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Features
National Cycle Route 74 - Carlisle to Glasgow
Introduction
| Route 74 is the new cycle route from Carlisle to Glasgow which has been formed using the old A74 road which has now been replaced by the M74 motorway. |
 This is the start of the route. |
Day 1
Richard McKinlay and Arthur Moody decided to try out the new route one cold October day back in 1999. We took the train from Glasgow to Carlisle with one bicycle and one tricycle. This route is operated by Virgin trains and although they say they will not carry tricycles when we came to board the train there was no problem at all. The guards van was large and mostly empty, racks have been fitted to make cycle carriage easier and there was room for about a dozen bikes.
We left Carlisle station at about 11:00 and followed the Sustrans route 7 until we reached the A74. This is 'The Cumbria Gap'.
The Cumbria Gap
| As far as we know the Scottish Office very kindly paid for plans to be drawn up to upgrade this section of road to motorway even though the road is in a different country. There was a significant cost associated in doing this but they fully expected the DETR in England to build this section of motorway to join the planned M74. When the time came to put their hands in their pockets the DETR refused to fund this, after all they say 'Why should we fund a motorway which only benefits someone in another country?' |
 An empty road |
And so 'The Cumbria Gap' came in to existence, a short stretch of narrow road joining two motorways and the main road route to Scotland. This also meant that there is a gap in the cycle route, at this stage you have two options. Stay on Sustrans route 7 until Gretna or risk life and limb and cycle along the overcrowded A74 for four miles. Of course we chose the latter, but I don't think we would do so again.
Construction
| At Gretna you can join the B7078, this is the old A74 and is almost deserted. Although the road is wide and empty and the surface is good the road builders have for some reason added a special cycle surface at the edge of the road. This is much rougher and more uneven than the main road surface and at certain speeds made my handlebars vibrate. Because the road is so quiet there is no problem in cycling on the smoother part of the road. It does seem strange though, spending money on something which is less suitable then what was there before. |
 The old road has become a cycle track |
 Bits of old road are filled in |
Some of the stretches of dual carriageway have had one carriageway given over to motor traffic and the other to cyclists. Where this has been done the cycle carriageway has been made thinner by planting on the east side of the lane. This looks like a technique to get rid of a lot of soil but when the plants start to grow it should look good. |
|
Some of the road marking are peculiar - at one stage there is a give way line for cycles to allow farm traffic access to a field! With a tail wind of 20mph it we made good time and stopped at the Rendezvous Cafe in Lockerbie for lunch. It was good to get out of the cold wind for an hour. |
 Cyclists must give way to tractors! |
| In the afternoon we carried on along the B7078, this time we noticed how noisy it is. The M74 is never far away so you never get that tyres humming on the road, birds singing in the trees feeling which you do on a rural ride. The noise also stops you from relaxing so we pressed on, heads down to a truck stop at Crawford. The lorry drivers we spoke to there were of course very much in favour of the new motorway, and I suppose we were too. After all, without it this would have been a very unpleasant ride indeed. |
 What is it? |
That night we had hoped to go to the Youth Hostel at Wanlockhead but it is only open at the weekends in the winter. Instead we made for a very nice B+B on the road to Crawfordjohn.
Day 2
The next day we made our way back to the B7078 via the B740 but only stayed on it for another eight miles. Here we turned off through Coalburn and Strathaven and the excellent Auldhouse Arms at Auldhouse. Unfortunately the 80/- was off but pub worth visiting never the less. When we reached Eaglesham Richard made a classic comment 'Back to the arsehole drivers again' It was true, for a hundred miles people had been driving normally, then when you near Glasgow they suddenly switch in to maniacs, why is that I wonder?
We tried out the A77 in to Glasgow, fairly quiet now the M77 extension is open. Went through Pollok Park and over Bells Bridge and then......... very strange. Someone has built a car park over the cycle path. It took a while to get out of the car park (via the in road, wrong way through barriers etc.) and over the expressway to Byres Road to head home. This whole area near the SECC is a complete shambles as far as cycling is concerned. Hopefully with Glasgow Council now getting their act together in the city centre they will be able to sort this out.
Conclusion
The new route 74 has certainly opened up an option for many people who would not like to cycle along side a busy road all day long. The end to enders will certainly find it an improvement, but I doubt if it will be used as a leisure route. The scenery is impressive but it is just too noisy. Some of the money spent on the works have been to add features such a roundabout bypasses which would only be used by children and families. Any experienced cyclist would just use the roundabout in this instance. Money could have been saved for other projects by asking the advice of an experienced group of cyclists at the design stage. But that comment applies to just about every cycle facility ever built. But overall it is pleasant to use and a move on the right direction.