The Kirkpatrick Coast to Coast

Launched in July 2023 the Kirkpatrick Coast to Coast travels from Stranraer in Dumfries & Galloway to Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders. Details of the route, maps and suggested itineraries can be found here.

To fully enjoy the route I recommend taking one or two little detours and I can provide advise and recommendations on this to suit your interests.

Contact me for more information. I will not charge a fee for advice here - rather I would request if I give you advice and you enjoy it that you make a charitable donation to Mossburn Community Farm

D&G / Kirkpatrick Map

This map is designed to give you recommendations of places to visit and eat in the region.  These are based on places I have visited myself (with the exception of all the bike shops - these are intended to act as a guide for touring riders who may need mechanical assistance whilst riding).

I have listed cafes, points of interest, bike services as well as wildlife and bike friendly public transport.  The recommendations are near to the Kirkpatrick coast to coast or the wider D&G area.  Things change over time and I will try to keep this map as up-to-date as possible.  Any omissions are not intended to offend - it’s a big old area and I can’t visit everywhere!

I include Glasgow recommendations for people travelling by train or bus to reach Dumfries or Stranraer.

Travelling Sustainably and day trips / sections of the C2C

The C2C offers riders the chance to travel either the whole route over multiple-days or to do shorter sections of the whole route.  The easiest way to do this is to link up the start and finish of your ride with sustainable transport and the route has many options to do this.  If you have questions about wanting to ride specific sections of the route sustainably, please contact me but some suggestions of key transport links are below.

START

Stranraer

Accessible by train to Stranraer - reached from Glasgow on the Glasgow-Ayr-Stranraer line. No need to book your bike on the train.  Also accessible by bus from Dumfries (Stagecoach 500) – see details below.

FINISH

Eyemouth

The Borders Buses bike bus 253 will take you direct to Edinburgh or to Berwick.  Both with mainline train stations. 

Eyemouth can be linked to a train by cycling roughly 5 miles to Reston train station.  This can be done on quiet roads and Google maps will show you the options available to you.  Reston is on the East Coast mainline with regular trains.  More frequent stops are made however at Berwick.  This is 11 miles following the Coast and Castle cycle route.  Trains on this line require a bike reservation to be made before boarding.  This line travels directly between Edinburgh and London.

STOPS ALONG THE WAY

Stranraer to Dumfries

The 500 bus travels between Stranraer and Dumfries.  It is operated by Stagecoach and allows bikes on board.  I would recommend contacting the Stagecoach depot at Dumfries or Stranraer by phone to let them know of your intention to travel.  If the bus is a coach you can store your bike underneath the coach.  If it is not, you can put it in the space for prams and wheelchairs although those users take priority.

This bus is an excellent option for riding smaller parts of the route between Stranraer and Dumfries as the bus stops at Dunragit, Glenluce, Newton Stewart, Creetown, Gatehouse of Fleet and Castle Douglas.  All places you will ride through on the route.

Dumfries

Accessible by train from Glasgow and Carlisle.  A regular service with no need to book your bike on the train.  There is space for at least 6 bikes and often 12 if there are 4 carriages.

Also accessible by the X74 bus from Glasgow which has main stops of Hamilton, Lesmahagow, Abingdon and Moffat.  No need to book and your bike is stored in the luggage compartment.

Lockerbie

Accessible by train on the west coast mainline.  Direct trains are available from Glasgow, Carlisle and Edinburgh.  Trains will require a bike reservation to be made (this is free but needs to be done in advance of boarding the train).

Melrose

Tweedbank train station (direct train from Edinburgh, no bike reservation required) is just north of Selkirk and a few miles from Melrose.

Tweedbank, Langholm and Hawick

The Borders Buses bikes buses allow space on board for 2 or 4 bikes depending on the bus.  Full details can be found here.

The X62 travels between Edinburgh and Galashiels (very close to Tweedbank and Melrose) stopping at the beautiful Peebles and Innerleithen on route.  You could chose to start a ride from Peebles and follow the Borderloop cycle route through to Tweedbank or the more direct Tweed Valley cycle route.

The X95 travels from Edinburgh to Carlisle with stops at Langholm and Hawick which are on the C2C route.

The 253 will take you direct to Edinburgh or to Berwick from Eyemouth.