I'm heading up there so I thought I would make the most of the trip.
I know there's a number of trail centres within reasonable distance but I'd prefer to keep it natural. I find myself riding more for the experience than for the trails these days. Nice views, fells, mountains, rivers, waterfalls...it's all good.
Could be off-road, on-road (though my road bike is tucked away for the winter, so maybe a mix of the two).
Any peaceful, quirky coffee stops on route are a bonus.
Even any walks (if they outweigh the rides).
Obviously the weather has been rather poo of late, so that must be factored in too.
Sounds like you're planning to anyway but avoid the Kielder trail centre unless you want to be bored to death.
There's the Jedburgh Justice Trail. It's signposted but mostly uses old "natural" trails. It circumnavigates Jedburgh so can be cut short if required.
http://www.moredirt.co.uk/trail/South-Scotland/Justice-Trail/22/
It tends to be very wet (think unsurfaced bridleways) in places.
Heading up to Selkirk would get you on to the Minchmoor
Has anyone done the justice trail recently? my mates did it a few years ago and it was a bit of a joke apparently, very overgrown and poorly signed.
Northumberland is fantastic for road riding, miles and miles of country roads that you can ride on for hours without seeing a car, plus see some amazing scenery.
Personally i not a huge fan of the man-made kielder trails, they always seem to be poorly surfaced and rot your bikes running gear (especially with the amount of rain recently). Id suggest Newcastleton instead, its short but has some really fun sections. You can ride over to it from Kielder too if you want to add in extra miles.
Its a bit boggy at the moment...
You can ride the Borders Abbey Way from Hawick to Selkirk, then down the hill and follow the river Tweed upstream to Philliphaugh (Waterwheel) cafe.
http://www.salmonviewingcentre.com/waterwheelrestaurant.html
Then up onto The Three Breathren, follow the Southern Upland Way through to Melrose. Over the Eildons and cross-country to Lillesleaf and another cafe:
http://www.scottish-borders.info/pages/cafes/jammy_coo_lilliesleaf.html
And then you can local road it to Hawick and/or take one of the drove roads across to the A7 and back into Hawick.
Some good suggestions there. What's the Borders Abbey Way like in this weather. Is it mud friendly?
Keep 'em coming.
Think I'm quite fancying something relaxed and scenic. Dare I say it maybe even a lap of Kielder. Is it worth it for the views, or just all really generic more of the same all the way round?
If you want mud-friendly, Glentress is your place.
Most of the Southern Upland Way is 'hardened'.
I'm not scared of a bit of mud. But when you're knackered pedalling [i]down[/i]hill, you start wondering if you made the right choice.
Kielder's deadwater trail is way better than people make out IMO... I think a lot of people have done the crossborder or lonesome pine and assume it's all like that?
It's mostly in trees, but if you go up to the top of the loop there's a couple of viewpoints. TBH, the view's nothing special, just standard rolling borders hills. Unfortunately, teh absolute worst part of the trail is this top loop, the climb up is slow and dull and the descent's just weird, it's straight down an old smashed up fireroad. Some fun in it but not enough.
We are out tomorrow around Selkirk, happy for you to join us - EIP
If I were there tomorrow I'd take you up on that but unfortunately I'll be work! Thanks anyway.
Ended up going to Kielder. It's always a bit of a gamble taking unknown trails in this weather, but Kielder was virtually empty. Which was nice.