Lambhill to Red Moss

A leisurely 7 am start in wet but mild and calm conditions was sufficient for reducing the number of exercisers to look out for on a reversal of Day 2 route to Cambuslang Morrison’s. There a local recommended the A724 as a more direct route to Bothwell than NCR 74. This is a wide road with good on-road cycle lanes and carrying little traffic on Sunday. Rosso Bothwell was accessed via the David Livingstone Bridge with a left turn near Hamilton. The coffee and generous portion of tasty food were well worth a detour.

From Rosso Bothwell to the Lesmahagow area was again a reversal of the effective Day 2 direct route. In order to avoid a shortish stretch of the dual carriageway, NCR 74 was followed through Lesmahagow (dead this Sunday) and up a taxing hill to rejoin the marvellous cycle path separate from the main road to the highly-commended service station at Happendon and beyond.

On the high part of the B7078 to Abington the weather had warmed and the ground was dry so it was an ideal opportunity to test it for wild camping. Here there was not the train noise to be tolerated at Abington but some of the very few passing vehicles were travelling at speed and noisy. Midges were biting and have left marks because my donning of the midge net at first in favour of Smidge was a mistake. The tent was sited about half way from Lambhill to Dumfries and there are other potential sites to be tried and compared.