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Does anyone commute from Fife into the centre of Edinburgh? What's the best way to go? I would be leaving from beside Halbeath Rd in Dunfermline.
Train? seriously the traffic jam leading onto barnton roundabout from the bridge used to be horrendous in the mornings and I doubt its any better now - same with the jam trying to get down queensferry road out of town at 5pm.
Trains from Fife into Edinburgh seem to be notoriously unreliable. There is a (Bus) Park and Ride just beside the Inverkeithing turn-off which would probably be a better bet.
Or cycle....
Since the new M9 link road was completed the traffic on the A90 into Edinburgh is ok. Barnton junction (as it is now) always seems busier with taffic comming from the west
few dunfermliners in my office and they get the train.
When i stayed in fife (a while back) the trains were awful, unreliable and packed, and a colleague has similar experience these days.
Assuming you have a shower and changing facilities I would go with a bike.
Google reckons about 20 mls, so unless you can come in at 7am and leave before 4pm I reckon bike will definitely be faster.
Sorry, I meant by bike. The train station is five minutes from the house and I have a works van if I need to drive, but it would be good to cycle in 2-3 days a week.
I was thinking of heading through Rosyth and taking the back road down the start of the bridge. Is there cycle path from the Edinburgh side of the bridge into the centre or is it mainly road? I'm working next to Haymarket.
The trains are still awful and the one I used to get back from Edinburgh just after 5pm looked like it had arrived from the 1960s
NCN 1 runs across the Forth Road Bridge and there is then a pretty extensive selection of cycle paths.
http://www.sustrans.org.uk/map
What - we had the train / bus / car debate for nothing?
yes there is cycle paths a fair chunk of the way - only rough pavement alongside the stretch of the a 90 that you cannot avoid. However from barnton into the town centre you might be quicker on a the road.
Take the back road from queensferry b924. then cyclepath alongside the a90, then cross crammond old brig, thru barnton and thru the golf couse, pick up the old railway - a part of the north Edinburgh cycle route and take that to Roseburn.
I can give you a memory map file of that sneaky / hard to find bits if you want.
Cheers for the replies. Think I might do a reccie this weekend to test it out before I do it during the week.
TJ - If you've easily got it to hand that would be ace. My email is in my profile.
I'll be working 8-4 and 10-6 so hopefully can avoid most of the traffic.
Not a problem - I'll post you a couple of routes as there is a scenic varient or two as well
Holy Thread Resurrection!
My client is moving me to another site in Edinburgh, so I'm moving out from the centre to Sighthill. Does anyone have any experience of commuting to the Gyle?
I'm thinking from my house to FRB, then down the old A8000 to Kirkliston. What are my options from there? Is there a cycle path past the airport? I don't fancy cycling along the dual carriageway.
From Kirkliston you can cut through at the end of the runway and then pickup a cycle lane/footpath all the way to the Gyle.
Cheers druidh. Do I head as far down as the junction between Newbridge (on the left) and Broxburn (to the right) or can I cut off in Kirkliston somewhere before getting that far?
Take the left turn, just before the upholstery place (or whatever the wee cottage on the left is) before going under the motorway, over a humpback bridge and follow the road around to the right. You pass the entrance to the sewage works and the end of the runway, up to the A8 then along the foot/cycle path all the way to the Gyle.
Just as you leave Kirliston (at the "thanks for driving carefully sign") there is a road on the left (Lochend Road)which brings you out on the A8 on the town side of Newbridge junction. Then just follow the A8 all the way to the Gyle. Alternatively in Kirkliston after the cross roads take the left on the bend (Station Road) which takes you down to a cycle path which goes to newbridge junction.
Check out opencyclemap.org for a map
Alternativly; If you take a left just after the bridge control building and follow the cycle path through Sth Q'ferry & Dalmeny, onto the A90 cycle path to Barnton, Cross the A90 and take the right turn before the junction there is a one way road/cycle path, up past Cammo tower, that will bring you out about half way between the roundabout and the casino. Down to the junction, across the road and through the shopping centre car park.
Brilliant, thanks everyone.
wwpaddler - Thanks for the link, now bookmarked.
When I worked at Gyle I'd do bridge>B800>past Elizabeth Yards>Burnshot Road and then just A90 & Maybury Road rather than down through Kirkliston & dual carriageway - only a few hundred meters in it.
A90 cyclepath is a joke and A8 one isn't much better.
NC1 is rapid and quite a nice cycle. If you're feeling keen you could divert into Dalmeny estate on the way home and cycle along the beach.
Cheers Marty, I know where you mean now.
Drookit - I'll be on the Pompino, is there a path at the top of the beach? Is that the one that goes all the way from Dalmeny and comes out at the RNLI station at South Queensferry?
Drookit - I'll be on the Pompino, is there a path at the top of the beach? Is that the one that goes all the way from Dalmeny and comes out at the RNLI station at South Queensferry?
I don't know what a Pompino is so I did a Google image search... had to close that window very quickly! I'll assume that's a road/CX bike?
There are loads of marked and unmarked routes through Dalmeny - rough, muddy and rooty or boring old roads. You just leave NC1 at Crammond Brig for the NC76 heading north. This'll take you through the estate on good roads to the house, then there's a load of rougher track that will pop you out at the bottom of the rail bridge. I don't think it would be suitable for a road bike but my pal is fine on his CX.
It's pretty hard to get lost in there as you've got the sea to the north and the road to the south - it's a good place to explore in the summer as part of an extended commute. I live near Crammond so come through it on my extended way home from my office in EH1.
These are helpful for coming up with routes:
http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/maps/