Castle Douglas and Kirkcudbright, Scotland

Scotland Bike Tours

A bike tour based in two hotels in Scotland!

Historic market towns, Castle Douglas, and Kirkcudbright ( pronounced kirr-KOO-bree ), two of Scotland's most vibrant small towns, sit right in the heart of great cycling country.
Historically, many have called this region "home"; Celtic tribes, the Roman General Agricola, Galloway Picts (early medieval kingdom), St. Cuthbert, and more recently a flourishing colony of artists and craftspeople.
This tour based in two hotels allows you to ride the coast but also pedal into the hills, and have cool stuff to do on days off. Pick your distance, as most are loop rides, but there are rides in which you can request a transfer out, ride the slope, and wind your way back home.
It's not always about the bike. For rest days, lazy days, and for non-cycling pals or significant others, Kirkcudbright offers wonderful things to do; cafes, river walks, and antique shops to browse. If you want things a bit more organized, options include a cooking school, archaeology digs, or distillery tours. There is always another castle or garden to visit or perhaps even a spa treatment.
We offer other bike tours in Scotland of course!
2019
Twin/double: £ 1101 $ 2,219 € 1285 $ 1952 NOK 12203 kr 11264 $ 1,464 Single room: £ 1246 $ 2,511 € 1454 $ 2210 NOK 13810 kr 12748 $ 1,657
10% discount per person reduction on groups of 4 or more
extra options
Extra nights:
Please ask
Electric bike: £ 90 $ 181 € 105 $ 160 NOK 998 kr 921 $ 120
please note
Rates are per person based on double occupancy.
Information to read before you book.
We recommend purchasing bike trip insurance.
† Currency exchange rate set 90 days before travel.
Please see our FAQ.
Travel
You can fly into/out of Edinburgh (EDI), Glasgow (GLA, or Manchester (MAN).
Local Travel
If you fly into:
Edinburgh: You will take the tram or bus into Edinburgh center. Both the tram and the bus leave from inside the airport complex. From Edinburgh Central train station (Waverly), there is a train service to Manchester Airport that stops in Lockerbie where you will be met. Included transfer to your first hotel.
Manchester: You will follow the signs at the airport to the train station which is in the same complex. Train to Lockerbie (direction to Glasgow Central or Edinburgh) where you will be met. Followed by included transfer to your first hotel.
Glasgow From Glasgow Airport you will take a bus to Glasgow Central and then a train to Lockerbie (Transpennine service to Manchester Airport) or Dumfries (Scotrail service to Carlisle). You will be met here, there is a transfer to your first accommodation.
Climate
Please check local conditions before your departure. A good website to explore average high/low temperatures, average rainfall, and more weather related facts is www.weatherbase.com. Summers are pleasant here with long days and short nights (sunset can be as late as 10pm) with daytime temperatures in July typically reaching 66° F/19°C. Kirkcudbright has high sunshine totals, with 1425 hours of sunshine recorded in a typical year. Average high/low temperatures in degrees F for the region are: May, 57/44°, June, 61/49°, July, 64/53°, August, 64/53°, September, 60/50°, and October, 54/46°.

Where You’ll Stay

You will be accommodated in the Douglas House in Castel Douglas and the Selkirk Arms in Kirkcudbright.

What’s Included

7 nights accommodation with breakfast
Luggage transfer
Hybrid rental bike including helmet, bike bag, emergency repair kit, and pump
Maps, cue sheet and GPS file and other information material
Transfer from Lockerbie/Dumfries to Castle Douglas
Transfer back from Kirkcudbright to train station in Lockerbie
Emergency hot line and support

What’s Not Included

Lunches and dinners
Entrance fees
Bicycle Protection
Travel Insurance

Extra Stay

Always recommended!

Tour	Bike
Type	Self Guided
Skill	Easy–Moderate
Length	8 days
From	£1101 Rates
	Tour Reviews

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Tour Dates

2019

Arrival possible on any day! Best time to enjoy a cycling vacation here would be May through mid October.

Skill Level

This is an easy to moderate self-guided tour in which you split your cycling vacation between two destinations/hotels. If you prefer, you can opt to stay in one hotel, shorten your time, or even lengthen your vacation!

Day-To-Day Itinerary

Day 1, 2, and 3: Castle Douglas

Castle Douglas is an historic market town that sits on the old military road linking Scotland with Ireland. It is described as the “Food Town” and gives you a feeling of having stepped back to the time of Ma and Pa shops. There are three high-quality butchers, two bike shops, and more than enough excellent cafes along with antique and craft shops. This is a town where the locals come to shop or sell their sheep or cows. Bustling would be how to describe it.

A wonderful rolling landscape with the coastline just a short ride away makes this a perfect place or a few days of cycling. Loops down to Sweetheart Abbey and back along the coast or inland to New Galloway and the delights of Smitty Tearoom.

As ever in Dumfries the roads are quiet and drivers often wave, so wave back, and take your time. There are offroad rides through the woods of Dalbeattie and on to the Scottish Riviera at Kippford for a ride through this wonderful sailing village.

Castle Douglas has traditional pubs an award-winning microbrewery and even some quality fish and chips at the end of the day. You can pick how far you want to ride and most rides are loops. To help you visit sites further away there are days when we can transport you and your bike to the start of the ride, allowing you to bike back at your own pace

Day 4, 5, 6, and 7: Kirkcudbright

Kirkcudbright is one of Scotland's most vibrant small towns and is just a wonderful ride down the coast from your first base at Castle Douglas.

With its pastel-colored houses, the castle, and the fact that it still has real family owned and operated shops, and a working harbor, you will find it delightful. You can ride out along the coast, into the hills or a bit of both, you make the choice every day. Pick from a range of 10, 20, 30, 40 miles or further, rides that have been tried tested and handpicked for you.

If you want to take a day off the bike this is a good place to do that and visit the many galleries and craft shops.

Again the rides from here are loops, with the option for a transfer to the start of a ride to extend your adventure further or ride the wind or hill home to Kirkcudbright.

Sample rides:
Kirkcudbright round trip via Threave Castle: 21 miles
The ride takes you to Threave Castle first along the coast following an off-road track before you turn onto what becomes an old military road. This was the route that drovers used to move cattle and horses from Ireland. The wonderfully named Archibald The Grim built the castle in the 1370s and it is one of Scotland’s most atmospheric castles. You can visit Threave gardens for coffee and cake and a walk around the beautiful old gardens next. The way back to Kirkcudbright takes you along what locals call ‘ the high road ‘. Once an important trading road it is overlooked by the remains of hill forts and settlements. The road is high enough to give fantastic views back across the southern mountains of southern Scotland. You can detour and take a walk to the site of ancient rock art, cop and ring marks that may be as much as 6,000 years old.

Kirkcudbright round trip via Dundrennan: 23 miles
You ride out of Kirkcudbright along the coast, take a right and then you are on the quietest roads in the area with the sea by your side. You have to get used to car drivers waving, that is just a thing they do here. As you gain height, there are views to a lighthouse. More gentle cycling brings you to Dundrennan Abbey, a ruin now but still impressive. This is where Mary Queen of Scots spent her last day in Scotland. Have a look around and then it is coffee and cake time at the cafe opposite.

You ride along the coast further before heading inland. There is a standing stone and an opportunity to ride off-road into the hills for spectacular and remote views, time for a picnic by the loch even.

Returning to Kirkcudbright, it will be time for galleries, craft shops or the best fish, and chips in Galloway down at the harbor.

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