Good B roads near Edinburgh

[dome]

Hello all

Have just moved from Ayrshire to Edinburgh. Back in Ayr I had a nice selection of twisty B roads to take the 944 for a wee run, I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of some near me here in Edinburgh. The twistier the better;)

Cheers

Brian

[FamilyDub]

You'll get a far better response in the 'Scotland' section.

I'm a dirty weegie though, so I can't tell you anything about the East coast's roads ...

[JM]

There some decent roads out towards the west, in the Bathgate Hills, between Bathgate are and Linlithgow.
Some were resurfaced a couple of years ago and are still very nice.

Other options are some of the roads into the borders from Penicuik etc.

It depends how far you want to go and for how long, most decent roads will involve a reasonable drive to get out of the city (if you're central).

[320touring]

You're not too badly located for decent roads in Edinburgh,

I have some general knowledge of fun ones to the east, west and south. the biggest problem is the volume of traffic- even on the "minor" B roads.


Where are you in Edinburgh?

[alangla]

Do the A706 south of the A71... Worth it for the comedy bumps

http://goo.gl/maps/I1362

[dome]

Cheers guys. I'm out the west end, about 5 minutes from Hermiston Gait. Will have a look at those routes. Just looking for local routes for a wee spin on if I have a spare hour or so.

[s2kjock]

Head out to Gifford (East Lothian) then over the hill road to Duns (2 routes effectively B6355 and unclassified running parallel) - surface not great last time I went on it, but quiet, nice views from the top, and entertaining enough in something not too big which you aren't precious about. Take B6456 back to A697.

There are various routes down through and into the Borders - B709 Heriot to Langholm is good, unclassified from Tweedsmuir to Cappercleuch, B6399 and B6357 down to Newcastleton, unclassifed from Newcastleton to Langholm, all good.

I used to go on meets from Edinburgh starting from Abington, to Leadhills, Thornhill, Moniaive, Carsphairn, Dalmellington, Straiton (don't stop at the "quaint" pub there ..........), Glentrool, Newton Stewart, New Galloway, back to Thornhill. Not so far for a good day's hooning.

Alternatives include leaving M90 at Kelty, passing Knockhill, then Glendevon and Crieff - various A and unclassified's north from there are good fun.

[simboy1973]

Head along A7 just past Middleton heading south. Take a right turn for Innerleithen, it's a great fast road bring you out in the middle of Innerleithen Golf course..

I love blasting ma old TIV along through the Golf Course noising up the golfers.. great, but also a great road..

As boring as it sounds, also great views on a nice day of Midlothian and Edinburgh, we did it this afternoon, and it was fecking freezing but a lot of fun

Si

[Papa Hotel]

Head north, turn left at Perth go to Loch Lomond. Turn around, head back to Perth, turn right, head south.

[Ennoch]

simboy1973 said:

Head along A7 just past Middleton heading south. Take a right turn for Innerleithen, it's a great fast road bring you out in the middle of Innerleithen Golf course..

I love blasting ma old TIV along through the Golf Course noising up the golfers.. great, but also a great road..

As boring as it sounds, also great views on a nice day of Midlothian and Edinburgh, we did it this afternoon, and it was fecking freezing but a lot of fun

Si

The only problem with this road is that it's now a lot busier than it used to be. To watch out for (in no particular order):
Idiots driving with their mirrors folded in (presumably because they can't judge the width of their car and risk taking the mirrors off)
Idiots driving in the middle of the road to protect their paint and in doing so, try to push you onto the grass.
Cycle clubs using it for unofficial time trials, riding three or more abreast.
A white '60 plate Q7 driven by an aggressive and dangerously incompetent guy who relies on scaring people out of his way when he can't keep within his lane.
Oh, and lastly, porsche owners clubs - a few months back there were about 20 cars and not one of them was closer than a foot to the edge of the road, even on 1.5 track sections. By the time I was half way through the pack I was wishing death threats to the lot of them - if you don't know how wide your car is, or you're scared to damage it, then don't go driving on fast country roads!

I drive this road 4-5 times a week and find the average standard of driving on it somewhere between abysmal and horrifying!

Oh, and pretty much between now and March take it steady when it's been cold as there are lots of streams which run across the road and leave ice on the road mid corner. The worst three points are:
Sharp right hander at the end of the straight off the A7. It's a deceptively long corner and the icy slush is out of view from both directions until you're committed to the corner.
After you reach the top and start dropping towards Inners there's a sharp left hander that frequently has thick ice on the exit past the apex.
Beyond that you continue to drop down to the valley floor. As you go past a huddle of trees and a farm set back from the road there's frequently ice across the road before the sun gets to it.

Good road though and not a bad commute!

[ws323f]

Amazing road, just been down it a couple of hours ago !

There are a few fools on it though.

[Ennoch]

First upside down car of the winter spotted on Saturday. Given how far they'd gone through the wall and into the field I'm thinking they may have been going more sixty than thirty which, given the conditions, might have been a *little* on the high side. The entire road was sheet ice and thick frost so even with winter tyres thirty was pretty much the absolute limit in the corners. I wonder if we'll hit double figures of broken cars like last year?

[simoid]

Get yourself into the Bathgate Hills, around Beecraigs, then get lost

http://goo.gl/maps/u69DD

Best to come off at M8 J3, then head for Dechmont. Probably 15-20 mins from Hermiston Gait roundabout.

[320touring]

simoid said:

Get yourself into the Bathgate Hills, around Beecraigs, then get lost

http://goo.gl/maps/u69DD

Best to come off at M8 J3, then head for Dechmont. Probably 15-20 mins from Hermiston Gait roundabout.

god no! I work near there- far too busy with Linlithgoites trying to dodge the main roads

[simoid]

320touring said:

simoid said:

Get yourself into the Bathgate Hills, around Beecraigs, then get lost

http://goo.gl/maps/u69DD

Best to come off at M8 J3, then head for Dechmont. Probably 15-20 mins from Hermiston Gait roundabout.

god no! I work near there- far too busy with Linlithgoites trying to dodge the main roads

Perhaps more for a quiet summer afternoon than a winter commuting period.

Not the direct Linlithgow-Bathgate road, really in the wildnerness

[320touring]

simoid said:

Perhaps more for a quiet summer afternoon than a winter commuting period.

Not the direct Linlithgow-Bathgate road, really in the wildnerness

Aye I know the roads you mean- up past bangour etc. still not as much fun as the roads to slammanan etc