Self-guided Long Weekend or Short Breaks - based from Castle Douglas.
From easy / short distance reasonably flat routes with plenty of stops at featured places including a lunch stop at tea room or pub lunch to more challenging longer distance routes with some hills, all using quiet country roads passing through beautiful scenery between small towns and villages.
See our 3 Days Cycle Tours List below which covers most of the accommodation and cycling distance options, - or with we can easily design a tour for you at no extra cost.
What’s included: –
- 3 nights B&B accommodation - at least one night at our B&B with indoor swim spa, Summerhill in Castle Douglas, subject to availabilty. Price assumes 2 sharing a room. The first night's accommodation is usually before the first full cycling day.
- Welcome meeting at your accommodation to go over tour info.
- Tour Information Pack provided including maps, route info and features along your tour route.
- Support service with emergency help.
Leif and Anne in the Galloway Forest Park10% discount for groups of 4 or more.
Extras: –
- Cycle Hire – if required, or bring your own, - hybrid cycles provided including helmet, rack bag, mileometer, equipment and repair service - £14 per day.
- Luggage Transfer - optional, if your tour involves staying in different towns. See individual tours info with cost.
- Lunches and Dinners - we can book for you at the busy places.
- Transport - We can advise you with arrival arrangements and can do pickup with our minibus from bus or railway station, also airports for larger groups. Just let us know.
- Entrance fees - to castles, abbeys, visitors centres etc
- Extra nights accommodation - after last day’s cycling.
- Single supplements– depends on accommodation used - usually around £10 - £15 p n. We select most cost effective options.
Maggie and Lizzie stop for tea at the Willow tea roomArrival Day
– If early arrival, option of a free short (5 miles) 'acclimatisation' cycle to Threave Castle and/or Threave Garden just outside Castle Douglas.Features (along the route):
Castle Douglas ‘food town’ – a popular market town shopping centre with lots of food and independent shops.
Sulwath brewery – a small brewery and visitor centre with tours – a good place to end the tour in town!
Carlingwark Loch – recreation area at the edge of Castle Douglas.
Threave Garden – one of Scotland’s finest gardens operated by the National Trust for Scotland - just outside Castle Douglas on a signposted cycle route.
Threave Castle – Historic Scotland’s iconic castle on Threave Estate. Ring the bell for the boatman to take you to the castle on the island – at a separate location from the Garden. Also a special opportunity to see an osprey's nest from viewing platform nearby.
List of 3 day Breaks Available
Gatehouse and Kirkcudbright Circuit - 3A
- Experience Galloway with 3 different overnight stops. Price: £145 p.p. Lugagge - £50 plus £5 p.p.
This 3 night tour takes you on a journey of some of Galloway’s finest scenery and on most cycling friendly roads – with luggage transfer included leaving you free to enjoy the journey.
The first day (20 mls) takes you via Loch Ken and the Galloway Kite Trail through peaceful woodland and moorland to Gatehouse of Fleet, a small town with lots to offer the visitor.
The next day (20 mls) mostly follows the National Cycle Route never far from the coast to Kirkcudbright Artists' Town. You’ll return to Castle Douglas with a 10 miles or longer route via the Dee Valley. Contact us to obtain more information on this tour.
Gatehouse and Kirkcudbright Circuit
The Glenkens Tour - 3B -
A peaceful tour including 2 nights hotel accommodation. Price: £175 p.p. Luggage - £30 plus £5 p.p.
The Glenkens is an interesting distinct physical area with uplands and tributary water courses at the edge of the Galloway Forest Park and the Galloway Hills. Your route to New Galloway takes you (25 mls) along the Galloway Kite Trail by Loch Ken and Ken Dee Marshes Nature Reserve.
There are several options for a circular tour to suit your preferred mileage the next day including spectacular scenery and other Glenkens communities. You’ll return to Castle Douglas (20 mls) by the Urr Valley on the third day. Luggage transfer and hotel accommodation is provided. Contact us to obtain more information on this tour.
The Cream o' Galloway Circuit - 3C
- Like ice cream? You’ll love this tour! Price: £160 p.p. Luggage - £30 plus £5 p.p.
Indulge in a break full of sweetness with this tasty tour. Most of Day 1 (22 mls) is countryside cycling with two tea room options serving home baking as a stop off point. The indulgence continues with a stop at a Chocolate Factory a few miles further on!
Day 2 is a part coastal loop back to Kirkcudbright, taking in the delicious Cream o' Galloway Visitor Centre (25 mls). Same B&B in Kirkcudbright again tonight. Enjoy a countryside route via Dundrennan Abbey back to Castle Douglas on Day 3 (22 mls), or if you need to get back early for your return journey home, we have a short cut back to Castle Douglas with the option to visit Threave Castle or Threave Gardens.
Contact us to obtain more information on this tour.
The Solway Coast Circuit - 3D
- Two overnight stay places with real character. Price: £170. Luggage - £65 plus £5 p.p.
You’ll travel along the National Cycle Route No.7 for part of the way to your overnight stay in a hotel in New Abbey (18 mls). Sweetheart Abbey, the Old Corn Mill and nearby National Museum of Costume visitor centres are well worth exploring.
Day 2 is mostly coastal (23 mls) and fairly flat with plenty of places of interest, including a nature reserve and a visitor centre dedicated to John Paul Jones, founder of the US Navy. A glass blowing visitor centre, two villages and an old tower are on your return journey to Castle Douglas on Day 3 (24 mls). Early booking is suggested due limited accommodation availability.
Contact us to obtain more information on this tour.
The Scottish Riviera - 3E
- A shorter daily distance tour through stunning scenery. Price: £170 p.p. Luggage - £30 plus £5 p.p.
Day 1 will take you on an 18 mile cycle, past the Mote of Urr, one of the largest old fort remains in Scotland and into Dalbeattie, before arriving at the picturesque coastline known by the Victorians as The Scottish Riviera. A section of this coast is managed by the National Trust for Scotland and the whole area is designated a National Scenic Area for its outstanding beauty - this is where you stay 2 nights!
Day 2 is a circular route with distance options up to 30 miles, or you could try mountain biking at the acclaimed nearby Dalbeattie 7 Stanes biking centre. Return to Castle Douglas by a flat route with distance options between 14 and 24 miles. Early booking is essential.
Contact us to obtain more information on this tour.
The Home of the Pedal Cycle - 3F
- Great scenery, Drumlanrig Castle and Keir Mill. Price: £175 p.p. Luggage - £50 plus £5 p.p.
Travel back to the place where cycling was born. En route visit the Glenkiln Sculptures, a striking feature of Day 1 (30 mls) through beautiful countryside of varying terrain, and see the smithy where Kirkpatrick Macmillan invented the pedal cycle in 1840.
A 26 miles route though the Nith Valley is suggested for Day 2 and a trip to Drumlanrig Castle is a must! This working castle is home to the Scottish Cycle Museum, with miles of cycling routes and mountain biking trails. Stay in the same B&B in Thornhill again tonight.
For your return to Castle Douglas travel through the pretty village of Moniaive and down the Urr Valley to end the tour. Contact us to obtain more information on this tour.
Mid Galloway Tour - 3G
- A longer distance tour where you’ll pack plenty in! Price: £160 p.p. Luggage - £50 plus £5 p.p.
Galloway is a gloriously picturesque part of Scotland and one which is well suited to exploration by cycling. The signposted National Cycle Route No. 7 and the National Byways Cycle Route feature in much of this tour. But of course we know where all the better detour stretches are, as well as the best places to stop, grab a bit to eat and to explore!
This tour goes as far as Wigtown, Scotland’s National Book Town, with overnight stays in Newton Stewart and Gatehouse of Fleet in our excellent tried and tested B&Bs. You’ll cycle 30 to 36 miles each day and we’ll recommend a host of places to visit along the way, interesting stops and deliciously tasty places to eat (and drink!). Contact us to obtain more information on this tour.
Day Circuits from Castle Douglas - 3H
- Three excellent circular tours - we can arrange cycling distances to suit you - no luggage transfer costs. Price: £165 p.p.
Each day's routes are favourites, can be from 25 miles, with numerous places of interest and refreshment places.
Although the cycling days can be done in any order, we suggest the first day along the Urr Valley to the Solway Coast with longer distance options if required.
For completely different terrain, the next day takes you into the hills to upland Glenkens region where you visit New Galloway, Balmaclellan and St John's Town of Dalry - some good refreshment places.
The last circular day is west into Galloway visiting Kirkcudbright and Gatehouse where the River Dee and River Fleet valleys meet the Solway Firth.
A cheap cycling holiday seeing much of Galloway in 3 days.
