Cycle to Dean Castle Country Park

Join us for a leisurely paced cycle along some of the back roads of East Renfrewshire and East Ayrshire for a lunch stop at the visitor centre in Dean Castle Country Park, just north of Kilmarnock.

To keep the run manageable for a short winter's day and also give us the advantage of starting off at a height of 150m, the ride will commence in Neilston, about 10 miles to the south of Glasgow, which is easily reachable by train.

We'll start by climbing along a minor road past the Neilston Dams, before descending through Dunlop towards the edge of Kilwinning. We'll then cut SE to join Sustrans route 73 along part of the former Irvine to Kilmarnock railway line. From Kilmarnock town centre, is it is then a short ride to Dean Castle Country Park. Built in the 14th century, the castle has many historical connections with names like Robert the Bruce, James III of Scotland, Bonnie Prince Charlie and Robert Burns.

After a lunch stop at the cafe in the park, we'll continue northwards to join the excellent cycle route built along the course of the former A77, when it was superseded by the M77 motorway before retracing our route back to Neilston along some minor roads. Total distance of the circuit will be around 37 miles (60 km). Hardier members of the group may wish to extend the ride by continuing along the A77 back into Glasgow - which is mostly downhill anyway!

Proposed route for the ride: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/29026317

The ride is very much weather dependent - in the event of adverse weather, snow or icy conditions it may be curtailed or postponed.