Why this ride
Open upland riding with long sight lines and varied gradients. It also links naturally to Scottish Borders abbeys.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Borders Historic Route
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 157 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 35
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Access context
Check weather, local closures, speed enforcement and single-track etiquette. Specific flag: weather.
Seasonal context
Apr-Oct
Scenic road chapters
Melrose → Edinburgh
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 49 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 49 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Carlisle
Planning note
Carlisle sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Hawick.
2. Hawick
Planning note
Hawick comes up 43 km in. Next is Melrose.
3. Melrose
Planning note
85 km in you reach Melrose. Next is Edinburgh.
4. Edinburgh
Edinburgh climbs a volcanic spine from the Firth of Forth, with the Castle on its crag at one end and Holyrood Palace at the other, and the Royal Mile running between them down the ridge the glaciers left behind. It is a city that makes you look up: tall tenements, black stone, turrets, spires and, on a clear day, the green hump of Arthur's Seat rising out of the middle of the town like something the builders forgot to level. The old town and new town together form a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the Georgian grid of the New Town contrasting sharply with the medieval jumble of the Old.
Read the complete Edinburgh write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Edinburgh, late in the day.