, punctuated by a few short, extremely steep sections (marked on the road at 20% and 17%). The "mac daddy" of the climbs, though, comes out of Lochranza at the north end of the island. I would estimate it at around 3 miles. It's really a lovely ride up with some great views to be had along the way. Some stretches are moderately steep but again, it's quite manageable. The rest is descent and flat to Brodick. We did the whole ride on our folding bikes, BTW. I saw at least one spot that had cycle hires available. If you bring your own bike, I recommend stopping at the cycle shop in Brodick for a map of the isle.

We rode part of the Loughshore Trail (http://www.loughshoretrail.com/) while in Ireland. It is part of National Cycle Network, which has trails and route all though Northern Ireland, Scotland and England.

http://www.sustrans.org.uk/default.asp?sID=1090515197515


Kevin

I biked along the west coast of Scotland and in the highlands. My absolute favorite part was the Isle of Mull. And from Mull, you can catch a ferry to the Ardnamurchan peninsula, which was also extremely nice.

I have heard great things about Mull also. My touring experience in Scotland was in Dumfries and Galloway in the south. Very hilly. Well suited to mountain bike touring, but maybe not the most picturesque of places. The 7 Stanes (http://www.7stanes.gov.uk/forestry/achs-5rneev) are quite attractive for mountain bikers.

I have heard great things about Mull also. My touring experience in Scotland was in Dumfries and Galloway in the south. Very hilly. Well suited to mountain bike touring, but maybe not the most picturesque of places. The 7 Stanes (http://www.7stanes.gov.uk/forestry/achs-5rneev) are quite attractive for mountain bikers.

I have heard great things about Mull also. My touring experience in Scotland was in Dumfries and Galloway in the south. Very hilly. Well suited to mountain bike touring, but maybe not the most picturesque of places. The 7 Stanes (http://www.7stanes.gov.uk/forestry/achs-5rneev) are quite attractive for mountain bikers.

Mull is nice, the east/west road A849 leads to the ferry to Iona, a famous pilgramage spot (St.Columba first set up shop here) with a number of kings buried there. The road is a single track with passing lanes. Except for the extreme eastern end there are no trees so visability is good to spot cars. As I recall the terrain is rolling with nothing to difficult. If you split off and head up B8035 there is a somewhat steep climb up to about 150m then down hill to the shore line. The place is usually loaded with hillwalkers bagging the many munros on the island. Have never been to the northern half though.