Sarah and I have cycled from the Firth of Clyde to the Firth of Forth before. On that occasion, for various reasons, we had gone off-course and taken a somewhat different route. For this tour, this time cycling with Andy S and Mike, we were determined to stay on course. First, however, we had to get to the start at Gourock!

So it was on a sunny September afternoon we found ourselves in Glasgow ready for a cycle ride to Greenock, which is not far from Gourock.

We began by taking the obligatory start of the cycle ride photo on Bells Bridge.

We weren’t going to follow the Clyde to Forth route on our way out to Greenock. Instead we set off for Clydebank following NCN Route 7. We had cycled this section of our route once before – on our first day of Lochs and Glens North. 

It begins by closely tracking the north side of the River Clyde.

Soon, we were following the old Glasgow, Yoker and Clydebank railway path. Opened in 1882, large sections of this continue to be used as part of the Glasgow suburban network … but not all of it. 

There were no railtracks down the section we cycled, just plenty of pigeon lofts.

Soon, we reached the outskirts of Clydebank.

Then went in search of somewhere to eat.

We found  a place called The Good Coffee House in the Clyde Shopping Centre. It wasn’t particularly good, and I cannot comment on the coffee as I ordered  a cup of tea, but the food served to fill a hole.

Back on our bikes, still following NCN Route 7 we left Clydebank by joining the Forth and Clyde Canal.

We followed the canal for the next few miles, passing the historic Dalmuir Drop Lock (it was the UK’s first of its kind).

At Kilpatrick we left the canal and crossed over to the south side using the Erskine Bridge. This replaced a ferry that had been established in 1777 and operated until the bridge was built in 1971.

We then cycled on towards Bishopton.

From Bishopton we started climbing a few hills on our way to Port Glasgow.

There were some fine views out towards the Firth of Clyde.

After the bright start weatherwise, it now started to drizzle.

Port Glasgow is best known as a shipbuilding town, though it was originally a fishing port. However, when ships became larger and were unable to navigate the shallow waters of the River Clyde, ‘New Port Glasgow’ was formed to serve Glasgow.

Today, Ferguson Marine is all that remains of the shipbuilding industry here.

Continuing east, we followed the coastal path towards Greenock.

We were staying at the Premier Inn, which is directly beside the Firth of Clyde.

We had cycled 24 miles today, and it had been an enjoyable start to our short tour. Tomorrow, we officially start the Clyde to Forth route.

You can view our Clyde to Forth Day 1 route from Glasgow to Greenock below:

After a rest we headed into Greenock town for an evening meal at Papa’s Tapas. A little bit away from the town centre, this Mexican style food place provided an excellent meal and we can heartily recommend it.