[Closed] Tandem Friendly routes around Kipford, Dumfries and Galloway

Dalbeattie - you don't have to ride the slab!

I have been round dalbeattie on ours and found it tough - much tougher than GT red altho we did crash fairly heavily early on which dented our confidence. Second half of it was better

Sorry - can't be of much help.

You could think about riding the forest roads around Ae or Kirroughtree which are quite big forests.
Ae has a road which goes all the way up to Moffat. There is a loop of the Southern Upland Way which adds about 10mls onto this. If cycling from Dumfries to Ae+SupW, into Moffat and back you are looking at a 60ml trip 😆

Of the Stanes Glentrool is the obvious choice, it is mainly forest road with some tarmac back roads thrown in. Rather than start at the Glentrool trailhead it is possible to start at the top of the Kirroughtree section called "Heartbreak Hill" after McMoab. There is a parking area at the bottom of "H`beark Hill"

Another option is to cycle over to Mabie via a track known as Bilsons Link. This starts at a cottage called Southwick East Lodge(I think! ) It is a forest road which takes you over the hill via forest raod and out at the Solway fish farm on the Beeswing to New Abbey Rd. You then have choices of going into New Abbey, visiting the old Mill, Abbey, Shambellie House and tea room(award winning). To get to Mabie you can either pick up the Blue route or find your way through Shambellie Wood, into Troston forest and then Mabie forest. The easy way back is through Mabie to Lochanhead on the Dfs - Dbeattie Rd, Beeswing then left at Kirkgunzeon to the Dalbeattie dump/recyling centre past the sawmill(biggest in europe) and back into the forest at Tinkers Loaning. Pick up the Red route and return to Dbeattie

There is also a coastal path from Kippfford to Portling via Castle Point but this would involve a bit of push/carry and heaving bikes over dykes ❗

I have in the past taken a work colleagues mates from the N.E. round Mabie on their f/s tandems. They were nuts, managing to ride most of the Mabie cheeky trails, mental 🙄

Drumlanrig area also has a lot to offer tandem wise I would think. The Old Roman Rd off the Dalveen Pass into Durisdeer would be a scream I reckon 😈 Reckon it would be worth the trip along the road for that.............

PS. OS78 for the Ae and Drumlanrig stuff. OS ?? for the Dalbeattie to Mabie stuff

See Glentrool forest tracks (Forest Drives - these are cart tracks doable slowly in a car)

Also a circuit of Clatteringshaws loch
A712 W, 1istL N yellow road, W on Southern upland way, S over first bridge and road, from my LIMITED experience all tracks would be doable

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-747DQL
http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-73WK6E my gf managed this and shees non technical

Bing maps shows lots of green dotted trails I'd GUESS as verry doable

Could go from Moffat over to http://www.samyeling.org/ for a coffe and bcak. Bit of a push up the "all purpose" track but a good day out.
[url= http://www.forestry.gov.uk/website/ourwoods.nsf/LUWebDocsByKey/ScotlandDumfriesshireForestsoftheSouthernUplandsForestofAeNazeCarParkCountrysideTrail ]Ae trail[/url]

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does go on a tandem! But then Paul & Nic are completely bonkers!