I was thinking of heading up to Dunkeld for the first time. Would the trails at Birnam (electric beaver , rake&ruin and the others round there) be a good introduction?
also where is the best place to park for these?
20 years since I've been up Birnam Dunkeld area and would park in either town and get a warm up for a few miles before hitting the hill up from Birnam
Cracking area but with this sunshine and warmth you better get up there early
Yes, R&R is nice but Pink Floyd is a bit dull IMO and the lower trails (electric beaver, etc) are fun but short so that might only be a few hours.
Did you want a full day of riding?
I've always parked at the station for Birnam Hill.
Probably not do a full day .
Does it get very busy?
Birnam is a totally logical place to start if you're new to Dunkeld. As outlined above, the lower trails around Electric Beaver are fun but short. Rake and Ruin is a great trail - the last push up to the top is a bit of a slog, but worth it IMO. The top section is what you might call quite a dark shade of red. Pink Floyd gets a lot of stick, largely, I think, because it gives up a lot of height in the initial straight section. I quite like the lower bits, but I couldn't imagine bothering with the climb to the top again if I'd already rode R & R.
Parking in town gets busy pretty quickly, especially on a nice day. Worthwhile to park in town, IMO, given access to bike shop, cafes, etc.
If you've got any time/inclination after Birnam, I'd head up Atholl hill - maybe do Bobby's Baws (access is a bit of a hassle due to logging, but still do-able) and then climb up again to do Sacrifice (definitely a Dunkeld Red).
If going up to Rake and Ruin I would advise riding up the longer way, the push up from the bottom is shorter but absolutely brutal. The trails from the mast (I think its Slaters and The Rudder) are both a step up in tech/difficulty from the trails on Birnam side but personally I enjoyed them both
We've never had a problem parking at the station, Dunkeld can get pretty busy. The wee garden next to the bike shop is a nice spot for a picnic and chilling out.
I really like Pink Floyd but it's a classic Low Value Trail, if you take it in isolation just for how it is to ride, it's really good, but when you balance it against what a pain in the cock it is to get there, it's not so good. If it had a chairlift I'd probably ride it a lot, but it doesn't so I don't.
Rake And Ruin is bloody brilliant though, it's a pretty fantastic balance to be both really fun and involving and interesting, without just being outright super difficult or steep or scary, something a lot of offpistes struggle with. I've no idea how long it actually is, but in my head it goes on forever, I love how the feel of the hill changes as you drop down.
The Electric Beaver/Kinky Frenchman stuff is pretty simple but good fun and easy to loop. I'd say it's the sort of thing that's not really worth travelling for, it's not got that standout feel that makes it a "visit", but when you're there it's definitely worth doing.
I'm not a dunkeld expert at all, I find it pretty confusing just to get around when there's no race signs up, but these make for a good visit.
Who makes up these names for trails for eg Bobby's baws
Was there a Robert who rattled his scrotum on the stem of his bike as he was descending or is it like Knockhill depending on who pays the most gets to claim the chicane like glen varigil who was never a known name like Clark corner or Duffus dip even Taylors hairpin ,Stewart straight although poor Stevie Hislop lost his corner or maybe keeps it at bike meetings
Colin Mcrae now has one bottom of Duffus dip
Who makes up these names for trails
It's always been my understanding that trail names are decided by a panel of priapic 13-year-old boys (Exhibit A: see the two trails adjacent to Bobby's Baws on Trailforks).
in my head it goes on forever
This is exactly how it feels - brilliant use of the terrain/gradient. I'm also a fan of the nice, undulating bit of singletrack that takes from the end of R & R back to the start of the access road for Electric Beaver, etc.
Sorry, bit of a tangent but since everyone's here, does anyone know the sort of traversing descent between the A923 north of Dunkeld and the 'old' A9? Starts at the top of Quadzilla and is called (those pesky 13 year olds again!) 'BUMBHOLE RFC' on Strava...
It's only short but I'll be on my gravel bike, presumably it will be passable one way or the other...
Cheers everyone, thanks for all the replies
Was there a Robert who rattled his scrotum on the stem of his bike as he was descending or is it like Knockhill depending on who pays the most gets to claim the chicane like glen varigil who was never a known name like Clark corner or Duffus dip even Taylors hairpin ,Stewart straight although poor Stevie Hislop lost his corner or maybe keeps it at bike meetings
Colin Mcrae now has one bottom of Duffus dip
Very OT! But it'll always be Glenvarigill to me, even though it'd already been renamed well before the first time I ever went round it and I think Glenvarigill were pretty much bankrupt by that time, the porsche garage was gone and all that. What is it supposed to be now, the Black Circle Chicane? Over my dead body. I liked when they couldn't get a sponsor and just defiantly called it Chicane though,"If you're not paying you don't get your name on it, we don't care how dead and scottish you are". Or maybe it was sponsored by the dj?
I saw David Leslie crash at the corner that's now named after him at the bottom of Duffus, is that why it's called that? By that logic, every corner should be called Leslie's.
well That was superb day out
Parked at the railway station
Really enjoyed the smaller trails down the bottom.
rack and ruin was great , although if I didn't have the ebike I think I would still be there pushing up that hill
no Pink floyd as bike battery was flat and I was totally knackered
Finished off with lunch at the craft diner (the burger van ), the person I asked directions to it seemed to really dislike him but still told me where it was
It's always been my understanding that trail names are decided by a panel of priapic 13-year-old boys
Maybe. At Ae there are a number of trail names related to real people. Toddys Ticker is the obvious, its where Toddy had a heart attack, he survived fine. Its a downhill section too, not uphill. Then there is 'Alan Potts will go mental’ , the story of that hasnt been found yet, but Alan Potts was a regular a few years ago, and it is thought people were using the trail he was building before it was finished. Many of the others have a local connection.
in my head it goes on forever
I thought the same, but it's over disappointingly quickly when you go back to it.
Finished off with lunch at the craft diner (the burger van ), the person I asked directions to it seemed to really dislike him but still told me where it was
Sounds like they might have asked him for ketchup once...
Glad you enjoyed it - it's a spot that rewards repeat visits, given how distinct the trails are on each of the surrounding hills.