Route 4 - Stravaig the Forth

Length: 78 miles

Route type: 1-way+public transport

Difficulty: Medium/High

This incredible 78-mile route takes you around the entire Firth of Forth. Stravaig is a Scots word meaning to wander and this route is for the more adventurous stravaiger. An Inner Forth Landscapes Wandering & Windings route, look out for the way markers, located at key points to help guide you. 

The route starts at the site of the famous Battle of Bannockburn, fought between the armies of Scotland and England in 1314. From there you’ll enter the Falkirk area and cycle towards the village of Airth and the Dunmore Pineapple, a pineapple shaped summer house built in the 18th century by Lord Dunmore. Ride through Airth village, past the imposing Airth Castle sitting high on the hill until you reach an area known as Skinflats. Its unusual name is said to come from the Dutch engineers who helped reclaim the land back in the seventeenth century. Now predominantly an agricultural area, cycle through its RSPB Nature Reserve and on towards Grangemouth.

A mix of road and cycle way will take you around the perimeter of Grangemouth. As you leave the town, the route follows a section of the Roman Antonine Wall. Ride towards Bo’ness, a historic coastal town sitting on the shores of the Firth of Forth to reach Kinneil House and Estate. From Roman times to the industrial revolution, the remnants of a long and rich history can be seen everywhere as you cycle through its grounds. Continue through Kinneil Local Nature Reserve to the Bo’ness foreshore. Here, you’ll pass sculptures celebrating the industrial past of the town and see steam trains thundering by at the nearby Bo’ness and Kinneil heritage railway.

Cycle on along the Bo’ness foreshore, passing the Bridgeness Slab marking the eastern end of the Roman Antonine Wall. You’ll then reach the fifteenth century fortress of Blackness Castle. Nicknamed ‘the ship that never sailed’ due to its unique shape, it has been a royal castle, a prison, a garrison and is now a popular tourist attraction. As you leave the Falkirk area, you’ll see the spectacular bridges ahead of you at South Queensferry where you’ll cross the Firth of Forth.

 

Map location: FK7 0LJ

View route (external website)