Heading up to Scotland next week and planning to stop at Glentress to do the red, but now looking at the red Innerleithen. Which one is the best for my first time riding is this part of the world.

Cheers Tom

They're both good. GT will be busier. (expect a flood of GT is crap – Inners is great) posts tho_

more bang for your buck at GT imo.

GT is crap, innerz iz great

both are good, neither will disappoint.

More variety on the Glentress red. I like that you can do Spooky Wood and then you are straight into something which feels totally different. Climbing is less painful at GT also. Unless you like to do a ride without seeing another sole then I've never found GT too busy unless folks are talking about the Cafe.

jimmy – Member

GT is crap, innerz iz great
😆

Cool, think ill stick with GT, il save inners for another time (save the best till last 😆 )

What is the Spooky Wood section, everyone seems to mention it?

I have just finished packing all my gear, ready for the morning, heading up to peebles for two nights, doing glentress black route when we arrive approx noon then going up to Innerleithen on monday, and on tuesday we are going to do whinlatter altura trail (on our way back down to liverpool).

Really looking forward to 3 days of riding, never ridden any of the above before, just hope I have the skills only been riding 6 months. 🙂

Spooky wood is at the top of the red. Picnic tables at the start of it so you can have a seat and admire the view. Loads of table tops and berms and a few jumps/drop offs. Try looking it up on YOUTUBE.

Do both. Its possible to do both in one day – we did it last month. GT red followed by inners red.

as said above GT is great and so is inners
i like to do both – 1 day d/h at inners on an uplift day and the other day at GT
i prefer the the red (do spooky twice each run) asthere is to much boring climbing on the black imo

if you have a full day, then do red at both and have a great day.

GT red has been wasted with a whacker plate, do the black, or go down the road to inners.

GT has up and downs all the way up to spooky wood, which is a blast if it's clear. If your doing GT park at the bottom car park, which adds a fair bit of up hill to the start of the red stuff, but on the way back take the blue return route from the top car park to the bottom (not the red), it is a …king scream, super smooth with drop off in spades, you can nearly be air borne on the way back! (i can't recomend the blue more, i lead groups there, usually doing the red routes and everyone loves it)

Inner is a **** of an up hill, some bits could have banisters there are soo many step ups! but it's one big slog followed a cracking down hill which goes on for ages. Down hill is in three sections; first is smooth with fast bearms, well warned drops with get outs. second is a bit woody, then a fecker of a drop which catches me off guard every **** time then fast tables and rock rumbles, last bit is black (3 foot drops) with red get outs (always seems to be fast fearless teenagers on tanks on this bit).

I really like Inner usually quieter, so you've not up someones arse or someone up yours. And it cuts out the whole saddle up, sus off, saddle down, sus off millarky! If you've got good legs easy to do both in the one day.

You need to ride both at some point so don't sweat it.

Make sure you save some time for a play at the GT freeride park and don't listen to those that try to put you off the last 3 drops at Inners (although have a look at them first).

Second the advice on the blues that lead back from the Freeride park, superb!

They are OK but there is much better around here. Last blue descent is crap compared to the red descent.

You can't lose basically – both are excellent. Unless you're daft enough to start at lunchtime on a weekend – GT isn't as busy as people make out. It's worth looking at the many previous threads on the subject – lots of suggestions to mix things up at GT, so you can have some red, blue and black on 1 ride without turning it into a monster.

Oh – and expect smug locals telling you that the best stuff is of the un-waymarked variety 😉

just got back from a 3 day trip up in Scotland, can honestly say Innerleithen is my favourite trail I have done yet, that first decent is unreal, and the final decent is brilliant too, even enjoyed the very long but technical climb.

Technical climb?

Yes – Inners does have a technical climb. Anyone who says it doesn't needs to empty their baws.

By technical i presume you mean longer than most? There are some rocks and roots aye but i find more of a work out than anything 'technically' challenging. i stop loads cause i am poor at climbing but cant think of anything worse than whats at Keilder for instance.

Goan – there are a few rock steps near the bottom – apart from that I don't remember anything but a boring slog. Been a while since I was there tho – but its not really technical apart from those few steps.

No, by technical I mean something that takes a bit of skill and balance to get up without dabbing. The two rocky stretches are not easy.

To be fair, doing it fast and race speed would make it tech. I just like a bimble.

There are other ways up the hill as well that you could incorporate into it to put the shits up you.

TJ & TBC – I'm a local I know the trails very very well.

We know Smee.

We are local too.

I know Smee too. 😀

Not quite as local as me though. 😀

Admittedly no but close enough.

Must get down there sometime soon actually.

Caberston is in good nick just now.

I fancy doing the Gypsy Glen descent on my 4x but i dread getting it to the top of the hill. I might just 'push up' and be lazy.

Cab – is that 'the rocky' woods? with bombtracks in it?

Do you know the easier, flatter route out of Cardrona forest to get to Gypsy Glen?

Caberston is indeed the forest with the Rockie in it, there are a huge number of trails in there though. Go explore – its better than Inners.

Aye, the mechanic in the shoppe is always talking about taking me up there. Never seem to get time. Went with Simply-Oli-Y once and his racing chums and proceeded to drag me round of an afternoon.

Will give it another go.

Easier flatter route? i have only been one route on that loop. TJ knows the details. I just ride along.

Any directions> its prolly the same as we do mind.

Just take the fire road up from the car park left at the first fork and then cut through the woods when it runs out. If you take a look at the map you'll see a few alternatives.

*nods*

Goan – Member

Just take the fire road up from the car park left at the first fork and then cut through the woods when it runs out. If you take a look at the map you'll see a few alternatives.

😳 That's the only route I know… (well – apart from going right up Glen Sax and pushing/carrying up Dun Rig).

TBC – I know a shorter route up to that descent – along a valley then a push up to the final top. Boring tho and not enough milkes.

Goan – we obviously have differing definitions of "technical climbing". To me a few rocky steps don't make a technical climb. One step that I had any real difficulty with and I am no great shakes on a bike

You can do the whole of the gypsy glen climb on singletrack too, you start from the other side of cardrona village to the forestry carpark.

TJ – what would you define as being a technical climb?