Cycle Route – Whole Lotta Gilly

I am a big believer that you do not need to travel for miles and miles to have an amazing holiday. I have lived in Scotland my entire life and yet have not seen the whole beautiful country yet. With the hubby and I on our lifestyle change (or challenge!) I wanted to find a nice break where we can still have an amazing time as well as being adventurous.

The solution – the North Coast 500! Scotlands answer to Route 66. The route way runs to and from Inverness, venturing round the capital of the Highlands, up the West Coast and back via the rugged north coast covering Black Isle, Caithness, Easter Ross, Inverness-shire, Sutherland and Wester Ross. Looking at the North Coast 500’s website (here) I can’t believe how stunning the North of Scotland is.

The website provides different itineraries to suit different tastes – bikers, adventure seekers, luxury travel. This is making the planning of this trip even easier. As I am on a mission to be more “outdoor’sy” we are looking at the Campers itinerary. This 5 day route plan involves things to see along the way along with recommendations for accommodation & eating.

Thank you North Coast 500 for your beautiful informative website, I am looking forward to planning my trip and blogging along the way. Also love following all the pins on Pinterest.

http://www.northcoast500.com/

Images from pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/northcoast500/

I thought I would share my daily cycle route with my blog readers 🙂

As a cycle newbie I love the fact that this route is off-road and allows me to enjoy my ride with the peace of mind that I am safely tucked away from the busy traffic.

The route stretches round the coast from Montrose to the North-water Viaduct at St Cyrus and is designed to create an off-road path for both cyclists and pedestrians. Very popular with fellow cyclists and dog walkers!

From the St Cyrus end (my direction) I begin down at the St Cyrus beach reserve car park, and cycle the short 1 mile quiet road to the start of the cycle track just at the viaduct. The gravel track takes you over the viaduct with spectacular views and down through the flourishing fields (runs parallel to the road but fence separates in-between path and road).

The course is mainly flat but with some deceiving uphill slopes :). You are then off through a gorgeous wood path – my favourite part, through Kinnaber before hitting the long stretch at the old Montrose Aerodrome finishing at the former airfield at Broomfield, Montrose. From this point you can continue on a cycle path down to Montrose beach where quite conveniently there is an ice cream shop, or continue to the South side of Montrose at the harbour.

The route for me, St Cyrus to Montrose beach is approximately a 11 mile round trip, and makes the perfect evening cycle – even better as the route doesn’t not involve any busy roads my dog Rupert can come along for the trip.