Works have commenced to continue the path out the ‘near’ end of Eddleston.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure
Peebles -Eddleston cycle path
(81 posts)-
Posted 1 year ago #
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Where will it end?
Posted 1 year ago # -
@gembo the roadworks notification says Shiplaw Rd to northern boundary of Eddleston. However it’s also described as ‘new footway’, so maybe not shared use. Looks pretty wide though.
Always thought the ‘old Edinburgh road’ to Scots Pine would form the basis of any continuation.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Thanks @Murun. Scots Pine could do with the business. After that heading North there is a right that goes up to Gladhouse I do believe.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Scots Pine seemed pretty busy yesterday judging by car park and cars on the old road. They were shootin’ pheasant up the hill at Boreland farm which disrupted my plans somewhat.
Posted 1 year ago # -
@gembo: After that heading North there is a right that goes up to Gladhouse I do believe. Correct, up a pair of steep hairpin bends*, then after the climb Gladhouse is about 2 miles beyond the turnoff on the right for Portmore Reservoir.
* With a quasi alpine feel to them, a bit like the climb out of Kenmore on the Glen Quaich road only not as long or as steep.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Ha.
Upon reflection when we come down Shiplaw it is usually before 10a.m. And quiet as it is not yet open.
Or if going the other way it is later I. The morning and the cars are enough to contend with so we don’t notice Scots Pine in that direction
Posted 1 year ago # -
Came down Shiplaw today and used the nice new path to get into Eddleston to avoid the shocking road. Lovely that they extended it to that point.
Posted 3 months ago # -
I wish they'd take it a bit further north to that gladhouse turning. That would open up a nice granites loop, there's no prospect of taking the kids on the main road..
Posted 3 months ago # -
Gladhouse would be good. How does it loop? You could theoretically take the bus to Peebles and cycle up and down the path? The Meldons road has very little traffic in the morning but again you might well have trouble on the road although there is maybe a path out of Peebles. Neidpath? Another great route goes up to Manor head very little traffic then you can push the path for 1.5 miles then take the fire road down to the Tala road. Though stil no loops without traffic
Posted 3 months ago # -
Not a traffic free loop, but you can do Innerleithen north then around by Gladhouse on pretty quiet roads, then you could get back to the start on paths
Posted 3 months ago # -
Shiplaw is really quiet, there is maybe a route across the pentlands that comes out at the observatory on Shiplaw. We have done a partial. Recce. But not the full route. There is very quiet road from Carlops to Moor road [the one that goes to West Linton]
Posted 3 months ago # -
Not running it to Gladhouse is nonsensical. Always where I'm headed if I'm going up that road.
Posted 3 months ago # -
There's images of the roadside section from Eddleston to Shiplaw Road if you want to see what it looks like: https://www.mapillary.com/app/?pKey=994866142004669&focus=photo
Probably stopped there as continuing north alongside the road looks a bit more complicated as the grass verge runs out and the river gets closer, think at that point the old railway route would need to be used.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Peebles-Eddleston-Gladhouse-Middelton-Granites-Innerleithen-Peebles? Nice loop, about 60km.
When we lived in Gorgie I would do Penickuik-Moor Road-Whitmuir-up the A701 through Lamancha-over the hill (I think this is what Gembo calls "Shiplaw")-Gladhouse-home and that bit up the A702 was a necessary evil to do that loop.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Often when slogging up the Granites I look back across to Gladhouse where I have come from in a massive dog leg and think a nice wee path across the bog would be nice.
Further down the Granites descent maybe at the first habitable dwelling there does seen ton be a path that heads west.?????
No chat like this is complete without a shout out for. The Scots Pine Tea Room which abides against the odds. Seems to have some awning type stuff at the front these days.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Never visited the Scots Pine Tea Room but been tempted. Basically too early in ride for me as once over Leadburn it's easier to keep on till Meldons.
Reclined down there the other Sunday quite early before tea room was open.
Meldons lovely but very much the preserve of assorted campervans with tents. Big group sitting out with big tent and table having breakfast. Others driving off road to get to river. Very much how people do the great outdoors in 2024.
Came back via Romano Bridge, West Linton and moor road.
Saw Sandra Murdoch and ERC group going south out of Penicuik.
Took direct Straiton route back to city to avoid Hillend. Both are bad in different ways!Posted 3 months ago # -
old railway route would need to be used.
Yeah, looks like verge gets too small 1/3rd of way up. Can see it is trampled/ walked along to there on maps, clearly some latent demand.
Old railway line would be perfect. Looks walked but not cycled on Strava global heatmap.
Brilliant gravel cycling route to avoid the road on the eastern side, but a bit hilly and awkward with the adjacent Portmore House and bits for it to be converted to a formal path
Posted 3 months ago # -
@gembo: "there is maybe a route across the pentlands that comes out at the observatory on Shiplaw."
You mention the moor road to West Linton. The Cross Borders Drove Road runs from West Linton to Peebles and according to this old CCE thread it's cycleable from West Linton. OSM shows a track that turns north off the drove road a bit east of the farm/dwelling marked as Greenside on OSM (although it's marked as Courhope on the OS 1:25,000 map) and ends up on the minor road which runs SE towards the observatory. I've no idea how rideable that track might be, and to my eye the overall route is far from direct. (Alternatively you could carry on along the drove road to where it meets the Meldons road and head to Eddleston and on to Shiplaw from there - distance-wise there's probably not a lot in it.)
A more direct option might be offered by the track shown on OSM that turns NE off Station Road about 1km SE of West Linton and picks up the route of the old Leadburn, Linton and Dolphinton Railway for a short way before turning SE about 1km from the turn off Station Road to head more or less directly to Noblehouse on the A701. From there OSM shows another track heading more-or-less-east through the forestry before joining the track which turns in to the minor road on which the observatory lies. I have no idea how cycleable, or even accessible, either of those tracks might be.
If you'd rather not go as far south as West Linton then you could dogleg across the moor road junction with the quiet road from Carlops to take the minor road that goes via Macbiehill and drops you out on the A701 at Whitmuir. From there it's about 1km NE along the main road to Lamancha - a good third of which could be done on the Old Moffat Road if you don't mind a brief bushwack across the verge to access the old road (it would surely be trivial to pave those few yards to make things easier for peds and cyclists?) OSM shows a track leading SW and then SE from opposite Lamancha Hub on the old road, through the forestry area (passing the "Don Coyote Outdoor Centre") and connecting directly to the observatory road. That track looks OK for a gravel bike at the Lamancha end on Streetview, and the Google aerial view of the whole length of it doesn't look too bad. Once again, however, I cannot vouch for its rideableness(?)
Yet another other option could be to continue past Lamancha on the A701 for another ~2km to Whim and take the actual road actually signposted "Eddleston via Shiplaw" from there to Shiplaw. But that does look rather more round the houses than the potential option direct from Lamancha.
Posted 3 months ago # -
@toomanybikes: That old railway route to Waterheads seems to be begging to be used. It does look slightly less inviting with all those "danger" signs at the north end but I suspect that may just be the landowner trying to put people off using it (what looks like forestry appears to extend for only 100m or so beyond that point on the OS and Google aerial views). The bridge over the Eddleston water shown on the OS map at grid ref NT 2434649979 seems to be still extant: it's visible on both the OS and Google aerial views. Whether it would still be robust enough to run a new public thoroughfare over might be another matter, though, Strava users notwithstanding.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Was at the Shiplaw Observatory and took the road then gravel to La Manacha. Involved. Cycling through the Don Coyote Shooting Club.
On the way home noticed the bed of the old railway beyond Shiplaw which could maybe be turned into a path to start the link t9 Gladhouse…….
Posted 3 months ago #
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