A two-day journey that will take you back and forth across the Pennines. At one end is Moffat in Scotland, and at the other Harrogate in England.
Whether you travel North to South or the other way around, the diagonal route across the Pennines to or from Gretna is an absolute gem. It doesn’t matter what you are riding. The route works equally well for a sports bike as it does for a cruiser or a tourer.
For brevity, we have assumed you are travelling North to spend the night in Moffat, before turning around and enjoying the route in the opposite direction.
North bound the route begins at Morrisons Supermarket, where there is fuel, and a cafe. Having refuelled both yourself and the bike, the A168 runs parallel to the A1(M) for a few miles and then turns north-west and heads cross-country through the North Pennines.
Ninety miles into the 160-mile northerly route, you pass through the town of Middleton in Teesdale. Popular with motorcyclists and with an ample collection of cafes to choose from.
The views are stunning, but often I’m staring intently at the upcoming sequence of bends that arrive in rapid succession. Crossing the border into Scotland at Springfield, southeast of Gretna – don’t forget to say hello to the red squirrel – and from there on to the B7071 “Timber Road” and into Moffat.
Southbound you ride through the same area, but no trip to the Pennines is complete without A686 and Hartside Top. The famous Hartide Top cafe appears to have closed, but the petrol station on the run into Alston, 5 miles further on, has a large car park and a supermarket.
With a total distance of 335 miles, this is a great weekend adventure, assuming you live a reasonable distance from either end. If not, they are still two of the best ways to get in, or out, of Scotland we know.
We are proudly supported by those excellent humans at Dunlop which means the routes are free for you to download and enjoy.
When importing GPX files, your GPS or Phone navigation app will recalulate the route based on your navigation preferences. We add waypoints to hopefully minimise any differences, but it is always worth double-checking.
If you have a route that you would like to share, get in touch and with the Editor, and we will do our best to include it. Download, ride and enjoy. What could possibly go wrong? All the motorcycle touring routes are GPX 1.1 version files.
All of the motorcycle touring routes are provided “as is” without guarantee, liability or any assurances. The lawyers said we had to include that sentence. All we can tell you is that we had an excellent time planning and riding them.
Heading North to Scotland
Heading South to England
