7 Best Places For Cycling Holidays In Scotland

• Great variety of routes for all types and abilities
• Quiet roads and less traffic
• Waymarked long distance cycle routes
• Mountain biking in the forests

Recommended routes: There are cycle trails around every main Scottish Borders town perfect for a cycling holiday – there are 9 towns to choose from including Melrose, Jedburgh and Peebles. Each town has a number of routes around it, enough to keep you busy for a few days.

Check out the Town Trails in the Scottish Borders

• Check out the town routes in Aberdeenshire for long-distance day cycles around places including Stonehaven, Banff, Peterhead and Deeside.
• Break up your holiday with a couple of short town cycling routes shown on these video routes for Fraserburgh, Inverurie or Portlethen.

Recommended routes: If you’re looking for a challenge for your cycling holiday in Scotland, Aberdeenshire have put together a list of their 10 most challenging and rewarding cycling routes.

Recommend route: Pick up the Lochs & Glens Way between Aberfoyle and Killin.

Highlights include:

• The path by Loch Venachar is described as some of the best cycling in Scotland
• Great views through the forest after Aberfoyle
• Callander to Strathyre is great for a quiet cycle along the old Oban railway – look out for the Roman fort
• Mesmerising Falls of Leny
• Resting place of Rob Roy

Check out the NCR Trossachs leaflet for information on this part of the route | PDF 6,3MB

Recommended route: The Wild About Argyll Trail is 407 miles but you can break it down into sections if you can’t tackle it all at once on a cycling holiday. The route is achievable all year round, and suitable for gravel and mountain bikes.

Highlights:

• The dramatic landscape of the Ardgartan Peninsula
• Loch Eck and Puck’s Glen
• The rugged landscapes and steep coastal roads in East Kintyre
• The views from the highest point at Allt Dearg Community Wind Farm and the descent to Achahoish
• Glen Nant National Nature Reserve, the forest roads around Loch Awe and Avich Falls

Recommended routes: There are a number of routes on this west-coast island to keep you busy for a while on a cycling holiday to Scotland. Look out for the three distillery path (soon to be four) which offers a great café and views at Ardnahoe Distillery. Or check out the sea views Port Charlotte down to Portnahaven.

Recommended route: Try the 42-mile circular route from Stromness over to Hoy. You’ll pass by the beautiful beach of Rackwick and get brilliant views of Scapa Flow and the South Isles.

Did you know?

Bikes travel free of charge on Orkney Ferries.

Follow the Hoy Cycle Route

Recommended route: The Helix Around Town Tour (HArTT) route is an 18-mile circular cycle around the Falkirk area. It takes you around all the local highlights – The Helix, The Kelpies, Forth and Clyde Canal, Falkirk Wheel, Union Canal and Callendar Park. It covers a variety of terrain, including cycle paths, canal tow paths and single track sections.

Follow the HArTT route

The wider area has over 500 km of shared use paths, including mountain bike trails, high quality parkland routes, canal paths and Round the Forth Cycle Route.

See the Full Cycle Map for Falkirk | PDF 2,2MB

Find cyclist-friendly accommodation around Falkirk