The following is a brief summary of the key details for Cycle Routes in Scotland : Dumfries & Galloway Villages (NCN 7).
DISTANCE : 46 mls.
TERRAIN : Mostly flat
TOTAL ASCENT : 1,165 ft.
START & FINISH : Central Avenue car park in Gretna (DG16 5DF)
This route is one of the cycle routes in Scotland that I have cycled over the years. Some of the other routes I have cycled over the years are listed in the page “Cycle Routes in Scotland”. (Click here to go to this page.)
Route Map
This route follows a section of the NCN 7 cycle path, which is one of the routes on the National Cycle Network run by the charity called Sustrans. Their map of this route can be accessed on their website www.sustrans.org.uk.
However, I also prepared my own map, as shown below. I did this as I wanted to see the hills profile and the total ascent shown on the map below after you press “Play”.
Route map for Dumfries & Galloway Villages by E-Bike Cyclist.scot on plotaroute.com
The map above is an interactive map so if you press “Play” (click on the white triangle in the middle of the screen) you can zoom in or out by pressing the buttons that appear in the top left of the screen, and you can move the map by dragging it. Once you press Play the hills profile of the route will appear at the bottom of the map. You can get further comprehensive detailed analysis of the hill profile by clicking on “More Detailed Profile” at the top left of the hills profile section. You can also select full screen mode by clicking on the icon in the top right corner of the map.
Route Details -
Cycle Routes in Scotland : Dumfries & Galloway Villages (NCN 7)
Gretna & Gretna Green
The town of Gretna is a planned town that was built during the First World War to provide homes for 30,000 employees of a munitions factory that was the biggest in the world.
Nearby Gretna Green is famous for being the marriage capital of the UK, with around 5,000 couples tying the knot here and in Gretna every year.
Start of Route
The start point for this route is in the town of Gretna, in the Central Avenue car park. (DG16 5DF). This is a council run car park that has 46 spaces and is free all day.
The car park is ideally situated for this route as it is right on the NCN 7 cycle route.
NCN Signs
The whole of this route is on the NCN 7 cycle route. The route is well signposted all along the way. An example of the signage some distance from the start point in Gretna is shown below.
Gretna - East Riggs
When you come out of the car park turn left and follow the NCN 7 signs
Cycle along until you came to the small town of East Riggs.
In East Riggs the route passes by the quaintly named Devil’s Porridge Museum.
The term “Devil’s Porridge” refers to cordite, an explosive that was mixed in HM Factoty Gretna during World War One. The museum tells the story of the factory and of the munitions workers who came here from throughout the Empire to support the war effort in the First World War.
East Riggs - Annan
Continue cycling through the flat, open countryside. Along the way the route passes through the villages of Dornock and Hollinlea.
After just over 9 miles of cycling you will reach the small town of Annan.
Annan is a busy, bustling small town. It has several bar / restaurants, cafes, hotels and shops. There are public toilets just off the main road.
Annan - Powfoot
To leave Annan cycle along the main road and then turn left, following the NCN signs. This lead to a pedestrian bridge over the river.
At the end of this bridge there is a very narrow path that is mostly tarmac. This path is only two to three feet wide. It eventually leads out onto a road at the village of Newbie.
Continue cycling along the road through flat, open countryside until you reach the village of Powfoot.
Powfoot is a quaint, picturesque little village on the banks of a bay.
Just along the bay from Powfoot Village is the Powfoot Hotel, which serves food and drink and has an outdoor seating area.
Further along the bay is the Queensbury Bay Leisure Park. This is a large caravan park and it has a restaurant with outdoor seating.
The signs for NCN 7 take you right to the leisure park, but then they disappear.
So you need to cycle round the back of the restaurant, following the road through the leisure park.
Once round the restaurant building you follow a narrow road to the right that seems to head towards a farm building. This lead to a gate that is closed, but has a gap at the side for pedestrians and cyclists .
Continue along the very narrow road that this leads onto. Eventually this road comes out at a junction where the NCN signs recommence.
Powfoot - Bankend
Continue cycling along the road, following the NCN 7 signs. You will soon reach the small village of Ruthwell.
The world’s first commercial savings bank was opened in 1810 by Ruthwell’s most famous inhabitant, Henry Duncan. The whole story is told in the Savings Bank Museum on the main road in Ruthwell.
Continue cycling along the long, flat roads until you reach the small village of Bankend.
Bankend is where this route stops in order to restrict the route to a comfortable distance. (The distance from Annan to Bankend is 23 miles, giving a round trip of 46 miles.)
So at Bankend you stop and turn round and head back to Gretna by the same route.
Return to Gretna
Obviously on the return journey you can follow the NCN 7 signs back to Gretna.
However, at one of the junctions there is no NCN sign. This is on the B725 a short distance after leaving Bankend. After passing the Brow Well Cottages and the Brow Plantation, the B725 veers round to the left. Here the NCN 7 continues straight on but there is no sign to advise this.
Other than this the rest of the route back is straightforward.
Route Alternatives -
Cycle Routes in Scotland : Dumfries & Galloway Villages (NCN 7)
This being a linear route you could select any stretch of the route to suit your preferences with regard to distance, time or difficulty.
For example. you could cycle from Gretna to the village of Powfoot and return to Gretna from there. Powfoot is the most picturesque village on the route, being situated on the shores of a bay. Selecting this option would result in a round trip of about 27.5 miles.
Anyone who is capable of a longer trip could cycle on to the town of Dumfries, which is 8 miles from Bankend. This would result in an additional 16 miles being added to the day’s total, resulting in a round trip of 62 miles.
Cafe / Toilet Stops -
Cycle Routes in Scotland : Dumfries & Galloway Villages (NCN 7)
Both Gretna and Gretna Green have shopping and eating facilities.
In the small town of East Riggs there is a cafe in the Devil’s Porridge Museum.
Annan is a busy, bustling small town. It has several bar / restaurants, cafes, hotels and shops. There are public toilets just off the main road.
Just along the bay from Powfoot Village is the Powfoot Hotel, which serves food and drink and has an outdoor seating area. Further along the bay is the Queensbury Bay Leisure Park. This is a large caravan park and it has a restaurant with outdoor seating.
Train Options -
Cycle Routes in Scotland : Dumfries & Galloway Villages (NCN 7)
There is a train station in Gretna Green at Station Road, off Glasgow Road (DG16 5HF).
If you want to access the start of the route by train your options to do so will of course depend on where you live and what train lines are nearby and where they run to, which each person will need to investigate for themselves. For a website that can help with this click on the following website address : https://www.thetrainline.com.