Any suggestions of places to stay in the summer for mountain biking, needs to be somewhere with a trail center with blue routes as will be taking a beginner with me.

So far places like Coed Y Brenin and Forest of Dean which have proved to be great fun, but wanted a week of fun fast trails, i was thinking of heading to scotland, so was after some recommendations of places to stay that are bike friendly?

CyB for a long/weekend

7 Stanes for a week

http://www.mtbholidayscotland.com/
i went and did the torridon trip with these guys last year and it was mint! there was one night we met another party that were doing coast to coast with them and theyre were a few beginners with them…very recommended though

North Wales would be a good option as there’s quite a range in easy reach. There’s 4 or 5 man made centres, Snowdon and heaps of natural.

Dales Bike Center. It’s the “Center of Trails”. All levels catered for.
http://www.dalesbikecentre.co.uk
Swaledale is ace.

Isle of Wight. No trail centres, but you don’t need them, loads of choice of stuff.

We’re off there for ten days in May (not just biking, we’ll also be playing mini-golf, having cream teas, going to the sea-side, proper holiday 🙂 )

@IHN

Are you sure about the trail centre comment?

http://www.isleofwightmountainbikecentre.co.uk/trails.html

😉

There’s tons more in N Wales than CYB, and it’s the place I most want to get back to- though to be fair, this is probably me being a bit “grass is greener” as Glentress is my local!

For a week of fun and fast it’s hard to beat the 7 stanes tbh. Tons of trails, easy navigation etc, lots of good bike-friendly accomodation, and not too far. There’s fantastic stuff further north but it adds a lot of drivetime. ‘course, trails other than trail centres exist and are not hard to find but to be honest, when I go down to D&G I don’t look further than the trail centres as they’re ace.

In the past we have rode laggan/red routes at ben nevis, but the OH had a massive off at laggan on the north shore,massive confidence killer. In the past used to pop to cannock but thats not exactly tame for newbies anymore.

Tempted by 7stanes something for me and OH to have a blast on. Any thoughts on places to stay.

In the past used to pop to cannock but thats not exactly tame for newbies anymore.

WHAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My mum rode it on a shopper!

These guys are ace MudTrek Just on the edge of Brechfa Forest

LMT – Member

In the past we have rode laggan/red routes at ben nevis, but the OH had a massive off at laggan on the north shore,massive confidence killer

FWIW, you can now bypass the northshore section easily, there’s a path that just goes straight past it and takes you slightly further up the blue. It’s all a bit weird tbh.

Are you sure about the trail centre comment?

http://www.isleofwightmountainbikecentre.co.uk/trails.html

Ah, fair enough. I should therefore say:

Only one trail centre, but why the hell you’d pay two quid for it is beyond me, given that there’s[s] you don’t need them,[/s] loads of choice of stuff anyway.

Do you only want trail centres? If you’re prepared to follow a map the Peak District offers up a variety of beginner friendly stuff as well as more interesting rides. Not much in the way of dedicated trail centres unless you’re prepared to drive a little bit though. It depends how much of a beginner they are. If they’re someone who finds Cannock a bit intimidating, some of the trails in the White Peak that take in sections of the old railways are easy to navigate, great views and offer a gentle introduction. You can then explore the more exciting bits.

Like i say, depends how much of a beginner they are.

In the past used to pop to cannock but thats not exactly tame for newbies anymore.

Really? I’m surprised at that. I took one of my mates for his first ever MTB ride on the FTD (he hadn’t ridden a bike for years) and he loved it. found the climbs a bit hard work, as anybody who hadn’t done exercise for ages would, but other than that he got hooked straight away.

My choice would be to head to the 7 Stanes. The blue route at Glentrool isn’t long but is an absolute scream (basically straight up and down again) and would be a good starting point before heading to Kirroughtree, etc.

I think its easy to say oh thats not too bad etc but my OH had a massive crash and her confidence shot to pieces, we tried cannock but the first piece of north shore, and i know its tiny freaked her out. Since then she has a new bike, we have been to Forest of Dean she loved the downhill parts of the blue route, we have had a few days out at CYB again just the blue and she loved it, its all about confidence building, so if i can get her out on the bike for a few days on holiday means i can play about on the bike as well.

Ive sent a few emails off to see how bike friendly some of the B&B’s are, was hoping for some recommendations from here?

At the risk of sounding obvious… Lakes?

Whinlatter is apparently good for families/beginners (haven’t yet ridden it myself) and of course there are natural trails of all grades all over t’shop.

Aha, so she has a fear of raised woodwork rather than being a beginner. I can relate to that 😆

As for B&Bs, I’d pick the location first and then worry about accommodation. Everywhere I’ve ever stayed in the UK for bike trips has plenty of bike-fiendly accommodation options, so don’t plan your trip based on that.

IMHO etc etc

Hi LMT,

If you are interested in going to Scotland and the 7 Stanes I have a cottage that you might be interested in. I have let it to a few STWers in the past and they have been really happy with it as it is close to plenty of the trail centres (10 mins from Dalbeattie, 15 from Mabie) and has bike storage as well as being a really well refurbished cottage.

PM me if you are interested and I will send you a link and some details.

Dogsby

Ahoy LMT!

As a rider who’s chronically enfeebled, I can heartily recommend Glentress – the blue is absolutely fantastic, best trail there in my opinion. There’s also a good skills area, and the green is actually rather lovely in the summer as well.

The red is also good fun, but I don’t tend to do it much in the years where the weather’s been bad – I had a somewhat spectacular off on Pennel’s Vennel the one year and I’ve been a bit cautious ever since! 😆

Only downside with Glentress is that it’s a bit out of the way of the other Stanes, but even then it’s only an hour or two away from the others (or even Whinlatter, which also has a blue). On the upside, you have Edinburgh to visit if you ever fancy a day off biking.

We go to Glede Knowe B&B in Innerleithen (just down the road from Glentress) every year – first time we went for our honeymoon, and we’ve been there every year since for our anniversary. The B&B is lovely, the owners are lovely, the breakfasts are lovely… you get the idea! 😀

As for non-trail centre riding – just make sure that you don’t decide to do part of the Southern Upland Way, and end up following the signs for the ‘preferred mountain biking route’. You may end up on Innerleithen red – this is particularly ill-advised if your missus is lacking in confidence or hasn’t been riding for very long. She may actually still be traumatised several years later, remembering Caddon Bank.

On the plus side, if you do that then do Dalbeattie the next day, Dalbeattie red seems really easy.

Hi Mrs Toast, i know you, im sure i do??!

Had a chat to other half, showed her some footage of trails and found a B&B at Glentress just down the road, secure bike area which is essential the amount of bike kit we currently have. Decided to go early May, weather should be ok, not too warm or cold, next step to get OH out on the bike otherwise the uphills will be a killer well for her anyway.

I’m biased being in SW Scotland but the 7 stanes and Drumlanrig are all pretty close and offer a huge amount of choice –

http://www.7stanesmountainbiking.com/Dalbeattie
http://www.drumlanrig.com/default.asp?PageId=84

Plus Drumlanrig is really beautiful and usually has events going on too!

Any suggestions of places to stay in the summer for mountain biking, needs to be somewhere with a trail center with blue routes as will be taking a beginner with me.

depending how “beginner” the issue is more likely to be fitness than technical ability. with a good “coach” and half decent bike most people can get round most reds (even if getting off to push on trickiest bits) but if they are new to biking will struggle with >30 miles in a day, and if generally not that fit >20 miles on successive days especially if hilly. If they do a little training to get fit enough for a week of longish rides they will also be able to get experience on some local technical stuff.

So far places like Coed Y Brenin and Forest of Dean which have proved to be great fun, but wanted a week of fun fast trails, i was thinking of heading to scotland, so was after some recommendations of places to stay that are bike friendly?

the 7 stanes could provide what you want, but I’d suggest you could escape the trail centre and look at Aviemore area – plenty of riding with something to suit every taste.

Hi Mrs Toast, i know you, im sure i do??!

Probably, the Chase is my local!

Bill and Alison at Glede Knowe always tell us we should go in May (instead of July), as the weather’s nearly always miles better then!

LMT are you still on wmmtb? Check out the Scotland 2010 trip that a few of us did-4 of the best days of my life 🙂

showed her some footage of trails and found a B&B at Glentress just down the road,

craiguart? if so, top place to stay and the Mrs(and you) will love the blue at GT

we have just published our trail maps on the website. advert coming on here soon.