Road · United Kingdom
Helensburgh to Garelochhead Cycle Route
A rolling 12 km road cycling route from Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute to Garelochhead Cycle Route through Rhu and Shandon, with 61 m of climbing. 55% is on cycle paths or roads with a cycle lane.
At a glance
- Best for
- Rolling day rides
- Distance
- 11.8 km
- Elevation gain
- 61 m
- Riding time
- 51 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Bike
- Road bike
- Surface
- Paved
- Traffic
- Mostly cycle paths
- Food & water
- Regular
- Best months
- Jun to Aug
- Navigation
- GPX download
- Start → finish
- Helensburgh → Garelochhead Cycle Route
Map and elevation profile
Elevation profile
- 61 m
- 12 km
Route description
- Helensburgh
- Rhu
- Shandon
- Garelochhead Cycle Route
This 11.8 km point-to-point route starts in Helensburgh and finishes in Garelochhead, passing through Rhu at 3.1 km and Shandon at 5.8 km. The elevation gain is 61 m, with the highest point at 47 m at 8.4 km and the lowest at 2 m just past the start. The climb is gentle with only 0.3 km above 5% gradient and no stretches steeper than 8%, and the route is mostly flat with 75% of it level.
Surface is paved for 98%, with 2% unmapped. The route uses a variety of road types: about 3.5 km cycle path, 2.9 km on roads with cycle lanes, 2.6 km quiet streets, and 2 km on main roads without cycle lanes. The A814 is the longest named road traversed, ridden for 3 km. The longest fast road section (80 km/h+) is 2.7 km. The longest descent is 1.2 km, starting at 8.6 km.
Facilities are found mainly at the start and finish: Helensburgh offers multiple pubs, restaurants and a bike shop 548 m off route. Along the way, Rhu has toilets nearby at 3 km, and there's a cafe 35 m off route at 2.5 km. Garelochhead has a Spar supermarket and a fast food outlet just off the route, plus a station offering bailout options. The longest stretch without a café, shop, or water is 7.2 km between 3.1 km and 10.3 km.
Why ride this route?
- 55% on cycle paths or lanes.
Highlights
- Passing through Rhu and Shandon
- Highest point at 47 m at 8.4 km
- Longest descent of 1.2 km from 8.6 km
- Cycle path and lane for over half the route
Along the route
Places passed
Traffic, surface and gradient
Much of the route is separated from traffic: 55% is on cycle paths or roads with a cycle lane.
- Roads
- 30% cycle path · 25% road with cycle lane · 22% quiet street · 17% main road · 6% other roads and tracks
- Main roads
- 2 km on main roads without a cycle lane — likely busier
- Fast roads
- 2.7 km on roads with a limit of 80 km/h or more
- Cycle paths
- 6.5 km on cycle paths or roads with a cycle lane
- Main roads used
- A814 (3 km)
- Surface
- Paved: 98% of the route is mapped as paved and 2% has no surface data.
- Gradient
- 14% climbing · 11% descending · 75% flat
Food, water and services
No stretch is longer than 15 km without a café, shop or water. Along the route: 12 cafés and restaurants, 2 shops, 1 petrol station, 1 public toilet and 1 bike shop.
Food, water and shops in ride order
- 0 kmHelensburgh Cycles · bike shop · 550 m off route
- 0 kmRowlands Pharmacy · pharmacy · 380 m off route
- 2.5 kmCafe Rhu · café · 40 m off route
- 3 kmToilets · on the route
- 10.3 kmFaslane Fuel Depot · petrol station · on the route
- 11.5 kmAli Fish & Chips & Curry Club · fast food · on the route
- 11.8 kmSpar · supermarket · on the route
Need to bail out?
- 0 km — Helensburgh Central (station), 680 m off route
- 11.5 km — Garelochhead (station), 230 m off route
Worth a stop
- 0 km — Henry Bell Obelisk (monument)
- 7 km — Faslane Peace Camp (attraction)
Stay after this ride
- Anchor Inn · hotel · 340 m from the finish
Start and access
At the start
- Food and coffee
- The Commodore (170 m), 82 West (190 m), Mi Tierra Grill&Cocktail Bar (240 m)
At the finish
- Trains and ferries
- Garelochhead (320 m)
- Food and coffee
- Ali Fish & Chips & Curry Club (280 m)
- Shops
- Spar (10 m), Day-Today (370 m)
Know before you go
- Longest stretch without café, shop or water for 7.2 km from km 3.1 to 10.3
- 2 km on main roads without cycle lanes
- 2.7 km on fast roads (80 km/h+)
