Scottish MTB Roadtrip
Mountainbiker Mel Alexander had a cyclists' dream of a honeymoon - 2 weeks touring Scotland's primo mountain biking destinations.
Innerliethen
To start the trip with a bang, we booked ourselves onto an uplift day at Innerliethen. It was a well organised and relaxed uplift with coaches for the riders and cattle trucks for the bikes which left approximately every 30 mins. The uplifts I have ridden previously have taken riders to the top of one down hill course, sometimes with a few options of alternate lines, which is great for practising and building up confidence to go faster. However, at Innerliethen there were many more trails. The ones we rode were of varying style and difficulty. We started on a red graded descent which was wide, fun and whoopy with table tops and small drops.
The next trail was the Matador, a Black rated run with steep loose rocky sections and eight-foot drops (with chicken runs) - quite a lot of this trail was beyond my skills! My favourite routes were two Black runs called 'Gold Crest' and 'Cresta Run'. After being dropped off by the uplift you needed to push up for a bit to get to the very start of these routes. These trails were mainly single track through plantation with a lot of roots, steps and steep, twisty sections - so slower than the Matador trail but as speed seems to freak me out I felt more at home and really enjoyed the challenge of getting down these courses on the bike. Once I'd found these trails I did not venture any further and with a couple more runs left in the day I re-practiced these trying to go faster and smoother.
It was great fun, overall Innerleithen has trails of varying style for varying abilities and preferences. For day visitors and those new to downhilling I would say there are perhaps too many trails as it was at first hard to follow a particular trail with so many weaving through the woods, but with more visits following the best routes would become easier.
Glentress
One of the main attractions of Glentress for me is the skills park at the top car park. It includes berms, north shore of various lengths and widths, drop offs of varying heights, table tops and is all designed so you could practice at one level gaining confidence and skill before moving onto the next. The skills Park equips you with skills and confidence for the trails and gives you a chance to practise areas you want to improve. I enjoyed practising on my skills then using this on the trails afterwards. With the opportunity to just practice and my confidence enhanced through wearing body armour I was surprising myself with what I was able to do. Both days at Glentress we spent the evening following the day in the saddle playing in the skills park. We left there thinking there should be more skills areas like this in trail centres throughout the UK.
The first day at Glentress we rode a mixture of Black, Red, Blue plus 'secret' local natural trails. Swapping between the three waymarked trails and interconnecting secret single track lent the ride to a very natural feel, with technical challenges the likes of which I have previously only ridden around Whistler mixed in with the best of UK trail centres.
Second day we rode the epic Black trail which takes you out and away from the other Red and Blue trails. It is classed as a Black more because of its length rather than technical difficulty. It starts with a long climb on fireroad and singletrack (longest climb of the route), across the top of the hill then descends on steep bermed and switchbacked singletrack. Without losing too much height you start climbing again. The top of this climb leads you into another fun gradual descent on single track through the woods. The next climb takes you to a fantastic single track section that descends for a long time. Best described as fast, swoopy, on a rocky base with variety it's one that leaves you smiling. Another long climb brings you back close to the red and blue trails. The trail becomes more technical and challenging now. Steps around corners lead you into board walk fairly high above the ground. This is more of a mind game as it is easy to roll onto and off with enough momentum. It just feels daunting when you come into it blind and are not sure of your exit route.
A memorable section is Ewok Village on the black trail, where you will find four separate North Shore sections. The first two not being too difficult and although they're high off the ground, they're wide. The third one started narrow then got wider with a drop-off at the end and when I first saw it I thought "no way" but after a bit of persuading and hanging around I had a go and eventually cleared it on the third attempt, screaming my head off with fear. It was a fantastic feeling of achievement and adrenaline and although I was shaking was glad to get another go at it the next day, when I found that I was less hesitant about riding other similar board walk sections. The fourth board walk was of another level and would need very good slow speed and balancing skills.
In all Glentress has a good variety of trails with plenty of chances to try new things out and build your confidence and skills. As a trail centre it is really well set up with a cafe, the hub bike shop, showers, toilets and bike cleaning facilities and with Innerleithen just down the road you effectively get 2 fantastic trail centres in one.
Laggan Wolftrax
Love it. Out of all the man made trails I have ridden this is my favourite one. Rode the Red, Black and Skills trails on first visit then returned a week later to clear the Black run, the latter being the main attraction and most memorable trail for me, probably because I overcame hurdles there.
Above: On the Black run at Laggan
Wolftrax consists of two Red routes which can be linked in a figure-of-eight and a Black route. Both the Red and Black routes share the same fireroad climb to start with. Whilst the upper Red and Black continue to climb on challenging singletrack with stepping stones and rock gardens which require a bit of momentum, from the fire road the lower sections of the Red route weaves across the hillside before dropping back to the centre on natural feeling singletrack. For the adventurous the lower sections of the Red contain an optional Black graded slab (Air's rock) near the top, which you will pass on your climb. Conquer your fears and have a go, it's not even half as hard as it looks. The single track finishes with 300 meters of wooden boardwalk which then joins the bottom half of the bike park with berms, table tops and doubles.
The Upper Red and Black go their separate ways at the top of the climb. The Red then descends on a good surface with optional small jumps along its length, switching back and forth across the hill side. The openness of the trail makes it a great trail to ride with your mates and chase them down.
With singletrack that weaves down the hill linking natural sections of slab together, for the black trail I opted to take my full suss and with 160mm both ends and the ability to climb well, my Knolly Delerium T was a great choice. The Black trail makes its intentions clear from the start with a large rock drop followed in rapid succession by many others. Whereas the black graded slab on the Red was smooth, the drops on the Black were rougher with multiple line choices and many had large steps to negotiate. A few sections I could not get my head around on the first time I rode there but managed to clear it all on the second visit. A lot of the sections were worth a recce to get the smoothest line down as you were rolling into them blind.
I found it a very intense course and very challenging with my mind solely on the trail. Although the scenery was stunning it is a course I remember for the challenge of the trail alone.
Above: Checkmate? Laggan's Devil's Chessboard
Once down the first couple of slab sections I found my confidence did grow and I became less hesitant on the next sections and in fact excited about what was coming up next and even more excited about the fact I was riding things that would normally take me awhile to build up to. There are a number of these slab sections and they were all very different. The final section on the Black is a rock stairway (Devil's Chessboard) which I missed out on the first visit but determined to ride it the second visit I stopped and had a good look at it and found that there was in fact quite a safe run down it. Previously I had been put off by watching the rear end of Mark's bike bouncing all over the place when he road it blindly. Yet again it was all to do with the mind and the trail looking a lot harder than it was to ride. Knowing I have a tendency to freak out whilst doing things I decided upon about three points to aim my bike at and this helped me look down the trail rather than my front wheel and roll it very smoothly. I finished feeling relieved I had cleared it all with a mixture of excitement and adrenaline. Whilst I don't doubt skilled riders can ride the Black trail on a hard tail I would not chose to or recommend it (especially for the first time). I can't help but think the course was built with full suspension in mind. Whereas the Red route is great on a hardtail.
Laggan is 2 and a half hours from Glentress, 45 minutes from Fort William and right by some good riding in the Cairngorms and is worth giving yourself at least 4 hours to enjoy the Black and Red, redoing sections and taking photos. There is a really good set up there with a café that sells paninis, soup, toasties and hot and cold drinks plus a bike shop that hires both full suss and hardtail bikes, bike wash and showers. We were informed it is worth phoning up to pre book rental bikes.
Fort William - XC World Cup Course
Don't be put off by the world cup class of this course, whilst the climb is pretty brutal and seems to go on forever the rest of the course is really rewarding. After a long climb on fireroad followed by singletrack that zigzags up the mountain steeply, the course then zigzags back down the mountain on open singletrack. I found that two of the switchbacks took a second look at but once on right line were very rideable. The difficulty here was riding it at speed smoothly with a lot of switch backs taking skill in cornering to keep the speed flowing. Once down the open singletrack you enter the woodland, less steep now but still continuing to descend for a long time with more tight corners, boardwalk, berms, roots and rocks. It has got a bit of every thing, is great fun and takes a lot of concentration. I just kept thinking it would hurt to race on this course with hardly any areas to give yourself a rest and constant obstacles to ride through.
Above: On the Witches Trail at Fort William
After a loop of the XC World Cup course we rode a longer loop of the Witch's Trail which was recommended by "Off Beat Bikes", a local bike shop in Fort William. They have made some maps up of this route (and other local places to ride). Take note - you would struggle to follow this route without this map as it is not marked out and only sections have names. Starting with a long fireroad climb you then descend down the rocky Black-graded "Blue Crane". On the most technical section of this trail, named "the Nessie", you find a steep, rocky right-hand berm but what made it most freaky was the sheer drop to the single lane road around the left hand side of the berm plus the fact that once on it you could not stop or grab the brakes. What made me have a go was the bright orange padding and netting placed there to prevent you having a big fall to the road. Without the netting no way would of I had ago at it and how I managed to steer around the berm with boulders throwing me off route I don't know but it was a great feeling of achievement. It was great to be given the chance to ride something which I would normally chicken out on.
Verdict on Witch's Trail: Great trails with so much variety but tap into local knowledge and get that map from Off Beat Bikes. Because there are so many trails and because of the lack of clear markings (other than the XC World Cup Course) you could miss some excellent trails.
Fort William - Downhill Course
Whereas Mark was excited to ride the downhill course at Fort William I was bricking myself. Each year I have a go at a few uplift days normally between November and February and each time it takes me a while to get into the right frame of mind and the confidence in what my bike is capable of riding with its 6.5 inches of travel front and rear. So at the top when Mark said "Ready?" I was lying out of my teeth by saying "Yes", thinking "What the hell am I doing up here? I don't have the skill to do this!" With this mindset everything was blown out of proportion. After a table top, berm, a few rocky sections and what felt like a lot of board walk (which later I found so much fun and tame to ride in comparison) I pulled myself off the course with what I think was a panic attack as I was barely able to breath and stared down at a rocky descent for far too long. A couple of riders joined me in this stopping and looking but soon got on their way bouncing down the section. After about twenty riders went past I managed to pluck up the courage to roll over the edge and found although I rode it very slowly and went straight for the rock that I was convinced would bring me to a halt and chuck me over the handlebars the bike still managed to keep rolling. This gave me a bit more confidence to carry on which was good because this was where the rocks really began. There were lots of rocks of different sizes, a few steep rocky sections, berms and it just kept going and going. The burn in my legs was painful meaning a few more stops were required but not for too long as the infamous Scottish midges were causing a different form of discomfort. After the open rocky section you enter the woods which starts with three small drops then roots and rocks - it is less steep here. Then it shoots down a steep wide path into table tops, doubles and a few jumps at the end but with a chicken run round these. My first run took a shamefully long time, probably over 20 mins. (world record is just under 5 mins!) I was shaking all over and still struggling to breathe when I found myself climbing back into the gondola.
After a more honest and reassuring chat with Mark in the Gondola and a small plea from him to lay off the brakes as he was getting attacked by the midges waiting for me, I managed to relax a bit on my second run and although I had a lot of moments where I wanted to slam on the brakes and stop, I just stopped breathing momentarily instead and kept going and so did my bike. I still had to keep stopping to give my legs a break from the burning pain but I got down much quicker though still felt completely out of my depth and getting on the Gondola again, still felt nervous and was not really enjoying it. By the fourth run I was loving the top section which was easier to ride so therefore faster for me, I enjoyed trying to clear the table top, carrying my speed around the berm, the sound of the boardwalk as I felt I was riding so fast over it and trying to unweight my bike over the few rocky sections right at the top. I was beginning to get to know the course which gave me confidence to lay off the brakes in places but there were still sections that although easier the faster I went I just couldn't help but slow down. There is always those sections that no matter how many times you ride you still feel tentative and on edge riding over. By the 6th and 7th run I was able to ride the course in one go but without the confidence (and although Mark disagreed with me, the skill to do the three jumps at the bottom). I was enjoying it a lot more but constantly had adrenaline or fear pumping round my body. After the seven runs I felt exhausted both mentally and physically but also so excited.
Going Wild in Morar (map OS explorer 398)
Reading up on the trails in 'Bike Scotland Trail Guide' by Richard Moore and Andy McCandish, one that really took my fancy was the 'Going Wild in Morar' in the West Highlands. I liked the idea of travelling to the tiny remote settlement of Tarbet by boat from Mallaig, then mountain biking back to Mallaig in time to catch a ferry over to Skye. There is no road access to Tarbet and hardly any inhabitants. You can get to and from Tarbet on a narrow path of tough terrain that skirts the north side of Loch Morar or by boat. Only problem was - no boats travel to Tarbet on the weekend. So we decided we would cycle to Tarbet from Bracorina (7km from Mallaig and 11km from Tarbet where the road ends and the path starts) and then cycle back again.
Above: Lochside trail at Morar
In the book it points out that the path is not suitable to ride in the winter or when it is wet. Unfortunately for us it was raining but we decided we would try it anyway as we were not sure when we would next get the opportunity. The Path follows the Loch's edge on the side of a hill and constantly goes up and down, going high up from the water level then dropping right down to the loch again before climbing back up then down and so on. The climbs are steep in places and rocky and so are the descents. Some of the descents look very daunting with rocks to manoeuvre around, a succession of rocks with some large steps and a steep unnerving drop to the water right beside you on a narrow path makes it all the more difficult in places. Unless you are a very able rider some sections look too difficult to ride.
I agree that this trail would be much more enjoyable in the dry, as the surface was slippery in the wet and with some steep off camber rock slab descents alongside the steep drop to the Loch made it a bit too unnerving for me. Even walking it I found it difficult to avoid slipping. The single track with its rugged terrain was slow going. We had given ourselves just under three hours to ride out and back and to our surprise we were still a kilometre from Tarbet when we grudgingly had to turn round and head back for the ferry
It is a beautiful, peaceful and very remote trail which is very technical and best ridden on a dry day after a good spell of weather. It is a memorable ride/walk and day out with Mallaig a small colourful fishing port with the tastiest fish and chips to devour before or after the ride.
Sligachan on Skye
Starting at Sligachan Hotel in Sligachan through a gate you pick up a path that skirts the Cuillin Mountains and goes along the floor of Glen Sligachan through the mountainous landscape towards the coast at Camasunary on the other side of the Isle of Skye.
Above: Roadsigns are different on Skye
Brilliant outward bound. It is a very entertaining trail with ups and downs, some steep, some more gradual with drainage culverts to un-weight the front wheel over, rocks of different sizes to roll over or manoeuvre and weave around and fords of varying widths and depths to splash or wade through. Absolutely amazing views of the mountains and later on a couple of small lochs.
It was raining hard and at times it felt like we were riding up a stream but this just added to the feeling of exhilaration. The track was slow going due to the technicality of it but was mainly rideable. I had decided to ride my full suss bike and at this point was loving the suspension and confidence the bike gave me to attack the technical sections and for a change I don't think the weight of the bike (38lbs) was slowing me down.
Above: On the climb near Sligachan
We hit the coast at the end of the technical singletrack, take a quick photo of the signed brick wall then up a steep loose rocky wet weaving climb. It is a challenge to climb this hill with all its loose rocks, although walking is not a bad option with all the views. There is a waterfall running down the hillside beside the path, over one shoulder you see the Cuillin Mountains and over the other you see the sea, a small remote house and the silhouette of distant Skye landscape and small islands. It truly is stunning. At the top you get to enjoy a rocky wide track that drops quite gradually down to the road. To this point is unbelievably only 15km (I have not checked this with the map, it felt like more but that's what the arrowed sign read). To this point it has been an amazing and physically tiring ride and taken almost 3 hours. There is then a small stretch on the road with more stunning views with mountains to the left and Loch Slapin to the right, a fantastic feeling of peacefulness and a time to drift off before you take a left path onto another 3 mile of off-road technical section to Luib.
Above: The path is indistinct in places
This section was more difficult but mainly due to the heavy down pour of rain and I guess largely down to the wet summer we have had. We kept finding that the stream had swallowed the path making it hard to follow. When there was no path to follow we just followed the stream having to walk large sections of boggy uneven ground. The path was indistinct and only appeared in sections before vanishing back into the stream again. It was boggy in places making it hard to ride and it did feel like a long slog with lots of stop/starting. Therefore I would suggest riding this route on a dry day or during a dry spell because it put a bit of a downer on such a great start to a route. Or if it is a wet day then would be well worth riding the outward single track out and back again as it is such a fun trail with great views.
Once you hit the road at Luib you take a left and it is then a 15km ride back to Sligachan along the coast road with more stunning scenery. This ride is apparently 55km (I did not measure it) but it is slow going in sections making it a long day in the saddle.
Learnie Red Rock
Has no centre just a car park but it does have two nice villages either side, Cromarty, a picturesque seaside village with a nice cafe which makes pizzas and Rosemarkie, where we ate in an entertaining pub. The nearest bike shops are in Inverness and Dingwall.
Above: Great sea views at Learnie
We opted to miss out the jump park and go straight for the Blue run. The Blue is a good way to gain height and is suitable for novices on a wide track that gets twisty in sections. At the top of the climb you cross the fire road to join the Black. The first descent was closed due to forestry operations, a shame as what was left looked interesting but also very technical especially at the top with steep rocky switch backs.
The Black was all in woodland with stone step work, had short sharp rocky climbs which were difficult, slab drops, a section of boardwalk and four long rock staircases. The staircases are what I remember the most and I managed to clear two and a half of them after many run ups. Enjoyment level of this route I think will depend on your riding experience and skill and how much you push yourself. I found the trail difficult and on that day could not get my head around it. On a lot of the technical sections there was the point of no return and I found it hard to push myself beyond it. With so many run ups I was shaking all over and getting more and more wound up.
After the Black singletrack you finish off on the Blue which is more open and a chance to see some great views of the coast. There is also a short Red descent with small table tops and berms which joins back up with the Blue and then Green to finish.
Overall I found the black trail too difficult for me and with so many technical rocky sections to take in I was bewildered by it all, whereas Mark rode it all and felt pleased he had managed to clear it all. It would take knowledge of the trail and a good level of skill to let the trail flow well plus fearlessness would not go astray. A telescopic seatpost would have made the trail flow more nicely, as the descents were steep and technical which were followed by steep technical climbs so I found myself stop starting a lot rearranging my seat post.
Compared to other trail centres I personally feel there is too much of a divide between the black and the blue trails and that Red Rock could do with another trail or sections in between to suit a wider level of riders. It is far from my favourite due to how hard I found it but I am sure many riders love the technical level of it. I am used to the trails at the centres around Wales, so that I just found this a completely different level. In fact I would like to return and have another crack at it now I know what to expect and can get myself prepared for it plus wear my body armour for extra confidence. Like most things once I start riding it I will probably find it is not as hard as I had built it up to be.
Golspie Highland WildCat trails
Golspie is right up north in the Highlands on the east coast. It is a one hour drive north of Inverness. The trail starts on a Red climb that snakes up the hill not too steeply. There are a few step ups where you can practice riding on to get you ready for the technical Black climb that follows. When it starts (the 'Lactic Ladder') it is definitely a Black graded climb due to its length and continual technical difficulty. It's the most technical climb for a trail centre I have ridden with its closely spaced step ups which needed skill in popping up the front wheel and conviction to clear. The climb zig zags steeply up the hill side then continues onto a fire road that climbs steeply to the top. In all the climb takes roughly an hour.
At the top of the climb, on entering the first descent, 'Mon-u-Mental' you find a sign informing you of what you will find within this section it says 'drops and berms'. Half way down this descent on the full suss bike I decided I wanted to take up downhilling, I was loving it, the trail was flowing and fun with some great drops to get air off (not frightening big but big enough to need commitment). The trail continued to contour the mountain with more rock bridges and drops. The trail flows into VTOL rollercoaster (Vertical take off and landing) which is a long chute with larger rock drops and jumps. This section would definitely be better the better you know it as you could hit it with speed. Being unsure of the size of the jumps which look liked the cliff edge on approaching them, I either rolled them with my weight back or took the chicken run.
Run the Gauntlet follows which is a very technical section of single track through the woods but does have a chicken run for those without the skills yet or bottle to ride it. Some of the drops in this section can not be rolled, interesting rock gardens and steep rock twisty descents need skill in steering at high speed and not just aiming. Descents over large rock slabs that lead you on to North Shore, a very technical section with interesting sections for those with no fear to work on and develop skills.
'Valhalla' red route takes you through woodland with more drop-offs, bomb holes and stone features, again it is another section of the route that would be more fun the better you know it. With drops following corners, and a fun trail that swoops you back and forth descending through the woodland. At the end there are some very daunting looking north shore logs to try riding along.
I finished wanting to ride it again straight away with better knowledge of the trail. I really liked the set up. It had some very scary looking sections but the chicken runs meant you didn't have to get off your bike and scramble down sections. It is a trail that has been designed to encourage you to develop skills without freaking you out too much. You could spend a long time there re-riding sections and learning the trail. Definitely recommend a bike you enjoy jumping and getting air with. It is a tough climb but would prefer to ride a heavy bike up slowly to then enjoy the fantastic descent.
Cairngorms
After a brilliant morning's entertainment with our second visit of the holiday to the Wolftrax trails, we headed 30 minutes down the road to ride the Glen Feshie route in the Cairngorms. When we arrived at 'Bothy bikes' it had started to rain and thunder and was very overcast. In the shop we were advised to not ride Glen Feshie as it is only suitable for clear days. So we grabbed Andy McCandish's 'Bike Scotland Trails Guide' for an alternative route. We decided to link two of the routes together which formed a 50k figure of eight loop around Rothiemurchus Lochs and over the Ryvoan Pass. It is a nice tame ride, starting off around the peaceful lochs. It is a pretty flat route on fast solid ground. It was not a technical route as we rode mainly on firetracks but it was a fantastic way to appreciate the surroundings and just have a fast spin. You see great views of the Caigngorn mountains on the Ryvoan Pass, with its groomed woodland and streams of the clearest water I have ever seen. The small amount of single track we rode around Rothiemurchus Lochs was great fun and left us feeling that we had barely touched the surface of what riding was on offer within this area.
A map is definitely essential, with so many paths it is hard to keep on the right track. So many trails crossed ours, suggesting there is a lot more there to ride. It would probably be worth investigating into guided rides in order to link some of these many paths up.
Glen Feshie Challenge in the Cairgorms
The Glen Feshie Challenge we also selected from the 'Bike Scotland Trails Guide' by Richard Moore and Andy McCandish. It starts at a car park 1km north of Auchlean. You then ride along the Glen Feshie on road alongside the River Feshie for about 5km until you reach Carnachuin, turn left over an old wooden bridge and you then start the long climb up Meall nan Sleac. You climb to 1100 meters (higher than Snowdon), a challenging steep climb with loose stone and rubble to make it harder. It hurts. Few places where you can sit back and spin before grinding on in granny ring trying to keep traction on the loose rubble and small stones. Took good part of an hour from the bottom to the highest point of the first climb. If you can't ride it in one go just stop and appreciate the view.
Above: Climbing in Glen Feshie
About a quarter of the way up the climb you can see the path continuing up the mountain which you will be climbing for the next 40 minutes and it looks long way to the top. The only downside to the climb is that in front you only see the path going up and up. It is therefore worth taking a few stops to appreciate the view behind you of the Glen Feshie and the mountains that surround the Glen.
Once at the top you fork left and head towards Moine Mhor staying high for 5 to 6km. It is open and exposed up there and very windy, a cold wind, with the weather being completely different to that at the bottom. You will need a wind proof or extra layers.
The descent went on for about 5km. Constant rocks of varying sizes covered the descent with very few clear lines to ride. It is a challenging descent that gets gradually easier towards the bottom with sections easing but then getting harder again. Mark described it as two single track lines with one higher than the other in which it looks like someone has empted a huge sack of rocks of varying sizes over. You could see the track just not access it. I felt like I was back at Fort William downhill course but on my hardtail!
Skill in hopping the back wheel round in order to avoid ripping your derailleur off, plus conviction and skill to ride at the bigger rocks with enough speed to ride over them where there was no pathway through, also the ability to read lines far down the trail are needed for this descent.
I found it very challenging and got frustrated with my lack of commitment and now can't wait to go back and tackle the descent again maybe with knee and arm pads next time. It is definitely a ride to remember with one hard stunning climb with a long descent to challenge your skills and mind. The whole ride is only 25k long but it is slow going so give yourself three hours which should give you time to take photos and look around. It is essential to take extra warm clothes, plus a map and compass. Ride it on a clear day to appreciate the views and remember that it is very open and colder at the top of the mountain.
Kirroughtree Black Craig
Kirroughtree 'Black Craig', one of the 7 Stanes Centres on the south west of Scotland, is a 31k red and black graded route and is mainly single track. It starts off on the Red 'Twister Trail' then joins the Black which takes you out and away from the centre into the wilderness and joins back onto the Red route on the return journey.
McMoab is what Kirroughtree is mainly known for. However, what I really enjoyed and the most memorable to me is the endless singletrack on a good quality surface which is great fun to ride with a lot of interesting sections, challenges and variety.
You start on twisty, flowing singletrack through the forestry with a couple of climbs and a few rock obstacles to negotiate getting you warmed up for the Black graded route to follow. The Black continues as the Red on singletrack with a couple of climbs but the terrain gets more rocky, making it tricky in places. You join a fire road which climbs up to McMoab.
McMoab is a boulderfield of epic proportions, a succession of massive granite rocks. Some bigger than others, curved boulders to ride up and roll over, others more uneven in places with steps to roll down, in sections it was like riding on a narrow ledge with the rock's surface dropping down away from you on both sides and other sections where you had to ride up steep steps from one granite to another. There are blue arrows painted on the granite surface showing you the route to follow. Although the granite is apparently quite grippy (Mark still managed to slip off) it is a huge obstacle to get over, yet good balancing skills and slow speed control would make this easier. For us it was a wet and really windy day so became twice as hard as McMoab is on an open exposed hillside and we were getting blown all over the place. There is an optional steep slab descent to finish off the McMoab section.
A brutally steep climb follows on a wide path. This climb takes you to the top of some fantastic singletrack descents. Big steps, drop-offs and rock gardens are found in amongst the swooping, twisting singletrack of the black trails that take you back to join the Red trail. With twists in the track and blind spots making it even more interesting to ride, I really enjoyed it, re-riding sections and taking a look prior to riding the more technical looking sections. The Red trail continues to give enjoyment, is technical in places with more fantastic singletrack that leads you back to the centre.
Conclusion
I really enjoyed our two week trip to Scotland. The manmade trails we rode were varied, challenging and therefore enjoyable and the natural trails were also challenging and took you through some stunning scenery. Every ride we rode has memorable aspects and all for different reasons and no two trails were similar.
We found ourselves comparing some of the man made trails to those found in Whistler with interesting sections of boardwalk and scary singletrack that uses the natural features of the landscape. Some of the trail centres such as Golspie, Red Rock and Laggan Wolftrax were a lot more technical than the trails I have ridden around Wales, so if you have the opportunity to take two bikes then you will definitely get use of both of them.
Andy McCandish and Richard Moore's book 'Bike Scotland Trails Guide' gave very useful information on natural and man made trails such as directions and characteristics of trails. We picked up our copy in the Hub at Glentress. Local guides such as the map booklet from Offbeat Bikes are worth picking up to tap into additional routes.
I have been mountain biking for 7 years now and apart from a long weekend at Mabie and Dalbeattie 5 years ago and a race at Drumlanrig earlier on this year I can't believe it has taken me so long to really spend time riding and exploring the trails in Scotland. For the past 4 years my summer holiday has been based around multi day races abroad (Trans Alps twice, Cape Epic once and the Trans Rockies once), so two weeks of leisurely riding, working on skills and taking in the scenery was amazing and I recommend it and I recommend Scotland. I feel with our trip we got to explore the varied landscape of Scotland and know there is a lot more riding we can explore there. I am now looking forward to my next trip to Scotland when I would like to ride the other 7 Stanes trails plus return to the places we rode. Scotland, with so much to offer, I can see it becoming an annual trip.
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