Why this ride
A 261 km round trip from Lanark - roughly 4 h 45 in the saddle. The stops in between: The Forth Bridge, Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, back through The Forth Bridge and back through Old and New Towns of Edinburgh.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
New Lanark and Old and New Towns of Edinburgh
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 261 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 45
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
The Forth Bridge → Old and New Towns of Edinburgh
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 16 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 16 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. New Lanark
Coming down the steep, wooded road from Lanark into the gorge of the Clyde, you see New Lanark all at once: a cluster of tall, plain sandstone mill buildings and tenements packed onto the riverbank at the bottom of the valley, with the water rushing past. It is one of the most remarkable industrial villages in Europe, founded in 1786 by David Dale and the inventor Richard Arkwright to harness the river for cotton spinning, and later turned into a social experiment by Dale's son-in-law, Robert Owen. It is a World Heritage site.
Read the complete New Lanark write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
New Lanark is where the day begins. Next is The Forth Bridge.
2. The Forth Bridge
When the Forth Bridge opened in 1890, it was the longest cantilever bridge in the world, and it still looks like nothing else: three enormous diamond-shaped steel towers, joined by long arms, striding across the Firth of Forth to carry the railway between Edinburgh and Fife. Its engineers, Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker, designed it after the collapse of the Tay Bridge in 1879 had shaken public faith in iron and steel, and they overbuilt deliberately, with great tubes of steel that made the structure look as strong as it was. The bridge is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed in 2015.
Read the complete The Forth Bridge write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Forth Bridge comes up 27 km in. Next is Old and New Towns of Edinburgh.
3. Old and New Towns of Edinburgh
Edinburgh is built on the remains of a volcano. The Castle sits on a plug of hard rock, and the ridge that slopes eastwards from it, the Royal Mile, carries the medieval Old Town on its back, a tall, dense, soot-dark jumble of closes and tenements that went up because the city was shut inside walls and could only grow upwards. In 1767 the council ran a competition for a plan to build a New Town on the open ground to the north, and the winning design by a young architect named James Craig gave the city a grid of Georgian terraces, squares and gardens. The contrast between the two halves, medieval and classical, is the reason UNESCO listed the combined area in 1995.
Read the complete Old and New Towns of Edinburgh write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
55 km in you reach Old and New Towns of Edinburgh.
4. The Forth Bridge
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Forth Bridge write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Forth Bridge, about halfway.
5. Old and New Towns of Edinburgh
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Old and New Towns of Edinburgh write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Old and New Towns of Edinburgh sits at 110 km, about halfway. Next is back through The Forth Bridge.
6. back through The Forth Bridge
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Forth Bridge write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The Forth Bridge comes up 137 km in. Next is back through Old and New Towns of Edinburgh.
7. back through Old and New Towns of Edinburgh
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Old and New Towns of Edinburgh write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
164 km in you reach back through Old and New Towns of Edinburgh. Next is back through The Forth Bridge.
8. back through The Forth Bridge
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Forth Bridge write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The Forth Bridge, late in the day. Next is New Lanark.
9. New Lanark
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete New Lanark write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 261 km.
Leg by leg
New Lanark to The Forth Bridge
New Lanark → The Forth Bridge is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Forth Bridge to Old and New Towns of Edinburgh
The Forth Bridge → Old and New Towns of Edinburgh is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Old and New Towns of Edinburgh to The Forth Bridge
Old and New Towns of Edinburgh → The Forth Bridge is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Old and New Towns of Edinburgh to back through The Forth Bridge
Old and New Towns of Edinburgh → back through The Forth Bridge is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Forth Bridge to back through Old and New Towns of Edinburgh
back through The Forth Bridge → back through Old and New Towns of Edinburgh is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Old and New Towns of Edinburgh to back through The Forth Bridge
back through Old and New Towns of Edinburgh → back through The Forth Bridge is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Forth Bridge to New Lanark
back through The Forth Bridge → New Lanark is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.