Gravel Cycling
Tweed Valley Gravel Circuit
Plan-your-own forest-road riding between Innerleithen, Glentress and Cardrona
Quick facts
- Distance
- Not published
- Ascent
- Not published
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Route type
- Loop
- Archetype
- Forest Circuit
- Region
- Scottish Borders
- Start point
- Innerleithen
- Grid ref
- NT 331 369
- Parking
- EH44 6RE
- Midges
- Low
- Dogs
- On lead only
Surface breakdown
- Forest track55%
- Tarmac single-track25%
- Double-track20%
About this route
The Tweed Valley between Peebles and Innerleithen is the busiest mountain-biking area in Scotland, with the 7stanes trail centres at Glentress and Innerleithen. The same Forestry and Land Scotland forests — Glentress, Cardrona and the hills above Innerleithen — are laced with forest roads built for timber lorries, and those are what a gravel rider wants: big views over the valley without the technical features of the waymarked mountain-bike trails.
This page has not been traced from a GPS file, so it publishes no loop, distance or ascent. Plan your own line on OS Explorer 337 using the forest roads, keep off the waymarked MTB trails unless you mean to ride them, and check FLS notices for timber operations before you go.
Highlights
- Forest-road views over the Tweed Valley from Glentress and Cardrona
- Glentress Forest Café at the FLS visitor hub
- Innerleithen and Peebles — both well served for food and bike shops
Key waypoints
- 1. Innerleithen
- 2. Glentress Forest
- 3. Peebles
- 4. Cardrona Forest
Cafés & pubs on route
- · Glentress Forest Café, Glentress (FLS lists it open 10am–5pm daily — check before relying on it)
Route notes
Not a traced route — plan your own line. Forest roads in Glentress and Cardrona are shared with timber lorries, walkers and mountain bikers coming off the trails; be predictable at junctions. Forestry and Land Scotland posts operational closures at forest entrances and on its website.
Seasonal conditions
Rideable most of the year on the forest roads, which drain well. Autumn colour in the mixed woodland is a highlight. Timber harvesting can close tracks at any time of year.
Key hazards
- Timber harvesting — follow FLS diversion signs and never pass a working machine
- Mountain bikers crossing forest roads from the trails — be predictable at junctions
- Riverside paths can flood after heavy rain — SEPA publishes river levels
Water sources on route
- Innerleithen and Peebles — shops and cafés
Always filter or treat water from natural sources. Carry at least 1L reserve on remote sections.
OS map sheets
Nearest hill
Broad Law
840.1m · borders
View hill
Nearest bothy
Over Phawhope
5km walk-in · borders
View bothy
Daylight Today
- Sunrise
- 07:15
- Sunset
- 16:37
- Civil dawn
- 06:36
- Civil dusk
- 17:16
NOAA Solar Calculator · 31 October 2026
Common questions
- Is there a set gravel loop here?
- Not on this page. It has not been traced, so it publishes no distance or ascent. Plan your own loop on the Forestry and Land Scotland forest roads and measure it before you go.
- Can I combine this with the Glentress MTB trails?
- Yes — the forest roads and the Glentress trail centre share the same forest, so it is easy to add a waymarked trail. Check the grade before you ride one on a gravel bike.
- Where is the café at Glentress?
- The Glentress Forest Café is at Glentress Peel, the Forestry and Land Scotland visitor hub. The old Hub in the Forest café closed in 2011.
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