North Berwick – Rowan's Recommended Riding Routes

Route out – Gorebridge to Mayfield to Elphinstone to New Winton to Pencaitland to East Saltoun to Bolton to Haddington to Drem to Dirleton to North Berwick. For route map click here.

Route back – Scotrail train to Edinburgh then Borders Railway train to Gorebridge.

See route on Strava.

Weather – Dry, cloudy and cold but not much wind.
Bike type – road bike
Distance travelled – 32.24 miles
Riding time – 2 hours 45 minutes
Maximum speed – 29.1 mph
Average Speed – 11.7 mph
Height climbed – 1771 feet

There seems to have been a lot of cold weather this winter compared to normal. I don’t mind this because we’ve been able to go out sledging and building igloos but it has been virtually impossible to get out for a decent cycle run for months now due to the snow, ice and wind chill. Amazingly, even though it was still very cold today, there wasn’t much wind at all and the roads weren’t slippy for once so Dad and I decided to venture out on our bikes.

We left the house at 9:30am and took our usual route through the houses, uphill out of Gorebridge and onto the B6372 heading east. Almost immediately we turned left onto the quiet narrow road that heads steeply up to Camp Wood. As we climbed, we got a fine view over to the snow-covered Moorfoot Hills on our left and at the top of the hill, we were able to see right over to East Lothian and the snowy Lammermuir Hills to the south. The Moorfoots and Lammermuirs always look much more impressive when covered in snow I think. From Camp Wood we sped off down the hill to Mayfield with a great view of the equally impressive and snowy Pentland Hills on our left as we free-wheeled down the smooth road.

After skirting around the edge of Mayfield, we started climbing up another steep narrow road for half a mile or so until we reached the highest point of the route at d’Arcy. After cycling only 2.5 miles so far we’d already climbed 300 feet – possibly one of the hardest starts to a route ever! From d’Arcy, we turned left and cycled along the quiet high road (there was even some snow at the side in places) and we enjoyed some amazing views over to Edinburgh and the Pentland Hills once more. We then turned left at the next junction and headed north towards Whitehill for a few hundred yards before turning right onto the rather bumpy but very scenic road to Fordel Mains farm, along which you get some of the best views in Midlothian as you look down upon Edinburgh and Fife in the distance. Soon enough we were speeding down the hill along the (very quiet) A6124, out of Mid and into East Lothian where we had to stop at the traffic lights at Crossgatehall.

When the lights changed to green we turned right onto the B6414 and climbed up the gradual hill for a couple of miles to the village of Elphinstone. This road is reasonably quiet and you get some good views on your right of the Lammermuir Hills as you cycle along. Just past Elphinstone we turned right at the sign for “Research Centre” and after half a mile or so of easy riding (passing the research centre on the way – no idea what they research there though) we turned right onto another B road briefly before a quick left turn onto another narrow and flat but smooth back road which took us quickly to the B6355. This is a nice road, not too busy and it has a good surface. It’s also very scenic, with good views of the hills in front of you. We even spotted a couple of rather grand

turreted gatehouses to private Estates near Pencaitland so we stopped to have a nosey as usual. Not far after East Saltoun, we turned left onto the B6368 and sped down the hill to a nice little village called Bolton. We didn’t stop though and carried on along this road, following the River Tyne until we came to the town of Haddington.

As you enter the town, there is a bridge across the river with traffic lights and it was here that I had my first ever crash. As we approached down the hill towards the bridge, the lights changed to amber and even though there would have been plenty time to get across, Dad apparently disagreed and decided to stop for some reason. I must have braked too hard and my back wheel skidded on the damp road surface and I ended up on the floor. Thankfully there was little damage to me (just a small bump to the knee) or the bike but it was a bit scary at the time. It was lucky the road was quiet and there were no cars anywhere near us at the time. So after dusting myself down and having a quick bag of crisps and an apple, we were back on the road again. We left the town as quickly as possible and took the road signposted for Camptown. This is a lovely road that takes you steeply up into the lesser known Garleton Hills. At least it should be a lovely road as it’s a nice smooth surface and you get great views behind you of the lammermuirs and then a fine view of the Firth of Forth as you descent the other side of hill. Unfortunately, far too many cars seem to use this road (probably as a short cut) and many of them drive far too fast and overtake when it’s not safe to do so. So take care if you decide to cycle this way.

In fact, taking care is the main piece of advice for the last 8 miles of the route from here to North Berwick. We’ve tried out a few routes to North Berwick now and each time, the section from the Haddington area northwards has been entirely unpleasant. Even though the roads are only B class, do not be fooled by this. They are very busy (busier than most A roads in Midlothian), have lots of bad corners and there are a lot of bad drivers out there. At one point just before Drem, a white van decided to overtake us even though there was a car coming the other way. Shortly after that we observed the worst piece of driving ever on the B1345 near Fenton Barns when an impatient driver decided he could wait no longer to get past so he decided use a layby on the left to undertake us! Dad couldn’t believe it and indicated this to the driver by holding up one of his fingers…

Thankfully, the rest of the journey was less eventful but was completely spoiled by the heavy traffic. We were glad to turn off briefly into the peaceful village of Dirleton and then onto the shared use cycle path next to main road that took us to our destination. After all that, we decided to go for a well deserved ice cream before getting the train home. As much as I like East Lothian, I think we’ll be sticking to the much quieter and more pleasant southern and western parts of the region from now on.

Route out – Gorebridge to Pathhead to West Saltoun to Pencaitland to Boggs Holdings to Longniddry to Aberlady to Gullane to Dirleton to North Berwick. For route map click here.

Route back – North Berwick to Edinburgh train, then Edinburgh to Gorebridge train.

See route on Strava.

Weather – sunny with light winds and pleasantly warm.
Bike type – road bike
Distance travelled – 30.07 miles
Riding time – 2 hours 1 minute
Maximum speed – 31.6 mph
Average speed – 14.9 mph
Height climbed – 748 feet

During the school holidays in October we only had a about one day when the weather wasn’t either wet or very windy or both. So, Dad and I made the most of that day and went for a cycle to North Berwick in East Lothian which is, conveniently, home of our favourite ice cream shop. We had cycled there before earlier this year but this time I decided to take Dad a much more direct route which is mostly flat or slightly downhill for almost the whole way so it was a nice easy ride.

The route began with a climb straight up and out of Gorebridge to the top of Lady Brae (basically the only hard hill of the day), but soon we were speeding along the B6372 in the sunshine, passing Vogrie Country Park, heading East towards the the coast far away in the distance. This road is sometimes a bit busy with traffic but not today, and it was a pleasant ride along the smooth road surface for a few miles. Just after the village of Dewartown we turned right and zoomed down the steep hill into Ford, admiring the impressive Lothian Bridge viaduct on the left as we climbed quickly up a short steep hill into Pathhead. The viaduct carries the traffic along the busy A68 road and when we reached the village, we had to wait for a good couple of minutes for a break in the traffic before we were able to cross the road and continue our journey on a minor road which took us downhill through some woods and then past some lions guarding a grand

entrance to a country estate. We stopped long enough for a photo before carrying on along a flat and narrow single track road which took us out of Midlothian and into East Lothian. There had been a lot of potato harvesting recently around here and annoyingly, a good part of this road was thick with mud. Even going as slow as possible we managed to get ourselves and our bikes caked in mud. Dad got dirt stuck between his brake pads and discs and it was making a terrible grinding noise so once the mud ended and when we got to the junction with the B6371, we stopped and he used some water to clean out the brakes. Thankfully the horrible noise stopped…

The next part of the ride took us through quiet East Lothian countryside along lovely wide and smooth road with almost no traffic at all. Not far past Glenkinchie distillery we arrived in the tiny hamlet of West Saltoun, home of my favourite bus stop. Very few buses actually stop there but amazingly, we timed it perfectly as just after we stopped the EVE 123 Gifford Circle bus drove past. This may not sound all that exciting to you, but it was for me because I love buses! Anyway, we sat in the shelter to have a snack of crisps and apples before carrying on.

After a short straight section of minor road, we turned left onto the B6355. This road was a wee bit busier and was also rather muddy in places but soon we reached Pencaitland which is a lovely village. We didn’t stop there though and carried on, straight over the crossroads next to the war memorial and then turned right onto the B6363 which immediately took us through the oddly named place called Boggs Holdings. As well as having a weird name, it also has some of the most horrible, bumpy, worn out road surface you will ever cycle on (a mountain bike with full suspension would be recommended here!) and it’s also quite busy with traffic for some reason. Eventually the road surface improved and we crossed over the busy A1 road and then had a fun long downhill stretch until we reached Longniddry. Just outside the village, we got our first view of the sea so we stopped to enjoy the view and have few oatcakes.

The last 10 miles or so of the route is mostly along a main road, the A198, which is quite a busy road. However, it is very flat so you can go at a good speed, nice and wide which allows cars to overtake safely, and also has some sections where there is a designated cycle lane. So it’s not too bad to cycle on it and it is actually very popular with road cyclists. The views of the coastline, beaches and golf courses as you cycle along are stunning too. We also saw plenty of buses along the way too including the East Coast Buses X6 and 124 and Prentice Coaches 111! Just after leaving Gullane, we spotted that there is a shared use cycle/walking path running alongside the road so we hopped onto that to get out of the traffic. Normally we find that these shared use paths are busy with dog walkers etc. but not today and we had a very enjoyable ride along this section. Soon we came to the end of the path and we had a choice of going back onto the road or diverting through the historic village of Dirleton. We chose the historic route where we cycled past the castle where my Uncle Andrew got married (so Dad said anyway as I can’t remember that far back) and also passed by yet another bus. As we left the village we rediscovered the cycle path again and this took us the last mile or so to North Berwick. This section of path was a smooth surface but also very bumpy because of all the tree roots and other stuff trying to grow through the tarmac. So be careful here. In town, we stopped for lunch at Greggs as usual before stuffing our faces with ice cream (2 scoops for Dad!) at Alandas. Then we headed to the station to get the train to Edinburgh. We changed trains at Waverly Station and got the Tweedbank train the rest of the way home. Completely by chance, when we stopped at Newcraighall station, my Mum, sister Isla and baby Catriona also got on the train. They’d been out shopping all day but I think I much prefer cycling all day!