As forecast, today turned out sunny, dry and moderately warm. Perfect, in fact. I had an errand to do at Twynholm first, so I started with that. Then a quick run back along the A75 to Ringford, and turned off northwards, passing Woodhall Loch.
Then past Mossdale, up the west side of Loch Ken to New Galloway, across the Ken Bridge and up to Dalry, where I took the road for Moniaive. This road has great views in all directions.
Arriving at Moniaive, I stopped and sat on a convenient rock on the edge of the village, watching the lambs and eating a cheese roll.
Moniaive sits near the top of Glencairn. There’s a very steep brae climbing up from the west side (towards Tynron) which has some fine views back down over the village.
I then took some back roads across to the A76, then a fast run down to Dumfries, then westwards along the A75 to Castle Douglas to buy a couple of chocolate Easter Bunnies for the memsahib’s birthday. From CD I rode over the hills to Dalbeattie to refill with some decent petrol. There is a sign with an uplifting message overlooking the petrol forecourt.
Leaving Dalbeattie, I took a little detour to see if Orchardton Tower was still there (it was).
Thence home for a well-deserved bottle of Broughtons best IPA. 105 miles and a nice day out.
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Stunning , just stunning. It was cool still down here. Warming up next week … 
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I’ll be travelling from Gretna Green to Cairnryan in 3 weeks time - looking forward to some of that scenery!
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I expect your schedule will force you to use the main A75 Gretna-Stranraer/Cairnryan road. It passes through some fine scenery ( and some more ordinary) and has lots of potentially fast sweeping bends (if you keep a sharp eye open for the white police speed camera van which frequently lurks at the side of the road). The big downside is that it carries so much HGV traffic between Britain and Ireland, and HGVs are subject to a 40mph speed limit on the A75, which a lot of them obey, though not all. Convoys of lorries form, with a long tail of ordinary traffic. Safe overtaking opportunities are limited (and are often the location of the speed camera van!) It’s not quite so bad on a bike, but it’s frustrating in a car or van. Sundays are the best day, as there are fewer HGVs. If you are aiming to catch a particular ferry sailing, the chances are that lots of lorries are too.
If you have the time, the best thing would be to stop overnight somewhere in the region and take a route along some of the remoter and quieter roads. Anyway, enjoy your journey!
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Cheers Dave. I have my ferry booked on friday the 16th of May, so will have to travel in one day as I’m being met by @Andyc1 and Dougie in Larne. I’ll just have to come back another time to take in the smaller roads at my leisure…
I just put in a route in Myrouteapp which takes me on the A75 to Crocketford, then branches off onto the A712 and back onto the A75 at Newton Stewart.
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That’s good, those are nice roads. Watch out for potholes, as on all UK minor roads, especially on parts of the Crocketford-Balmaclellan section.
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Great! And thanks for the heads up - I’ll keep my eyes peeled…
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