LOCAL IMPACT
Located in Ann Street, Zone 1 will host the Fan Zone which will include an Expo, Stage for Music and Podium Presentations as well as Food & Drink vendors. The Fan Zone will be open and free to attend for the public throughout the weekend.
- Parking will be suspended from Thursday 13:00hrs to Sunday 09:00hrs.
- This area will be closed for vehicle traffic from Friday 06:00hrs to Sunday 09:00hrs.
- Access to Ann Street will be maintained throughout via the Murray Usher Gate & Cally Avenue. The gate will be open from Friday morning onwards.
- Pedestrian access will be maintained throughout.
Located on the High Street to the northeast of the Clocktower, Zone 2 will include the start/finish line with a gantry and barriers.
- Parking will be suspended from Thursday 13:00hrs to Sunday 00:30hrs.
- This area will be closed for vehicle traffic from Thursday 20:00hrs to Sunday 00:30hrs.
- The suspended bus stop will be relocated to the area outside Spar.
- Access to Ann Street maintained until Friday 06:00hrs.
- Pedestrian access will be maintained throughout.
Located on the High Street to the southwest of the Clocktower, Zone 3 will include the start pens where participants will line-up ahead of the race start.
- Parking will be suspended from Friday 06:00hrs to Saturday 21:00hrs.
- This area will be closed for vehicle traffic from Friday 13:00hrs to Saturday 21:00hrs.
- Access to Victoria Street maintained throughout.
- Pedestrian access will be maintained throughout.
Located on the B727 heading out from the northeastern entrance to Gatehouse towards the A75, Zone 4 is part of the race route.
- This area will be closed for vehicle traffic from Saturday 10:30hrs to Saturday 12:00hrs to facilitate the safe departure of riders from the start line.
- Alternative routes into and out of Gatehouse via the other junction with the A75 remain fully open and accessible throughout.
Laurieston Road forms an integral part of the race route and will require closure to vehicle traffic for the safety of participants and the public.
- This area will be closed for vehicle traffic from Saturday 11:00hrs to Saturday 19:30hrs to facilitate safe racing.
- Laurieston Road closed from Gatehouse of Fleet to the outskirts of Laurieston.
- Pedestrian access will be maintained throughout.
- Help line (phone number) will be available on race day to coordinate vehicle access where possible.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The Gralloch is a cycle race for professional cyclists and amateur cyclists. The Gralloch is part of the UCI Gravel World Series. The winners and the first 25% of each age group will be invited to compete in the UCI Gravel World Championships. The competitors will be competing over a 113km course in the Galloway Forest Park. The start and finish of the race is outside the Murray Arms Hotel by the clocktower in Gatehouse of Fleet.
The Gralloch is being held on May 20th, 2023. The race starts with the Elite Women at 11:00hrs and is followed by the Elite Men at 11:40hrs. The final finishers are expected around 19:30hrs.
The Start and Finish of The Gralloch is on the High Street in Gatehouse of Fleet. The majority of the route is in the Galloway Forest Park. The final few kilometres to the finish will be on Lauriston Rd where traffic management will apply to provide a safe environment for the riders and the public.
The Fan Zone is in Ann Street.
Anyone who wishes to compete can enter The Gralloch (minimum age is 19 on 31.12.2023). The Gralloch is highly inclusive however there are Cut-Off points and any cyclist not reaching those points by a certain time of day will be asked to return to Gatehouse of Fleet via a shortcut and will not be counted as official finishers.
If you are a business the new hope that you will have a windfall weekend because of the people coming to ride in or watch The Gralloch. We also hope that the cycling helps to inspire kids to ride their bikes more, particularly with the Kids Races taking place whilst The Gralloch competitors are out racing in the forest.
We believe that there will be a long term tourism boost for the area. Needless to say, that the whole community is invited to come and watch the spectacle and enjoy free entertainment in the Fan Zone and get involved in helping us to deliver the event.
We work closely with local clubs, charities and organisations. Let us know if you’d like to get involved. Just drop an email to: info@grallochgravel.com
There will be some inconvenience in putting on such a large event and that comes in the form of some traffic management, road closures and parking bay suspension. We have designed the event to minimise these issues but inevitably there are some unavoidable downsides which we will work hard to help residents with.
There will be some road closures for setting up the Start and Finish Zone, as well as Ann St for the Fan Zone. There will also be some traffic management installed on both Lauriston Rd and Queens Way to facilitate rider and public safety.
There will be some parking bay suspensions for the 19th and 20th May 2023 during the set up and operations of the event.
If you live in any of the Zones described on this page you will be affected by the traffic management, road closures and parking bay suspensions.
The Fan Zone is a designated area for various activations at the event including but not limited to:
Event Registration
Stage & Podium
Event Expo
Catering (food and drink)
Talks and Entertainment
The Fan Zone is open and free to attend for everyone (public and participants). The Fan Zone is located in Ann St.
The Fan Zone will be a busy area and will naturally have background noise of people. There will be talks and entertainment in the Fan Zone as well as the podium presentations. The times during which we expect noise for the stage will be published here as the detailed schedule evolves. There will also be a PA system in the Fan zone for announcements. During opening hours the Fan Zone shall have ambient music playing.
During the hour leading up to the start of The Gralloch there will be music playing through the PA system in the Start and Finish Zone. This will be louder than the music playing in the Fan Zone as its purpose is to build atmosphere.
The bus will be picking people up and dropping them off at the Spar.
Our team will work with all disabled and vulnerable people directly affected to develop personal plans to minimise the inconvenience. Details of how to engage with us will be published here at least two weeks ahead of the event.
The Gralloch organisers work with the community, specifically the Gatehouse Community Council and D&G Council, to bring short- and long-term value to the area which from our experience can be substantial.
The short-term benefits are in the form of trade and excitement with the longer term bring in the form of jobs and economic opportunity for the region.
We do not pay compensation.
In the first instance we ask that any journeys to and from your house are planned to avoid the closed roads.
On race day we will have a telephone number available on the event website. The phone is located in the Event Control Room. Please call us and explain where you are and we can advise you based upon the dynamics of the racing and maintaining a safe environment for the public and the riders.
A dedicated parking area will be available to all event participants just to the north of Gatehouse of Fleet, along the Old Military Road towards the Big Water of Fleet viaduct.
Participants will be informed that using the on-street parking in Gatehouse is not allowed.
The Gralloch organisers are working with one of the largest traffic management contractors in the country.
Advance warning signage and extensive diversion signage will be installed to ensure all alternative routes are easily accessible.
Community Communications and Legal Status
The following Community Consultation and Communications have been deployed for The Gralloch
Gatehouse Community Council (GCC)
GCC was approached in November 2022 about the event to determine whether it would be feasible. These conversations have been ongoing constructively ever since.
Dumfries and Galloway Council (D&GC)
D&GC was approached in November 2022 about the event to determine whether it would be feasible. These conversations have been ongoing constructively ever since.
Safety Advisory Group (SAG)
A Safety Advisory Group within D&GC was formed for the event and has sat on three occasions to ensure that all required standards have been met. The final meeting was last week.
Poster Campaigns in Gatehouse of Fleet
There have been two poster campaigns in 2023 across Gatehouse of Fleet for the event.
4th-25th February - The purpose of this was to invite the community to a consultation session about the event. There was also a strong word of mouth campaign run to make residents aware of the meeting.
15th April – present - The purpose of this was to invite the Community to look at our website to view the traffic management implications of the event and the local mitigations. Also to give vulnerable residents a forum to make contact with specific concerns.
Community Consultation
An open Community Consultation meeting took place on 25th February at the Gatehouse Community Centre at 14:00hrs. The nature of the event and the local impacts with associated mitigations was presented. Over 70 people attended the meeting.
Letter Drop
A letter drop has been conducted to all residents in the affect areas informing them about the event and inviting them to look at the website for more detailed information and use the form to make contact with specific concerns. This letter drop was performed by hand by The Wheels of Fleets (the event charitable cause) with specific feedback being fed into our office. We have acted on feedback by arranging for alternative parking for displaced vehicles and have issued Parking permits to those residents affected. We have hired the parking at the gatehouse Community Centre for the event and also secured permission to use a small area within Garries Park for vehicles which are unlikely to be used over the weekend.
Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO)
The SAG process has delivered a TTRO for the event to cover Traffic Management infrastructures and Parking Restrictions. Permission to close roads/suspend parking etc is from Section 14 and 16 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. Additionally the event and associated closures have been consented by Scottish Ministers.
