Pentlands Circuit

 

The beauty of this route is that it's accessible from a number of places in and around Edinburgh, so you can pick it up wherever is closest. By doing it in the direction suggested, you also get a number of hostelries on the return leg where you can pop in for a refreshment - or even just to top up your bidon. For this description , I'm assuming a start point of The Steading at the entrance to Hillend Regional Park.  There's plenty of on-street parking here, a filling station for any last-minute chocolate purchases and a pub for a refreshment once the ride is complete.

From The Steading, head towards town, over the bypass and up to the traffic lights at Frogston Road. Take a left here and follow the road past Tesco (mini-roundabout) to the next left. Turn here and pass Dreghorn Barracks before dropping down into Colinton. Left at the T junction and then down Bridge Road and up to the Gillespie Crossroads. From here, you're going to be following the main road (A70) for some distance. It passes through Juniper Green and then Currie before darting through the edge of Balerno. If you need any provisions, Balerno is your last chance for a while and has a Scotmid open friendly hours. 

Once you leave Balerno on the A70, you hit increasingly open moorland (look out for the gliders at Kirknewton). This can often be into a strong headwind, but don't worry if progress is slow - you'll get the benefit later. The road here is pretty fast and well surfaced. After the turn-off for Auchengray & Woolfords, you'll see a small side-road on the left, take this and follow it to a T-junction, where you do a right turn and an almost immediate left. You are now on the A721 heading for Peebles. Dip down across the river and after a short climb, you reach Newbigging. Take a left here - signposted Dunsyre)  for a quiet detour.

The roads along here are almost desrted and pass through some nice farmland. However, keep an eye out for the occasional pot hole and be prepared to wander across the road looking for the smoothest line on occasion. After passing through Dunsyre, you'll reach another T junction. Take a left, then look out for a road on the right signposted "Edinburgh 21". Take this left, then reach Dolphinton at the old station.

You are now on the A702. The cars hereabouts will often reach crazy speeds, but sight-lines are good so you shouldn't have any issues. Do keep a look out for cars coming towards you if they're in overtaking mode though. After 5km, you'll come to the little vilage of West Linton. There are some small shops and a pub here - The Gordon Arms. Still heading towards Edinburgh, climb out of West Linton and soon reach Carlops where you'll find another pub - The Allan Ramsay. This is close to the rock feature which gives the village its names - the Carlins Loup (witches leap).

Unless you're stopping, carry on towards Edinburgh and you'll pass The Flotterstone Inn. Watch out for this one as it comes at the bottom of a long fast descent and you might miss it if you blink. The road now meanders for another few km to reach the Steading again.  

 

 

 

Distance: 80km

Ascent: 450m

Estimated time: 3:30