Explore your Boundaries - Bikepacking Scotland

Explore Your Boundaries was inspired by the desire to create adventures close to home, a way of seeing the familiar in unfamiliar ways. Mark Beaumont, Guinness World Record holder for the fastest circumnavigation by bike, and Markus Stitz, singlespeed round the world cyclist and filmmaker, mapped 24 Scottish council boundary routes to encourage people to stay active, whether cycling or walking, and to inspire adventures that started and finished at their front door. To create the routes, they uploaded the council boundaries GPX files onto the mapping platform Komoot and matched them with the closest existing pathways. Taking those borders as inspiration, we mapped 24 routes ranging from 30 miles to 315 miles, covering the majority of Scotland’s local authorities, which are all included in the collection below. Craig Thompson helped us mapping a route around Aberdeen.

Explore Your Boundaries – Clackmannanshire, East Lothian, Falkirk, Glasgow

2022 – Explore Your Boundaries Argyll

In 2022 you can join round the world cyclists Mark Beaumont, Jenny Graham and Markus Stitz on their 560-mile (900km) journey on their gravel bikes as well as ferries, boats, kayaks and packrafts to travel along the boundary of Argyll and explore its rugged coasts and beautiful scenery in May, June and July. It is a key feature of Wild About Argyll’s Pedaddling campaign, with funding from VisitScotland and sponsorship from Schwalbe Tyres UK, which is showcasing the wealth of people-powered adventures available to the novice and the enthusiast across the breadth of Argyll and the Isles, easily accessible by public transport.

Find out more about Wild About Argyll’s Pedaddling activities here

Explore Your Boundaries Argyll in the Media (Selection)

17 Feb 2023 – Inverness Courier – Mark Beaumont pushes the limits as he heads to the Highlands to talk North Coast 500, gravel riding and more

10 Feb 2023 – Press & Journal – Record-breaking cyclist Mark Beaumont heads to Inverness’s Eden Court later this month

23 Jan 2023 – Press & Journal – Home is Where the Trails Are: New film showcases 165-mile bike journey through the Cairngorms

14 Oct 2022 – Bikerumor – Video: Explore Your Boundaries – Argyll and The Isles explores Scotland’s Adventure Coast

2 Sep 2022 – Much Better Adventures – The new 500-mile Cycling Route Around Argyll and the Isles

29 Aug 2022 – International Mountain Bike Magazine – Gravel Short Documentary: Explore Your Boundaries – Argyll Scotland

25 Aug 2022 – Gravel-Coillective – Argyll und die Inseln – Schottlands wilde Küste per Gravelbike entdecken

25 Aug 2022 – Gravelcyclist – Round the World Cyclists explore Scotland’s Adventure Coast in a New Film

22 Aug 2022 – Velojournal – Wetter, Wasser, Wunderland

14 Aug 2022 – Press & Journal – Why are these round the world cyclists exploring boundaries in Argyll?

13 Aug 2022 – Oban Times – Round the world cyclists explore Scotland’s Adventure Coast in a new film

10 Aug 2022 – Base – BIKEPACKING SCOTLAND’S ADVENTURE COAST

9 Aug 2022 – Bikepacking.com – EXPLORE YOUR BOUNDARIES – ARGYLL & THE ISLES (VIDEO)

8 Aug 2022 – Gravelunion – #midweek movies – Explore your boundaries – Argyll & The Isles

13 May 2022 – Visit Scotland – Round the world cyclists explore Scotland’s Adventure Coast

08 May 2022 – Spokesman Podcast – Explore Your Boundaries

08 May 2022 – off.road.cc – Jenny Graham joins Mark Beaumont and Markus Stitz for an Argyll adventure

A note of caution. Different to other Bikepacking Scotland routes we could only test ride the Edinburgh, Midlothian, Clackmannanshire, East Lothian, Falkirk and Glasgow routes so far. For all other routes we have used Komoot and Open Cycle Map to map and review them on a computer, and also used our knowledge from other rides or projects like mapping the Perthshire Gravel Trails, John Muir Way or routes in the Cateran Ecomuseum.

Those routes are suggestions to inspire your own routes. Please act responsibly as set out in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. Some councils are still missing from the collection, so if you want to map and share a route, use the feedback from below to get in touch.

Below you’ll find images and videos from our joint rides.

Explore Your Boundaries – Edinburgh (Jan 2021)