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All being well I should be heading down to Dalbeattie at the weekend with the family to meet up with friends. It's several years since I've been and was wondering if anyone could share up to date recommendations. The eldest kids are 8 and youngest ~4 so family friendly rides are the name of the game by day. I can't remember all the 7 stanes routes it's been that long, but how are these suited to family outings? Ideally there'll be scope for a bit of grown up off piste enduro action either at the fringes or by night - any pointers on that front? As is traditional we'll be at Gorsebank and have a couple of days to fill with a mix of rides/beach/hiding from the weather.
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I too am interested in this question of suitability for kids.
The Green and Blue routes at Dalbeattie are both family friendly and perfectly pleasant for folks used to higher octane stuff.
*Loads* of cracking off-piste to be had there too, TrailForks is very much your friend to help find it.
You can ride along the Jubilee path at Kippford to Rockcliffe (easy access from Gorsebank) for an ice-cream at the van - there's a few tricky bits but it's only a couple of miles each way, maybe best for the older kid(s).
It's a nice part of the world - enjoy!
The longest bit of boardwalk on the taster loop is closed. With my boys (10 &7) we rode the first part of the taster then went up the climb to the Heart Stane. Then we carried straight on to the Slab which is just a couple of hundred metres along the track, and went down the trail that bypasses the Slab. From there a mix of red and blue on the return, including the second half of the taster. My 10yo rode the trail opposite the start of the Heart Stane climb and did extremely well. This spat us out near logon logoff.
^ Excellent info @jamesmio & update from @TroutWrestler, thanks. Had the coast ride mentioned in mind as a possible good weather family option. Will check out Trailforks as I always used to find Dalbeattie difficult to navigate over heading towards/away from the coast. Much more so than when the hills are bigger and you get more of a sense of being on this hill or that hill.
Having looked at trailforks, it looks like there's a decent selection of stuff within easy striking distance heading off the blue section nearest Gorsebank then east over to the far side of the forest, and then couple more clusters heading down to the coast. I'll try and figure out how to link these to the waymarked bits best.
How about the other forests close at hand? I might try and see the stuff off the New Abbey/Beeswing road as we will likely call in at the café in New Abbey (a few years ago they were really good to us when we turned up as they were closing, patching up a bloodied child's face, gave us a drink some shortbread and refused anything in return). Any of the other close bits and pieces worth a detour? I've been to Ae and Mabie relatively recently and not looking to drive anywhere so more things within easy striking distance or "if you're passing".
The Blue & Green at Mabie are a bit.... lacking, I'm afraid. Maybe familiarity plays a part in my case but there's nothing much to them. The walks at Mabie are really nice though and the Red bike route is great.
Stuff in by New Abbey is all off-piste so unlikely to be much fun for the kids.
There are trails in and around the forest at the back of Kippford, they take a keen eye to spot but it's an easy ride over the hill from where you're staying. Again, probably best for solo / bigger kid(s) though.
Thanks James. Been to Mabie relatively recently so just looking at stuff on the doorstep. Looking forwards to it now...
Duno but if you want a loop of kiro I'll come nsay hello!
There's trails up in the town wood as well, basically between Dalbeattie town and the trailhead. @Trekster is yer man.
Just to add a big thanks for all the tips above. An ace time had by all - fun biking, perfect weather, ideal accomodation at gorsebank and nary a midge in sight. Over a few days between beaches, bbqs ad general relaxing we rode most of red/blue/green loops (only the green was a bit meh), various unmarked stuff with the aid of tips on here and a couple of handy & super generous locals who showed us some good links and a couple fresh new tracks which were a joy. Really great wee trip and I'd highly recommend Dalbeattie whatever you are after riding wise- definitely won't be as long between visiting this time round. Thanks one and all.