Border Country Cycle Routes - Scotland - England

• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Maps
• Updates

August 2009

28 Kielder

31 Bloody Bush Road

33 Scotch Kershope

All three routes run along part of Kielder Water. A purpose-built Lakeside Way cycle route has recently been opened and runs right round the lake and this makes an ideal alternative to both the road which runs along the south shore and the forest track which runs along the north shore. These can, however, still be used and may be preferable in some circumstances.

January 2006

14 Minch Moor

A section of NCR 1 has now been completed and signed and provides a better alternative to the one described. The original route is still feasible.

Instead of taking the road from Yair Bridge through Caddonfoot, stay on the west side of the River Tweed from Yair Bridge and follow a tarred road, which turns into a reasonably surfaced track after half a kilometre or so. The track skirts the foot of Craig Hill to meet a tarred road again near a bridge over the Tweed at Peel.

15. Yair Bridge

Sections of a cycle route between Selkirk and Galashiels have now been completed and NCR 1 has been slightly re-routed as a result. The original route is still feasible.

Follow the north bank of the River Tweed and opposite Abbotsford House as described. Instead of crossing over the A7, the cycle route now runs alongside the main road before passing under it at the road bridge over the Tweed. The minor road heads slightly uphill to rejoining the route described at (484 323)

16. Scott's View

As for the previous route, NCR 1 has now been slightly re-routed as a new section has recently been constructed. The original route is still feasible.

Half way between Selkirk and Galashiels and where our route crosses the Tweed by the 'old' bridge, the cycle track now follows the north bank of the Tweed passing under the main road at the 'new' bridge and then rejoins the route described at Boleside.

36. Spadeadam

The Lime Kiln Inn at Shopford has now closed permanently.

GPS Data

My own website at www.bikeroutes.org.uk complements the routes in the book and describes many others not included in it. I have recently been exploring the possibility of including GPS data files which are freely downloadable. At the time of writing, there is just one route for which the GPS data has been made available and for which I have invited comments.

The purpose of making the files available is really twofold. Firstly, the data - in other words, the route - can be viewed in OS digital mapping software, such as Fugawi, Memory Map, Anquet and so on. This can help in planning routes and enables them to be shared and discussed between friends and colleagues. Secondly, the data can be uploaded into a GPS unit and actually used for navigation purposes.

Of course, not everyone would have the facilities and/or inclination to use the data for either purpose, but mapping out a route and producing the actual GPS data is not particularly arduous or time consuming and so may well be genuinely useful in terms of providing clarity and also scope for adaptation to suit particular needs.

On a technical note, I've chosen to use .GPX format for the data files since it seems to be widely supported. In addition, free software - EasyGPS - to edit .GPX files can be found at www.easygps.com and more information about the file format itself is available at www.topografix.com

I feel that the provision of GPS data is particularly appropriate and relevant for cycle routes, but that it could be equally well-suited for walking and backpacking routes; both in the UK and abroad.