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Duns Yellow Route

28 km road cycling loop130 m climbing1 h 58 minGPX

Duns, Scottish Borders, United Kingdom · Road

A rolling 28 km road cycling loop from Clockmill, Scottish Borders through Grueldykes, Gavinton and Caldra, with 130 m of climbing. The first 26 km has no café, shop or water.

Signed route The waymarked Duns Yellow Route (Scottish Borders Council), traced from OpenStreetMap and measured against the terrain model; no member has recorded it yet. Ridden it? Add your recording and photos.

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At a glance

Best for
Rolling day rides
Distance
27.5 km
Loop
Elevation gain
130 m
5 m per km
Riding time
1 h 58 min
moving time, estimated
Difficulty
Easy
Bike
Road bike
from the mapped surface
Surface
Paved
99% paved · 0% unpaved · 1% no data
Traffic
Mostly minor roads
2.3 km on main roads without a cycle lane · 5.9 km where the limit is 80 km/h or more
Food & water
Longest gap 26 km
10 cafés and restaurants · 1 shop · 2 petrol stations · 1 public toilet · 1 bike shop
Best months
Jun to Sep
Duns climate, 10 years
Navigation
GPX download
free, no sign-in
Start and finish
Clockmill

Map and elevation profile

Duns Market Place
Photo: Gordon Hatton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation profile

Total ascent
130 m
Distance
28 km
050100150m0 km102028 km136 m · highest, at 26.9 kmStartFinish · back at the start

Route description

  1. Clockmill
  2. Grueldykeskm 2
  3. Gavintonkm 4
  4. Caldrakm 6
  5. Charterhallkm 9
  6. Printonankm 13
  7. Swinton Bridge Endkm 16
  8. Greenknowekm 21
  9. Sinclair's Hillkm 23
  10. Clockmillkm 28

The Duns Yellow Route is a 27.5 km loop starting and ending in Duns. The ride passes through places including Clockmill at 1.2 km, Gavinton at 3.6 km, Fogo at 6.8 km, Swinton at 17.6 km, and Sinclair's Hill at 22.5 km. It rides mostly on minor roads (23.6 km), with 2.3 km on main roads without cycle lanes and 0.7 km on roads with cycle lanes. The surface is nearly all paved (99%).

Highlights

  • Climb to 135 m near Sinclair's Hill
  • Passes Green Rig hill at 7.3 km
  • Passes Harcarse Hill at 15 km
  • Monument at Swinton (17.6 km)

Along the route

Measured from the route line, the Copernicus elevation model and OpenStreetMap.

Places passed

  1. Langton Mill 2.2 km
  2. Gavinton 3.6 km
  3. Ladyflat 5.2 km
  4. Caldra 6.4 km
  5. Fogo 6.8 km
  6. Fogomoor 8.7 km
  7. Charterhall 9.1 km
  8. Whinkerstones 9.5 km
  9. Printonan 13.2 km
  10. Langbank 14.4 km
  11. Swinton Bridge End 16.4 km
  12. Swinton 17.6 km
  13. Greenriggs 19 km
  14. Greenknowe 21 km
  15. Middlestots 22 km
  16. Sinclair's Hill 22.5 km

Climbs

Climbs in ride order: where each starts, what this ride climbs, and the full named ascent
ClimbStarts atOn this rideTop on this ride
Unnamed climb24.8 km1.9 km · 47 m · 2.5 % · max 3.6 %135 m

High point 135 m at 26.7 km; low point 53 m. Passes beneath Green Rig, Harcarse Hill.

Traffic, surface and gradient

Measured from OpenStreetMap along the track and the elevation profile.

Mostly minor roads and streets on the map; 2.3 km is on main roads without a cycle lane.

Roads
86% minor road · 8% main road · 3% road with cycle lane · 3% other roads and tracks
Main roads
2.3 km on main roads without a cycle lane — likely busier
Fast roads
5.9 km on roads with a limit of 80 km/h or more
Surface
Paved: 99% of the route is mapped as paved.
Gradient
15% climbing · 13% descending · 72% flat

Food, water and services

Within a few hundred metres of the track, from OpenStreetMap. Opening hours change — treat this as where to look, not a promise.

The longest stretch without a café, shop or water is 26 km, from the start. Along the route: 10 cafés and restaurants, 1 shop, 2 petrol stations, 1 public toilet and 1 bike shop.

Food, water and shops in ride order

  1. 0 kmThe Co-operative Food · supermarket · 120 m off route
  2. 0.1 kmThe Plough · pub · 40 m off route
  3. 0.1 kmToilets · on the route
  4. 27.1 kmAitchisons · petrol station · on the route
  5. 27.3 kmHungry Spot · café · on the route
  6. 27.3 kmRepair stand · on the route
  7. 27.3 kmGeorge Romanes · pharmacy · on the route

Worth a stop

  • 17.6 km — Mercat Cross (monument)
  • 27.3 km — Mercat Cross (monument)

Start and access

Starts and finishes at Clockmill. Mapped within a short walk of the start, from OpenStreetMap.

At the start and finish

Food and coffee
Hungry Spot (20 m), Border Baguettes (30 m), Whip and Saddle (30 m)
Shops
The Co-operative Food (130 m)

Know before you go

  • Longest stretch without café or shop for 26.4 km from 0.1 to 26.5 km
  • 2.3 km on main roads with no cycle lanes
  • 5.9 km on fast roads 80 km/h or above

Routes are for inspiration. Roads, surfaces and conditions change — check locally and ride within your limits.

2 photographs from the road

Photo: Gordon Hatton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Photo: WeeHolly · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Photo: Peter Wood · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About this route

Route line
Traced from the waymarked route’s relation in OpenStreetMap.
Elevation
Recalculated from the Copernicus GLO-90 terrain model every 50 m, not the device’s barometer.
Roads, surface, services
Measured along the line from OpenStreetMap extracts.
Best months
Ten years of ERA5 weather for Duns (Open-Meteo).
GPX
Generated from the route line: track points only, no timestamps or personal data.
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Page last updated

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