Maxwelltown Cycle loop

Saturday 20th July: a five mile ride along Dumfries’s lovely Maxwelltown cycle way, and back along shared use paths and quieter roads.

Maxwelltown Loop – five miles. Click on map for more details of route

This ride is a little bit more ambitious but still very easy even for a novice cyclist or a young family. We head off along the Whitesands shared use path and cross the river at the College bridge, then follow the quiet College Road to reach the Maxwelltown cycleway. From there it’s an easy level traffic-free route all the way to the end of the path. (If anyone was hungry at this point, a side trip could be made to the the Kilnford Barns shop and cafe along the Glen road). Returning, the route could either be back along the Maxwelltown path or the slightly more direct route along shared use pavement to Cargenbridge, and continuing on the shared use pavement along the Dalbeattie road, then taking Park Road and Rotchell Road back into town. It’s mostly dead level until the last section down to the Nith.

Five miles is a great distance to try cycling because most people’s journeys into town are actually less than that – so if you know you can cycle it easily then you could find you could use your car less and save yourself money, and even time.  We’ll keep the pace easy so nobody gets left behind and it’s suitable for all ages, although children under 12 should be accompanied by an adult.

Meet at Dock Park at 2pm. There’s free parking all day for cars and a bike hire point for the Go Bikes. If you don’t have a bike then let us know and we can arrange a free hire for the afternoon. There’s really no excuse!