CYCLE PUSH . . . Richard Peace of Excellent Books is helping to promote the new ‘Firth to Forth’ cycle route from Annan to Edinburgh, producing a detailed 128-page guide book
The ‘Firth to Forth’ route was developed by the team behind the C2C coast-to-coast route from Whitehaven to Sunderland, which attracts 15,000 visitors a year.
Stepping in to create a dedicated book helping to promote the new 125-mile Scottish route, which begins at Annan Harbour and runs up through Moffat, Richard Peace of
Excellent Books said: “I’m an English publisher, and I did an English C2C guide which has been very popular. I thought I’d do one on this route.”
Richard, 48, from Huddersfield, added: “It’s a book with very detailed maps and all accommodation, things that people can take with them.
“It’s the complete trip for them, with all the supporting information and some nice colour photos of things along the way.”
Richard knows David Gray and colleague John Grimshaw who developed the new route.
And he said: “They kept telling me it was an even better route; that it was even nicer and more picturesque and the finish underneath the Forth Rail Bridge was really spectacular.”
Richard spoke to David and then set out to ride the route himself a couple of times, compiling information and taking photographs to illustrate the book.
The book contains a 3D route profile, showing inclines and on-road and off-road areas, and 1:50,000 maps.
Richard said: “It’s extremely quiet at the start, from Annan. There’s some lovely market towns, and a spectacular start on the Solway Firth.”
He added: “The book hopefully will get a lot of good reaction, and the idea of a sea-to-sea route is well established thing for cyclists to do.
“They want to have the challenge of going from coast-to-coast, and it’s a really good opportunity for them to have a challenge like that but see somewhere different.”
Richard’s newly-released book is now on sale priced £11.95, available from www.excellentbooks.co.uk
