Perthshire is a fantastic location for cycling… shame about the infrastructure!
Compared to the rest of Western Europe, the UK in general has a very poor cycling infrastructure. Up here in Highland Perthshire we have fantastic scenery, but access can be challenging due to the shocking state of some of the roads in towns and cities. The lack of dedicated cycle lanes is a general issue right across the UK, but as a result of minimum investment the truth is that compared to other countries the cycling infrastructure here is in fact declining! – For years certain councils have been claiming investment and improvements to their local cycling infrastructure, but the reality is that it is and remains all image over content.
Which is a great shame, because ask any keen local cyclist up here in Perthshire about this region and they will all tell you it’s the best place in The World to cycle!… just as soon as you have cleared the towns or city boundaries though!!
And there lies the root cause of the problem.. so many more locals would cycle if their council had the foresight and creativity to improve their own back yard! So many more tourists and visitors would flock to Highland Perthshire if they felt safe on the roads.. felt they could leave their bikes in a safe location.. if they could actually see the improvements to appalling road surfaces… if their council could actually deliver just like other forward thinking modern countries.
More to follow…
And just as a comparison, these photos were taken recently;
The only bike stand outside Perth Railway Station.. and then a photo of just one of 4 (four) bike parks situated outside Eindhoven station in NL.
Also, within a 2 minute walk from Eindhoven station they also have a secured free underground bike park in the city centre that can accommodate over 5,000 bikes per day. As Kevin Costner was once told in the film Field of Dreams; If you build it… ???
We do cycle tours, but sometimes when environmental issues are raised they are worth pursuing.. especially when they have any kind of impact on ecotourism (sustainable transport) or conserving the environment
edit May 2023: a summary on what the local council (PKC) have delivered over the past 10+ years on promoting tourism for Perth City Centre can be found at https://www.highlandbiketours....
previous observation (March 2022) about cycling infrastructure on twitter:
Any town or city can change its infrastructure to become (more) bicycle friendly… and once out cycling most people are so much healthier and happier! Here some tips from Eindhoven.. (you tube)
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How to book your Tour
There are no cash payments at the premises, so all tours must be booked in advance, or paid by debit or credit card (at the shop/hub) prior to the tour.
Please note that there are only a maximum of 4 places on any given tour.
To reserve your place on one of our tours you can either use the Fareharbor Booking system (via orange BOOK NOW link), send us an email to [email protected], or simply complete the Contact Us section. As there are only 4 slots on any of our tours we operate on a first-come first-served basis with all our bookings. Please also include the height of each person - We will then supply you with the correct frame size.
It is also worth mentioning that if the ‘private tour’ option has been booked in advance then there are no other places or bikes available on that day. For more info about the ‘private tour’ (from 1 up to a maximum of 3 people for the same fee) please see our Tours section, or simply contact us by email or via the website.
Highland Bike Tours (HBT) make use of Hybrid road E-Bikes with a classic Dutch design, so suitable to use while wearing casual clothing. You can view images of these e-bikes on the FAQs page (see above), or on our Instagram link (see below).
Solo travellers wishing to take part in a Bike Tour: Although there is the 'private tour' option (for 1 to 3 people), all of our shared tours require a minimum of two people, so if you would like to take part in one of our tours and are travelling alone, then feel free to contact us with your preferred travel date, and we will do our best to match you up with others in a similar position.
Guided E-Bike Tours also in the Dutch language. NL: Samen met een Nederlandssprekende tourgids ervaar je al het moois dat de Schotse Hooglanden te bieden heeft op een unieke manier.
