Gretna to Loch Lomond
Wednesday 15th May
Annan to Abington
Daily miles 50
Total miles 640.8
Daily ascent 2496 ft
Total ascent 32880 ft
Weather Still cooler but bright
Difficulty Mainly easy to moderate
When we left Annan we made our way to Dalton where we joined the B7020 which took us North via Lochmaben towards Beatock & Moffat. It was a pleasure to be out of earshot of busy main roads & railways for a while and the traffic on our route was comparatively light so we had a pleasant mornings cycling, though we had some long, but steady climbs, especially towards Beatock. We had a slight problem on the way when my rear pannier rack suddenly came loose and almost spilled my load onto the road. fortunately we were on a cycle track so there wasn't any problem with traffic. On examining the rack we discovered that two of the mounting bolts had worked loose but fortunately I had spares with me so very soon we were on our way again. After an excellent breakfast at Moffat we backtracked to Beatock & took the B7076, closely following the A74(M) as far as Abington where we stopped for ice creams before setting up camp at Mount view caravan park. The site was fine. but once again we found ourselves adjacent to a main line railway only this time there was a set of points close by which made it even more noisy. to add to our misery, we discovered that the local pub had recently closed down so did not even have the solace of alcohol to lull us to sleep.
Total miles 640.8
Daily ascent 2496 ft
Total ascent 32880 ft
Weather Still cooler but bright
Difficulty Mainly easy to moderate
When we left Annan we made our way to Dalton where we joined the B7020 which took us North via Lochmaben towards Beatock & Moffat. It was a pleasure to be out of earshot of busy main roads & railways for a while and the traffic on our route was comparatively light so we had a pleasant mornings cycling, though we had some long, but steady climbs, especially towards Beatock. We had a slight problem on the way when my rear pannier rack suddenly came loose and almost spilled my load onto the road. fortunately we were on a cycle track so there wasn't any problem with traffic. On examining the rack we discovered that two of the mounting bolts had worked loose but fortunately I had spares with me so very soon we were on our way again. After an excellent breakfast at Moffat we backtracked to Beatock & took the B7076, closely following the A74(M) as far as Abington where we stopped for ice creams before setting up camp at Mount view caravan park. The site was fine. but once again we found ourselves adjacent to a main line railway only this time there was a set of points close by which made it even more noisy. to add to our misery, we discovered that the local pub had recently closed down so did not even have the solace of alcohol to lull us to sleep.
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Thursday 16th May
Abington to Luss.
Daily miles 70.6
Total miles 711.4
Daily ascent 3449 ft
Total ascent 36329 ft
Weather Overcast at first but brighter later.
Difficulty Easy for the most part
It was with a little apprehension that we left Abington because we knew that we had to cross Glasgow which was an unknown quantity to both of us. The first few miles were quite easy although there was a lot of traffic on the roads, however, as in the rest of Scotland where we cycled, we found the cycle tracks and lanes well laid out and maintained so we had no real problems traffic wise' We accessed the Clyde Walkway via a footbridge near Morrisons Supermarket at Cambuslang and stayed with it all the way to Erskine. The first section of the walkway passed through woodland with views of the river on our left and it was hard to believe that we were only a few miles from the centre of Glasgow. The woodland eventually gave way to more built up areas of the city but our route was clearly signposted and easily followed. The only criticism that I have is that we saw no sign of refreshments for much of the way and had to wait until we reached the maritime museum where we found a stall in the car park selling coffee and bacon sarnies. After our break we carried on through Dumbarton and then somehow we found ourselves on the A 82 which at this point is a dual carriageway and an absolute nightmare for cyclists. We were not at all happy and ended up lifting the bikes over a barrier and wheeling them down a steep grassy embankment to an underpass which then took us into a much safer environment where we could make our way through Alexandria, Balloch and then to the shores of Loch Lomond.
We had heard that the campsite at Luss was closing down so we were relieved to find it still open, The lady in reception told us that the lease was up for renewal but nothing has yet been decided. It would be a pity if it closed because it is a lovely little site and as far as I know there is nothing else in the immediate area. That evening we ate in the Loch Lomond Arms. The food was tasty, but the portions were small.
Total miles 711.4
Daily ascent 3449 ft
Total ascent 36329 ft
Weather Overcast at first but brighter later.
Difficulty Easy for the most part
It was with a little apprehension that we left Abington because we knew that we had to cross Glasgow which was an unknown quantity to both of us. The first few miles were quite easy although there was a lot of traffic on the roads, however, as in the rest of Scotland where we cycled, we found the cycle tracks and lanes well laid out and maintained so we had no real problems traffic wise' We accessed the Clyde Walkway via a footbridge near Morrisons Supermarket at Cambuslang and stayed with it all the way to Erskine. The first section of the walkway passed through woodland with views of the river on our left and it was hard to believe that we were only a few miles from the centre of Glasgow. The woodland eventually gave way to more built up areas of the city but our route was clearly signposted and easily followed. The only criticism that I have is that we saw no sign of refreshments for much of the way and had to wait until we reached the maritime museum where we found a stall in the car park selling coffee and bacon sarnies. After our break we carried on through Dumbarton and then somehow we found ourselves on the A 82 which at this point is a dual carriageway and an absolute nightmare for cyclists. We were not at all happy and ended up lifting the bikes over a barrier and wheeling them down a steep grassy embankment to an underpass which then took us into a much safer environment where we could make our way through Alexandria, Balloch and then to the shores of Loch Lomond.
We had heard that the campsite at Luss was closing down so we were relieved to find it still open, The lady in reception told us that the lease was up for renewal but nothing has yet been decided. It would be a pity if it closed because it is a lovely little site and as far as I know there is nothing else in the immediate area. That evening we ate in the Loch Lomond Arms. The food was tasty, but the portions were small.