Due to some unfortunate circumstances, I'm back in Glasgow without the kids and with some time on my hands, and a serious need to get out of the house and clear my head.
So, I decided to transverse the south side of Glasgow and make my way over to the Cathkin Braes to check out the trails.
Well, it's not the easiest place to navigate. I figured that the trails would be well marked and easy to follow. They were not. Eventually I thought I would just check trailforks so that I could at least figure out which way the trails were supposed to run. Unfortunately trailforks only allows you to have one country on your phone at a time and I couldn't figure out how to add Scotland at the side of the trails so I just had to go by memory. Eventually I found some of the black trails that were actually pretty good fun. Would have been more fun if I had a working rear brake but you can't have everything (this is the rigid Coyote Dual singlespeed I keep at my parents' place).
I came across a seemingly endless number of dog walkers and only one mountain biker. A young lad of possibly 14 who asked me which way the trails were supposed to run. I told him I was trying to work that out myself but I think I managed to point him in the right direction.
Depending on how long I'm here for I'm planning on heading up to Clachan of Campsie to see if the folk at Wheelcraft can fix my brakes (and hopefully also sell me a bottle cage and water bottle since I ran out of water on my 30km ride). From the look of it there are some interesting routes that follow some of the rivers that criss-cross Glasgow.
So, Cathkin Braes almost certainly has some good trails but it's not a place you can pitch up with your brand new mountain bike and a burning enthusiasm to learn how to ride it. The main trails are overgrown and poorly marked. It's a shame because it seems like the place had great potential, especially for kids who might not have parents who are prepared to drive them down to Peebles.
Apart from that, my ride across the south side was exactly what I needed today. Castlemilk seems to have come up in the world and there were some really nice places to ride through on my way to and from the trails. This has been a rough week and a ride in the nice weather brought some welcome relief.
If I'm still here on Wednesday I think I might try to come along to one of the GMBC rides (assuming they still ride on Wednesdays). All in all, I forgot just how much I miss Glasgow. I've got some responsibilities to take care of for the next few years but I think I've made up my mind that as soon as I can I'm coming back to Glasgow for good.
But yeah, the Cathkin Braes need some love. But at least there was one young lad using it, in addition to an aging one.
If I'm still here on Wednesday I think I might try to come along to one of the GMBC rides (assuming they still ride on Wednesdays)
They're on FB now. Usually Milngavie train station meet on Wednesdays, though times change often. Also, if you join the FB group, theres usually someone else wanting to go out somewhere on other days.
Cathkin is my doorstep riding. If it wasn't I wouldn't go. I was there today though. But yeah, it's been left to waste away. The original loop has lost all the signage, not that walkers noticed them. Even the newer stuff at the castlemilk side has been left to waste away. I don't think theres any official or non-official trail maintenance. I often wonder how much money was spent on it to then let it be so neglected. There's a few wee off piste bits here and there but they're not great and not easy to piece together. It's better than nothing but it's a shame that it's been left to rot.
Shame to hear its not been looked after . I was a fairly regular visitor when it first opened and it was very good for getting some riding in during the winter as it was pretty much all weather. When the newer trails and the pumptrack opened the place was really busy on sunny weekends with all types and there was a really good atmosphere .
From when it first opened dog walkers tended to ignore the signs and walk wherever they wanted . When I was riding there I just always kind of thought there would be a dog walker round the corner .
The city was great during that commonwealth games , some of the legacy stuff has been a success i hope .
MBR.CO.UK Cathkin is ok...plenty to follow your nose. Signage is poor now, but I guess that is what happens when legacy money finishes.
Dog walkers don't care where they walk and you can get an earful from some, but most are ok.
Compared to what it was like before the trails were built, it is still better than then.
Use trailforks in your web browser on your phone, then you can view all areas although it doesn't let you get the info on individual trails if I remember right but it's sufficient to at least show you where they are and which direct they go
So, Cathkin Braes almost certainly has some good trails but it's not a place you can pitch up with your brand new mountain bike and a burning enthusiasm to learn how to ride it
Not sure I agree - it's an accessible location for a large population with a ~5km largely weatherproof built track on a hill with varying gradients, a number of bypass-able challenging features and a bunch of 'unofficial' lines on natural surfaces tucked away in the trees. There's a high-quality pump track and free car parking at the top and the bottom.
The original hardcore surface has worn away in a number of places and vegetation (including fallen trees) is not managed by the landowner. There are no toilets or a cafe or anything but it's not out in the middle of nowhere. The top half of the hill is popular with dog walkers, which inevitably brings some conflict but it's part of a large country park so this comes with the territory. On sunny evenings you may encounter groups of local youths doing what local youths do in woods the world over, but that's seldom anything to worry about.
It's owned and 'managed' by Glasgow City Council - not Glasgow Life (the sport/leisure dept) - and they have zero money to look after it, and it shows. They can access funding to build things, but not to maintain them. There are a couple of local groups who do some basic maintenance but this is entirely voluntary. Discussions have been held over a number of years to try and establish some kind of trail association to adopt and manage the trails but the council are not as keen to engage with this as Forestry Land Scotland are in other parts of the country, as they basically see everything as a giant liability issue they want nothing to do with. Mountain bike riders are not really a stakeholder group in their eyes.
It does get used - it certainly doesn't get the numbers Glentress does, but plenty of people ride there. It's a great venue for coaching, decent as a XC race venue and not at all bad as a midweek race-pace-laps training spot. It isn't an all-day steep loamer Golfie/Dunkeld type of place, but few places are.
Eventually I thought I would just check trailforks so that I could at least figure out which way the trails were supposed to run. Unfortunately trailforks only allows you to have one country on your phone at a time
What makes you say that? I’ve currently got the UK, France and Switzerland on mine at the moment.
The unofficial trails at Cathkin are good fun and easy to do loops of. Agree that it’s only somewhere you’d really visit if nearby though, and those same unofficial trails are likely to be overgrown with bracken by now anyway (unless someone is looking after them)
Not sure I agree - it's an accessible location for a large population with a ~5km largely weatherproof built track on a hill with varying gradients, a number of bypass-able challenging features and a bunch of 'unofficial' lines on natural surfaces tucked away in the trees. There's a high-quality pump track and free car parking at the top and the bottom.
I'd say it has the potential to be all that. As it stands today though, unless you know where the blue trail actually goes you've got no chance of following the signs. I completely failed and so did the only other person I met.
Trailforks would obviously help, but that assumes that newcomers to mtb know about trailforks.
What makes you say that? I’ve currently got the UK, France and Switzerland on mine at the moment.
When I tried the app it invited me to sign up for a Pro account to see the trails. When I accessed it through a browser the location service wasn't working and I got fed up trying to fix it. I added to UK when I got home and I didn't lose access to Norway so probably I could have fixed everything on the trail.
I'll head back with trailforks working next time (and hopefully with working brakes and more water) and make more sense of the place.
It does look like it could be a good resource for young people (or any age people really) who want to get into mountain biking, but given the lack of signage and the confusing criss-crossing trails it's not a great place unless you've got someone to show you round (or you know about trailforks).
Also have a look on you tube. Theres plenty of vids so you can kind of get an idea of where you are going.
