Bikepacking Scotland, the organisation run by round-the-world cyclist Markus Stitz, has just released the GPX for a new long-distance cycling route. It's an 110-mile (177km) venture coast to coast across Scotland from east to west, through Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.
On the way you’ll venture through lush woodlands, ride by a multitude of glimmering lochs on remote, rugged trails, sample some of the UK’s finest gravel tracks and pass Roman hillforts and medieval towers. All of that and more is showcased in Stitz's new film Overland, which marks the launch:
This beautiful new trail begins in Culross in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The route weaves up the Firth of Forth and bypasses the city of Stirling, instead heading past the Bridge of Allan and Dunblane en route to the popular holiday town of Callander. You’ll ride along the scenic Loch Venachar, and journey to Aberfoyle - the home of the UK’s first waymarked gravel trails.
Some of the finest riding comes as you skirt past the Arrochar Alps and follow Loch Long down to the finish point in Kilcreggan...
Lochs Ard, Chon and Arklet then lead you to Loch Lomond - the largest lake in the UK, home to the most southerly munros (mountains over 912m/3,000ft) in Scotland. It’s recommended to ride the route from Easter to late October, as during this time the water bus over Loch Lomond is then in operation.
Some of the finest riding comes next as you skirt past the Arrochar Alps and follow Loch Long down to the finish in Kilcreggan, on the Rosneath Peninsula in Argyll and Bute. This ending point is a little-visited part of Scotland.
Markus’ route film Overland is centred not just around the scenery and the exquisite riding, but also on that most Scottish of things - the weather.
“The Scotland I have experienced in the last 16 years has always been an interesting place in terms of the weather,” Stitz says. “Yes, there are blue sunny skies every now and then. But there’s also the other side of the country: when it’s raining, when the fog is rolling in, when the clouds are coming over the mountains. I really love to portray that side of Scotland, and that’s what the new film is about.”
As Alfred Wainwright - and more appropriately in this case, Billy Connolly - once famously said, there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing choices.
Stitz continues: “With the right gear, it’s totally fine to go out bikepacking pretty much in any season in Scotland. For me, there’s a massive fascination to that wetter side of Scotland too. It’s super green. It’s mystic. It’s majestic – and I really enjoy cycling in those conditions.”
For me, there’s a massive fascination to that wetter side of Scotland too.
The start and finish point of the route are both accessible by public transport.
From April to October the free Inner Forth Bike Bus runs on Sundays to Newmills, very near Culross, while train and bus connections from Dunfermline or Rosyth provide year-round access. At the western end, a passenger ferry connects Kilcreggan with Gourock, offering onward travel by ferry to Dunoon or by train to Glasgow Central.
The route is available in detail on the Bikepacking Scotland website and also features in Gravel Rides Loch Lomond & The Trossachs and Argyll, Stitz’s forthcoming guidebook showcasing 15 of the region’s best gravel cycling routes. The guidebook will be published by Vertebrae Publishing in November 2025.
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