Bike: Great Cumbrae circular

Great Cumbrae | Millport | Cycle route | ★★

[Cycling around Great Cumbrae, just south of the ferry slipway]

Almost everyone exploring the island of Great Cumbrae does so by pedal power: the island's coast road is quiet, scenic, flat as a pancake and - at 10 miles in length - easily manageable for most people. Little need for cars on the island means little traffic to contend with; in fact, bikes outnumber motorised vehicles in summer, and the island is sometimes referred to as The Island of a Thousand Bicycles (perhaps just by the cycle hire shops looking to drum up trade). Beaches, headlands, monuments and painted rocks provide countless excuses to stop and admire the panorama: to the Ayrshire mainland on the east side, north into the Highlands, to Bute on the west side, and south towards mountainous Arran. They say pictures tell a thousand words; apart from the first two, the photos on this page show the route in anticlockwise order.

[White Bay]

📌 Bike: Cumbrae circular ★★
Start / finish on Guildford Street (B896), Millport town centre, Isle of Bute, G.R.: NS 161548 ///skirt.before.bystander. Alternative start at the island's ferry slipway if you're bringing your own bike.

▶ 16 km / 10 mi | ▲ Negligible
Terrain: Tarmac public road, mostly quiet and nearly flat.
Bike hire: Several options in Millport town centre.

Route & map

Circuit of island in either direction, following coast road.


Route credit: Scotland Off the Beaten Track

On our visit

Weather: Sunny, fairly light winds, temperature in mid teens.

Also on this ride

>> Millport ★★★
>> Museum of the Cumbraes ★★
>> Robertson Museum and Aquarium ★★

Chronological photo guide

[Millport]

[Lion Rock]

[Looking towards the mainland from the southeast corner of the island]

[Oystercatcher]

[Heading north along the east coast]

[Just south of the ferry slipway]

[Busy Firth of Clyde]

[HMS Shearwater monument]

[Across the firth to Largs]

[White Bay]

[Hooks for wartime anti-submarine nets at Skate Point]

[Skate Point]

[Indian Rock!]

[Bell Bay]

[Not quite sure what this is supposed to be...]

[War memorial]

[Southwest corner of the island, with views to Arran]

Comments

Post a comment

Popular posts from this blog

Walk: Livingston's jaw-dropping waterfall

Image
West Lothian | Livingston | Short walk | ★★★
❕ Route currently impassable - see red text below

What springs to mind when someone mentions Livingston, West Lothian? Sprawling road junctions, retail parks, 1960s architecture... how about a splendid waterfall? Under a mile from the town's southernmost suburbs, the Camilty Water drops into a short but beautiful gorge sharply at odds with the gentleness of the surrounding farmland. Two substantial waterfalls and several smaller ones tumble into the depths; the largest is actually fed by a crumbling mill lade (the mill no longer exists) but this isn't obvious from below. Parking is limited, but the walk from the nearest road begins promisingly. The last few hundred metres of the route are however a bit sketchy: stepping stones across a side burn, and a very slippery slope to reach the best viewpoint - more details below.

Important

The house and gardens alongside the path are someone’s home, and although we have a so-called "right…
Read more

Campsie Glen

Image
East Dunbartonshire | Clachan of Campsie | Waterfalls | ★★★★

In bygone years a path used to snake up the narrow gorge north of Clachan of Campsie. Rockfalls and warning signs now block the middle section, but short linear walks into the gorge from each end are still well worth it. A quick stroll from the bottom car park leads to the lower section of rapids. The upper car park on Crow Road is reached by a steep, 300 metre walk or a winding, 3 mile drive. Heading downhill from here (instead of uphill towards Cort-ma Law) accesses the middle of three more waterfalls. All are worth a visit following wet weather if you don't mind a bit of scrambling, but the bottom one of these 3 deserves special praise - as you can walk behind it!


📌 Campsie Glen Lower Falls ★★
On the Kirk Burn immediately north of Clachan of Campsie, G.R.: NS 610798 ///exploring.pirates.clipped
Always open | Free

Anything else? From the large car park at G.R.: NS 611796 ///quaking.spider.dislikes it's a 5-min walk …
Read more

Loup of Fintry

Image
Stirling | Fintry | Waterfall | ★★★★

Winding through gently scenic nowhere land between the Campsie Fells and Fintry Hills, the Endrick Water unexpectedly takes an almighty 94-foot plunge into a side-on gorge. This is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the Scottish Lowlands (although Corra Linn and Grey Mare's Tail both come close), so why it's not better known is something of a mystery. Perhaps it's because the Carron Valley Reservoir upstream blocks much of the burn's catchment area, so waiting until after a period of local heavy rain is even more important than with other waterfalls. Nevertheless, this awesome cataract should be right at the top of your list.


📌Loup of Fintry ★★★★
By the B818 a mile east of Carron Valley Reservoir dam, G.R.: NS 662862 ///breezy.operation.survived
Always open | Free

Anything else? There are informal laybys with space for about 5 cars in total on both sides of the road near Gallows Knowe, G.R.: NS 661864 ///thanks.hint.curls. From…
Read more