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National Byway Dumfries Loop

16 km road cycling route159 m climbing1 h 07 minGPX

Shawhead, Dumfries and Galloway, United Kingdom · Road

A hilly 16 km road cycling route from Shawhead, Dumfries and Galloway, with 159 m of climbing.

Signed route The waymarked National Byway Dumfries Loop (regional route NB), 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
Short, climbing-heavy rides
Distance
15.6 km
Point to point
Elevation gain
159 m
10 m per km
Riding time
1 h 07 min
moving time, estimated
Difficulty
Easy
Bike
Road bike
from the mapped surface
Surface
Paved
99% paved · 1% unpaved
Traffic
Mostly minor roads
Food & water
None mapped
Best months
Jun to Aug
Shawhead climate, 10 years
Navigation
GPX download
free, no sign-in
Start → finish
Shawhead

Map and elevation profile

At the Routin' Bridge - Irongray. The only river strictly belonging to the parish is the Auld, which has its source on the confines of Kirkpatrick-Durham, and, after flowing for some miles through thi
Photo: James Johnstone from Ecclefechan, Scotland · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation profile

Total ascent
159 m
Distance
16 km
050100150200250m0 km51016 km215 m · highest, at 10.5 kmStartFinish

Route description

The National Byway Dumfries Loop starts at Shawhead at 55 m elevation. The route features mainly minor roads with 99% on paved surfaces. The first half contains nearly all the climbing, beginning with a 2.6 km climb from 4.5 km gaining 69 m at an average gradient of 2.7%, reaching 161 m elevation. This is followed by a 1.8 km climb from 8.7 km with 53 m gain averaging 3% gradient, peaking at 215 m at 10.5 km, the highest point of the route.

The profile then includes a 4.3 km longest descent starting just after 10.6 km, dropping 143 m. After this, the route returns on minor roads back to Shawhead. There are no cafes, shops, water points or bike services along the full 15.6 km loop, so riders must be self-sufficient. The route includes small amounts of short steep gradients with the steepest 500 m section at 4.7% gradient around 9.4 km.

Highlights

  • Climb of 2.6 km gaining 69 m from 4.5 km
  • Highest point at 215 m elevation at 10.5 km
  • Long 4.3 km descent dropping 143 m from 10.6 km

Along the route

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

Places passed

  1. Shawhead 4.1 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 climb4.5 km2.6 km · 69 m · 2.7 % · max 4.5 %161 m
Unnamed climb8.7 km1.8 km · 53 m · 3 % · max 4.8 %215 m

High point 215 m at 10.5 km; low point 55 m.

Traffic, surface and gradient

Measured from OpenStreetMap along the track and the elevation profile.

Mostly minor roads and streets on the map.

Roads
99% minor road · 1% other roads and tracks
Surface
Paved: 99% of the route is mapped as paved, 1% as unpaved.
Gradient
29% climbing · 26% descending · 45% flat
Longest descent
4.3 km from 10.6 km, dropping 143 m

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.

No café, shop or water point is mapped along the route - carry everything you need.

Know before you go

  • Longest stretch with no café, shop or water for 15.6 km

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

2 photographs from the road

Photo: James Johnstone from Ecclefechan, Scotland · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Photo: Colin Kinnear · CC BY-SA 2.0 · 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 Shawhead (Open-Meteo).
GPX
Generated from the route line: track points only, no timestamps or personal data.
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