I realise I'm not terribly close to any except Glentress which I've already ridden, was wondering which is worth a visit? At some point we'll be heading north slightly so is the red run at Fort Bill worth a look?
Cheers Mat

I wouldn't bother with Glentrool, Ae or Newcastleton. Of the others Kirroughtree is great but the furthest away. I'd do it then stay somewhere nearby and do Mabie and Dalbeattie on the same day. Drumlanrig is not a Stane but is worth a visit. When did you last do Glentress? There is always new stuff being built there, more so than anywhere else. There is also lots of stuff there thats not on the maps. Easy to do it or Inners in an evening.

Errrrr – Innerleithen.

I would say try Dalbeattie. Do "The Slab" you'll love it!

I would say Innerleithen XC route is worth a try if you like Glentress and in my opinion a bit better in places, somewhere between the GT red and black. Its also a lot quieter! Agree with above, Drumlanrig well worth a visit, especially if you like techy roots. Mabie is short and sweet, we have done both AE and Mabie in a 'long' morning.

Only Innerleithen and Glentress are remotely close to Edinburgh.
Nice though the rest are, I wouldn't drive half way across Scotland to do them just for one day – fair enough if you plan on staying over for a while.

Pentlands are worth a ride, there's enough there to keep you occupied for a while and plenty of locals around on here to show you the best bits.

I think Ae is still worth checking out too, but if your just doing a day trip then I agree do Mabie then Dalbeattie on the same day.

Kiroughtree is a must do trail, but it's a good 2 and a bit hours from Edinburgh.

I'm heading to kirry tomorrow… can't wait 😀

you gotta do inners, top trail in the area and usually quieter

Innerleithen, 40mins from Edinburger, plus Gypsy Glen is right across from GT and is a cracking wee natural route. Or the Pentlands is you like to be bored…

If you're bored in the Pents then you aint riding the right bits.

complete no brainer, head to Inners. Flying lap pf the xc then over to GT for any trails that you havn't ridden, or re-ride those you enjoyed the most.

Ridden plenty of the Pentlands. Some nice bits, but overall, pretty dull.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/trailguide/uk/southern-scotland/peebles/

Peebles but not Glentress/Innerleithen…

Actually, head through Stirling way. North 3rd, Dumyat and Ben Cluegh all offer some fantastic riding. Three of my favorite routes.

Ben Cleugh skinny singletrack, goes on for ages.

North 3rd. Rocky, rooty and mucho fun.

Dumyat. More rocky, rooty goodness.

Oh well, the less in the Pents the better!!

If you want trail centres then Innerliethen and Dalbeattie are worth visting..Ae is ok….Kirroughtree the least technical, but the bit at the end is excellent.

Pentlands is nice and handy to Edinburgh…plenty of riding to be had, but not that technical and as above can be rather bland. Although I quite like riding there as it's a change from roots, rocks, jumps & drops.

Stirling is pretty bl**dy good…..with loads trails and variety..if you can hook up with a local then I would take up the offer. Only 45 mins away and I would recommend North Third, Dumyat/Uni & Mine Woods…plus Cambusbarron is great.

To be honest if your prepared to travel to the trail centres and drive for 2 hrs I would be looking further North..Fort Bill, Glencoe, Mamores and the Cairngorms…..some amazing natural and man-made riding.

Plenty of riding of all types in the Pentlands. I suspect many of the folk who call them dull just don't know all the good bits. Or they might be much better riders than the rest of us I guess. I ride up there umpteen times a year and never get bored.

Laggan, Fort Bill, Inners, GT, Ae, Dalbeattie and Kirroughtree are all pretty good, but much of the best riding in Scotland is on the natural stuff. There are several good books with routes, or plenty folk on here will help out.

I've riddden in the pentlands a lot. Plenty of good riding there but not good enough to be worth travelling to. Far better riding is available within an hours drive

There are some nice bits in the Pents, some.

You could play on Nibbler for an afternoon. Thats a laugh. Plus there is another set of secret DH tracks, really well hidden. I haven't even told my normal riding pals where they are yet so i might keep them quiet a bit longer…

The Pentlands is fine – of you are in the area have a go. I always say, 'imagine living in London, you couldnt ride from a city centre spot and be in those type of hills and feel that remote if you loved down there'. It has its good points seeing as its right on the doorstep. sometimes people forget.

Otherwise, Dumyat gets a bog thumbs up as does all the others the guys have mentioned.

Never mind biking.

A few pints in the last drop, the grassmarket.

ditto in cafe royale, up near john lewis.

A burger from wannaburger.

Literary pub tour from the beehive, again, the grassmarket.

Leave the bike at home.

Rode the Nibbler on Wed night, great fun. Any clues to the other tracks. Could show you some good tuff in Midlothian in return. 😉

There is plenty of good "natural" riding within an hour or so drive. Its a shame to come up to Scotland and not do some of the natural rides

The stuff around stirling mentioned above is good – and there is plenty more. Loch Ordie near Dunkeld, Gypsy Glen, to name a couple more

Looks like I need to get up to Stirling.

Apologies for minor hi-jack;
Re 'Nibbler'; I've walked up and around white hill for the last 12 years or so, I'm sure that wee wooden sign, says 'Nibbler', appeared there 4 or 5 years back, before the mini-DH trails were really established. Always assumed someone had buried a pet there by the same name..?

Bikechain – go on, tell, tell! (I don't ride them DH's by the way, just can't believe there are yet more secret gardens up there!)

my lips are sealed. i promised someone not to tell.

Ok gonna ride the Pents tomorrow any suggestions on where to start or how/where to get to the good bits? Got an O.S map of the area and a guide book, any info much appreciated! Oh and Glentress thursday if any body is around and fancies a chilled spin round the red route…..

Hey Coogan, you're talking rubbish – those trails near Stirling don't exist and if they did, they'd be dire.

LOL at "bored in the Pentlands"

FFS it's not a playstation 🙄

If you're bored in the Pents then you aint riding the right bits.

Plenty of riding of all types in the Pentlands. I suspect many of the folk who call them dull just don't know all the good bits. Or they might be much better riders than the rest of us I guess. I ride up there umpteen times a year and never get bored.

Well spill the beans then! I can think of a few fun bits, but they're not really that much fun anymore when its the only riding available to you week-in-week-out. Would be interested to find out where all the gems are hidden…

maybe its improved but i remember dalbeatie as being far too much fire road and not much fun!

Ok girls back in your corners 😉 just looking for some tips on where to start out tomorrow

Amos – PM me if you want a more detailed map of MTB tracks up there….

How did you get on in the Pents Amos? I'd agree with Kit, if I only rode the Pents I'd probably get bored too. It helps a lot if the trails are fairly dry. Black Hill was great fun last week as was Phantom's Cleugh. I typically don't ride the Pents more than twice a month and mix it up with rides at Glentress or in the woods at home.