Gracemount to Holyrood

A cycling route starting in Loanhead, Scotland, United Kingdom.

Overview

About this route

0
-:--
Duration
16 km
Distance
242 m
Ascent
343 m
Descent
---
Avg. speed
---
Avg. speed
Coree Brown
Coree Brown

created this 4 years ago

Route highlights

Points of interest along the route

  1. Point of interest after 0.4 km

    Roslin Village Crossroads. Two pubs.

  2. Point of interest after 1.4 km

    ROSLIN MONUMENT. Most people have of William Wallace and of the Battle of Falkirk in 1298 where he was defeated and captured, and the Battle of Roslin, fought a few years later in 1303, is rightly named Scotland’s Forgotten Battle. Here the Scots bloodily defeated an English army four times bigger. Of the 40,000 combatants it is said that 35,000 were killed.

  3. Point of interest after 2.8 km

    Loanhead village. Shops and pubs.

  4. Point of interest after 3.2 km

    Mavisbank House -famous house in need of restoration.

  5. Point of interest after 3.5 km

    Here the bike track follows the former Edinburgh, Loanhead and Roslin Railway Line which was opened in in 1874 primarily to serve mineral workings, in particular coalmining, in the area. Some passenger trains were operated. Traffic on the line diminished with the decline in mining in the 20th Century and the line was eventually closed in 1989. It is now gradually being restored for walker and cyclists. Tarmac changes to heavy gravel surface as path continues north east.

  6. Point of interest after 4.9 km

    Cross road to join disused railway track

  7. Point of interest after 6.1 km

    Bike route joins main road. Footpath along road all way to old railway track. Bus 31 from central Edinburgh.Normal time approx. every 10 minutes

  8. Point of interest after 6.4 km

    Join bike path in Burdiehouse valley estate, follow stream. Hard surface.

  9. Point of interest after 6.4 km

    Shop

  10. Point of interest after 6.8 km

    Ellen's Glen is a community park with a forest path running through the valley of the Burdiehouse Burn with waterfall and remnants of a former mill.

  11. Point of interest after 7.7 km

    Pub

  12. Point of interest after 8 km

    Entrance to Liberton Golf Club

  13. Point of interest after 8.4 km

    Pub

  14. Point of interest after 8.5 km

    Golf Club exit

  15. Point of interest after 9.7 km

    Craigmillar castle is one of the best-preserved medieval castles in Scotland with a keep surrounded by a 15th-century courtyard wall. It is best known for the association with Mary, Queen of Scots who came here 20 November 1566 to convalesce after the birth of her son, the future James VI. It is said that here the plot, perhaps without her knowledge, was hatched to kill her husband, Lord Darnley. He was assassinated less than four months later.

  16. Point of interest after 10.7 km

    Innocent Railway Cycle Path

  17. Point of interest after 11.7 km

    The Innocent Railway. The Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway was first opened in 1831 to convey coal by horse power from pits round Dalkeith into the capital. There are various explanations for its nickname, “ Innocent Railway”. Some claim that it was so named because no one was killed in its construction or while it operated , but the most likely explanation is that it was so called because it continued to use horses when others were moving to steam, which was regarded then as dangerous.

  18. Point of interest after 12.3 km

    Samson's Ribs

  19. Point of interest after 12.4 km

    Arthurs Seat

  20. Point of interest after 14.2 km

    Holyrood Palace

  21. Point of interest after 14.4 km

    Scottish Parliament

Continue with Bikemap

Use, edit, or download this cycling route

You would like to ride Gracemount to Holyrood or customize it for your own trip? Here is what you can do with this Bikemap route:

Free features

Premium features

Free trial for 3 days, or one-time payment. More about Bikemap Premium.

  • Navigate this route on iOS & Android
  • Export a GPX / KML file of this route
  • Create your custom printout (try it for free)
  • Download this route for offline navigation

Discover more Premium features.

Get Bikemap Premium

From our community

Other popular routes starting in Loanhead

Open it in the app