Lanarkshire - Central Scotland’s Cycling Playground

If you love cycling, you’ll love cycling in Lanarkshire.

You needn’t travel for miles to reach cycling routes that suit. Lanarkshire’s right on your doorstep and much of it is still undiscovered, offering many exciting cycling opportunities.  All sorts of cyclists can find all sorts of options, all grades of difficulty and endurance and a real choice of riding distance.

Ride through a variety of landscapes peppered with history and well-served with restaurants and pubs where you can rest your legs, refuel and relax after a day well spent on your bike. 

Luckily, few people really recognise Lanarkshire’s truly rural nature so it’s hills, valleys and riversides and resting places are crowd free.

Cycle Route Highlights in Lanarkshire

The River Clyde rises in the Southern Uplands and flows through the Lanarkshire countryside before rolling into the south east of Glasgow. The new Clyde Walkway is a 37-mile walking and cycling trail following the river through the delightful rural landscapes to Scotland’s industrial heartland. Start cycling at the UNESCO World Heritage Site at New Lanark, then cruise by the Stoneybyre Falls, through the RSPB’s Baron’s Haugh Reserve and into Strathclyde Park.

You can then take in Bothwell Castle and the David Livingston Centre in Blantyre before leaving leafy Lanarkshire for the more industrial scenery down river.

Mountain biking is of course the exciting new growth area and more than 50 miles of new off-road tracks with great views have been opened up to at Whitelees wind farm a few miles to the north of Strathaven to cope with the burgeoning demand.

For those who want something a little more adventurous there are long off-road mountain biking routes through the Lowther hills that follow old roads and forestry tracks.

Or, if you prefer a less taxing gradient, you could take a spin along the Monklandor Forth and Clyde Canal Routes. You could also get close to nature on the North Calder Heritage Trail or the Castlecarey to Longriggend cycle route.

Everyday throughout the summer months there are cyclists undertaking the Land’s End to John O’Groats cycle route to be found on the national cycle network cutting across the county and new sections through Larkhall and Hamilton are well underway. The newest cycle section from Chatelherault to Strathclyde Park is a completely traffic free cycle route suitable for all the family.

In recent years cycling in Lanarkshire has received the ringing endorsement of the annual Tour of Britain cycle race with the roads around Strathaven featuring regularly on the week-long cycle tour.

If you love cycling, you’ll love Lanarkshire.