There is no better place to go on a cyling holiday than in the rolling hills of Scotland. The roads are a lot quieter than in the rest of the UK and Scottish scenery is stunning. The beauty of taking a cycling holiday in Scotland is that you can ride along almost empty roads and stop whenever you wish to admire the wonderfull Scottish scenery. Take a packed lunch and stop whenever you want, perhaps to look out over a wonderful Scottish loch or a Scottish mountain scene. Just find a quiet place to sit and take in the silence or listen to the birds singing. Scotland is such a romantic place where you can either escape from the fast pace of modern life or you can visit any of the places steeped in Scottish history.

Cycling in Scotland is a healthy celebration of wide open spaces, dramatic scenery and clean fresh air, where you will find routes to suit all abilities. From dedicated mountain biking centres and forest trails for those seeking an adrenaline buzz, to quiet countryside lanes for something a little more relaxing. Scotland is also perfect for cycle touring - enjoy miles upon miles of the National Cycle Network or make up your own route.

Here are just a few of the hundreds of cycling routes for you to explore in Scotland

West Highlands & Islands, Loch Lomond, Stirling and the Trossachs

The Trossachs

This is a very pretty bike route and almost flat. The cycle path section (dotted line on map) is a good dirt surface. The public road on the south side of Loch Venachar only goes to a sailing club so should have very little traffic. There is a picnic site at the east end of the loch but the best picnic spots are at the other end. The other trails marked on the map are mountain bike routes. These climb steeply towards the Duke's Pass.

From Loch Katrine (Trossachs Pier) - The only hill on the route is the mile between Loch Katrine (Trossachs Pier) and Loch Achray, this will have cars. Going east turn right towards the Loch Achray Hotel passing round the south side of Loch Achray.

The cycle path begins at the start of the hill. It should be marked as National Cycle Network Route 7, and also as a bike route by the Forestry Commission. There's a barrier to stop motor bikes.

After this you go along by the south side of Loch Achray, there may be an occasional car for the first mile. Turn right just before some old farm buildings. If you keep straight on you cross the river (The inn marked on the map was closed at the time of writing but there is a tea room at Brig o' Turk).....................

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Mountains & Lochs Long Distance Route

The Trossachs

Much of the cycling here is on specially built cycle paths the remainder being mainly quiet back roads. The route consists of eight circular day rides (purple on map) which can be linked up to form a week long tour. The cycling is in four tourist areas, Glasgow, the West Highlands, Perthshire/Angus and Deeside.

This area includes plenty of mountain scenery and also some of the most famous lochs in Scotland. You'll not be surprised to hear it also has some busy roads. You won't be seeing much of them though because our route uses a mixture of specially built cycle paths and quiet back roads.

The prevailing wind is from the west so if you are doing the whole thing it might be sensible to start from Aberfoyle or Glasgow rather than Stonehaven. There are train stations at Glasgow, Pitlochry and Stonehaven.

The early part of the route between Aberfoyle and Callander takes in lovely Loch Katrine and much of it is on the water board road (no cars). Between Loch Katrine and Callander the greater part of the route is on cycle path..............

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Balquhidder & Glen Ogle

The Trossachs

This is a dedicated cycle route through some of the most beautiful scenery in Scotland. Most of it is on the former line of the Caledonian Railway Company. This was never a terribly successful operation, they were plagued by rock falls on to the line when it went up Glen Ogle and had to send an engine up early in the morning to check it out before they sent the passenger train up. The route is now part of National Cycle Network Route 7: Glasgow to Inverness.

Being mostly on a railway the gradients are generally reasonably gentle, though there are a few short steep sections at the access points. Watch out particularly for the zig zags near Loch Earn (see map).

The main climb is getting over Glen Ogle. The A85 road climbs steeply at this point but the cycle route takes an easier approach. Most of the route is on a smooth dirt surface but there are a few tarmac sections.

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Perthshire, Angus and Dundee, and The Kingdom of Fife

Around Loch Rannoch

Schiehallion, the mountain that overlooks the loch was the subject of a famous experiment by Maskeleyne, the Astronomer Royal. The intention was to determine the mass of the Earth by observing the deflection of a pendelum caused by the mass of the mountain itself. Schiehallion was considered suitable because of its isolated position and large size.

The Rannoch Area has a turbulent history of cattle thieving and many local highlanders were hung by government troops as they attempted to gain control of the lawless clans. Of these the Macgregors were the fiercest, stealing cattle from miles around and driving them into Rannoch.

The Black Wood of Rannoch is one of the remaining areas of the original Caledonian Pine Forest that once covered the whole of Scotland. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The wood is slowly being extended by removing the Non-Native trees in the periphery and allowing regeneration.

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Glen Lyon and Loch Tay

This is the middle section of a longer circular route. The complete circuit is a popular route with experienced road cyclists as it combines quiet roads with some of the best scenery in Scotland. The circular route is described in a clockwise direction and it is recommended to do it in that direction because the road near Ben Heasgarnich (see map) has a series of steep hairpin bends at its south end. It is best to do this as a climb and descend at the north side where the road is mainly straight.

This middle section of the route is just a cruise with only a small uphill section just before Fortingall. The Fortingall Hotel does cream teas on the lawn outside if the weather is sunny. There was also a hotel at Coshieville but it has recently closed.

Fortingall is known for the ancient yew tree in the churchyard which may be over 2000 years old. A persistent legend says that Pontius Pilate (who caused Jesus Christ to be crucified but was forgiven by him) was born in Fortingall. This is less unlikely than it seems because his father may have been an ambassador to North Britain during the Roman occupation.

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Glamis Castle to Glen Clova

Some people might do all of this in one day but for most of us it would be a two day cycle ride. The first day in the highland glens; the second in rural Angus countryside, perhaps with a visit to Glamis Castle. (With Glen Prosen included - 44 miles)

In Kirriemuir follow signs for The Glens to the B955 then follow signs for Glen Clova. If you are taking in Glen Prosen as well note that the Glen Prosen road is a left turn off the B955 in a wood just before you cross over the river Prosen Water (Prosen Bridge).

Glen Prosen is lovely but very hilly, there is a shop and a tea room in Glen Prosen Village. It will take several hours to get round Glen Prosen even if you don't linger in the tea room, eventually you come out at Dykehead where there is a hotel.

Between Dykehead and the Clova Hotel there are no particularly big hills, rather a series of ups and downs. Going north on the west side of the glen is recommended as you get a better view of the mountains.

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Howe of Fife

This quiet part of Fife has some lovely scenery with views over rolling farmland and the Firth of Tay. There are also some steep hills! The route described here is circular. You might prefer to do it over two days possibly staying in Falkland or St Andrews.

* Alternatively if 65 miles is too long the route can be shortened by using the 12 mile yellow coloured linking section (12+24 = 36 miles, see map).

Of course everyone has heard of St Andrews, its golf club is recognised as the ruling body for the sport world wide. The other small towns such as Newburgh, Auchtermuchty and Falkland have a rich history and still retain much of their original character. You'll find too that the wee towns and villages of Fife are not generally lacking in pubs and shops to fuel you on your way.

The route is described starting and finishing in St Andrews but you could equally well begin in Falkland or Newburgh.

Leave Falkland on the B936 heading for Freuchie. After Freuchie the route takes to back roads but before this there are a couple of major road crossings which need care.

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The Highlands and Skye

Great Glen Cycle Route
The Great Glen Cycle Route runs from Fort William to Inverness. Fort William to Laggan is mostly easy. Much of it is on the Caledonian Canal Towpath and the towpath section is traffic free. Later parts of the route, north of Laggan, are very hilly, with long climbs and steep descents.

The final section to Inverness involves some road cycling. There is also a walking route, the Great Glen Way. Most of this is the same as the cycle route but a few parts are different and these are walking only.

The Great Glen forms the dividing line between the Northern Highlands and the Central Highlands.

The Great Glen watershed is only 35 metres above sea level. The Cycle Route climbs much higher than this, to over 300 metres at times.

The Caledonian Canal was designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1822. The spectacular scenery is unusual for a canal, particularly the massif of Ben Nevis, the highest hill in Scotland (1344m).

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The Far North West - Strath Oykel

As you will see from the map the National Cycle Network and this route overlap at the start. The National Route heads north then east towards John o' Groats, while this route turns west towards the mountains. The scenery on the west coast is more dramatic but the pedalling effort is g reater too!

As mentioned in the overview description you can get a train to Culrain, or for that matter drive, but it's also possible to cycle from Inverness using the National Cycle Network. Route 1 goes via the Black Isle and is also part of the wider international North Sea Cycle Route.

Culrain might be wee but there are two train stations close by, Culrain and Invershin the other side of the Kyle of Sutherland. There wasn’t any way for people to get over other than on the train, hence the need for two stations. Flag the train down incidentally.

Once there were dire warnings in Carbisdale Castle Youth Hostel telling cyclists not use the rail bridge. This saved you an eight mile diversion via Bonar Bridge going north, so not a few risked the wrath of British Rail and sneaked over. Now there’s a footbridge, it’s not worth risking your life just to avoid a few steps.

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The Far North West - Achiltiebuie

I took a group of Americans here a few years ago. They were experienced cyclists who had ridden widely in the USA, Canada and Europe. At the end they said it had been the best bike ride ever. Fortunately the weather had been kind as there are often long spells of settled weather in the early summer.

The area falls into two parts as far as cycling is concerned: Coigach to the south is not dreadfully hilly. Cycling this is inevitably out and back. A rough track is shown on some maps leading from the road end east of Achiltibuie to the A835 near Strath Kanaird. This is difficult scrambling and taking a bike is out of the question.

All the same you should go to Altandhu, Achiltiebuie etc. There are some lovely beaches combined with distant views of the mountains to the north. There are also interesting places to visit.

Further north in Assynt it's sort of hilly. A B&B owner in Lochinver once told me that she was expecting a family from Surrey one evening. They planned to cycle from Kylesku via Drumbeg. They knew it was hilly but it was only 25 miles after all. She got a phone call at 3pm in the afternoon, they weren't even half way round - she drove round and collected them..

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Kyle of Sutherland

The Kyle of Sutherland is a narrow channel at the head of the Dornoch Firth to which it is joined. It extends about 3 miles northwest from Bonar Bridge and is fed by the River Oykel. Carbisdale Castle, now a youth hostel, was built as part of the divorce settlement of the Duchess of Sutherland so it's not really very old. During the Second World War the King of Norway lived there. Staying there is an unusual experience, they can arrange bike hire.

Lairg is the only town in the area. It isn't particularly pretty but has a lot to offer, including places to eat, drink, shop and stay. The land around here was not always as sparsely populated as it is currently. It was part of the huge estate owned by the Duke of Sutherland. In 1807 the duke discovered that sheep were more profitable than people. So the crofters were forced to depart, many going abroad to Nova Scotia.

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Scotland Castle and Whisky Country - Royal Deeside to Speyside

The Speyside Way

The Speyside Way runs from Spey Bay to Aviemore. Bikes are allowed on much of it as far as Ballindalloch. Beyond this there are a number of back road alternatives. The National Cycle Network Route 1 also runs by Spey Bay (see map) and this might be included in a longer trip

The Speyside Way is surprisingly quiet but very varied. Some sections are on the old Strathspey Railway, other parts are in forest, these are quite hilly. The route also uses riverside paths and minor roads.

The nearest railway stations are at Elgin and Keith, there are bus services which call at various points on the way. They don't take bikes, but might be very useful for returning you to your car at the end of a trip.

The local ranger service issue an annual newsletter, called The Speyside Wayfarer, this gives information updates on the state of The Way, and is full of advertisments for B&Bs, hotels, places to eat and places to buy food. The phone number of the ranger service is 01340 881266.

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Kirriemuir to Dunnottar Castle

Kirriemuir has produced many people with musical connections. The best known is the writer and creator of Peter Pan: J.M.Barrie. His house is in Brechin Road, it's maintained by the National Trust (at one point there was a proposal to ship the whole thing to America). The original Wendy House sits behind the main house - watch out when you go in - Hook’s enemy, the crocodile that took off his arm, lies in wait for the unwary visitor! The Wendy House was, in reality, a wash house but that didn’t stop Barrie from making it into his first theatre. Also born in Kirriemuir was an equally famous person from the world of rock music: Bon Scott. He was the lead singer of rock group AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980.

Stonehaven is more known as a tourist town than a fishing port nowadays, however it has a very attractive harbour and a wealth of hotels, pubs, B&Bs and shops. There's a tourist office and a bike shop. The old 16th Century Toolbooth by the harbour is now a museum. At one time it was a prison, then in1748-49 Episcopal ministers lodged inside. They are said to have baptised children through the windows, the museum includes a tea room. Stonehaven has a folk festival in July.

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Glen Tanar and Mount Keen

There are plenty of pubs and tea rooms in Aboyne which is quite near the foot of Glen Tanar. On the other side, at Glen Esk, there is a tea room half way down the glen, and lots of eating places, plus B&Bs and hotels in Edzell, it's a long way back to the start by road!

Glen Tanar is one of a number of side valleys of the River Dee where the ancient Scots pinewoods are preserved. The visitor centre has a permanent display which explains the history, management and wildlife of the Estate. The only bird which is found here and nowhere else apart from Scotland is the Scottish crossbill. It is sometimes called the 'Scottish parrot' because of its crossed mandibles, which it uses to prise open the scales of the Scots pine's cones. The seeds inside form the mainstay of its diet.

Also associated with the pinewoods are red squirrel, mice and voles, plus the pine marten which eats red squirrels. Larger mammals include the wild cat, badger, fox, roe deer and red deer. Deer browsing on Scots pine seedlings have prevented the regeneration of the native pinewoods throughout the Highlands.

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Visit Scotland