Spoke to the fellas building the path today. Apparently, they've been getting a lot of abuse from trail users, which really isn't on. They are "only" building a path from the fence up to the summit and there are no plans to build any other paths. As a result, the descent that most people use (from the top down to the path splits and then down the Yellow Craig) will only be affected at the top part. Having ridden this area for 20 years, there aren't many folk I see riding this as a descent all the way down. Also, for the top section, there are a whole bundle of lines down and I really can't see them filling all these in. If this provides a more sustainable route to the top of Dumyat, well, that might be a good thing. The trail erosion since the above mentioned Peaty/Macaskill/Guy Martin video has been nothing short of horrendous. Give the guys building the path a break ... They are just doing their job. Equally, some path improvement over "the bog" is definitely welcome. However, I can't see a couple of winters bedding this path in. From what I learned today, it will be of a very similar construction to the path down to the Main Whitehills car park and yhat hasn't weathered in at all.
No one on here has advocated abusing the guys.
Did they say who were giving them issues? All users or a particular group?
heard it was a bunch of Tories on ebikes.
So a friend lives close and has been writing about Dumyat for a while, https://aye.tf/2017/09/07/thoughts-on-the-dumyat-path/ is his post on the new works.
Very sensible piece, thanks.
Another good read, ta.
Just spoken to the Council about this. They are were understanding and polite but reckon the first they knew about it was yesterday after various people having a pop on Twitter and the like.
The only help they could really give was to try the MSP route and get onto Scottish Power directly #twitterstorm
Insane.
Someone can just turn up and start hacking a road into a hillside with a digger, and the best the local authority can offer is to ask you to cause a shitstorm.
Danny Mac on Dumyat if anyones interested,
What a waste, loved Dumyat, tore hell out of myself on the thin section with the rock on one side (bars twisted/bike stopped/I didn't/arm used as brake) Happy Times
Someone can just turn up and start hacking a road into a hillside with a digger,
Its not 'someone' though is it. This was all agreed wasn't it, as a sweetener for the pylon thing? Surely the council were implicit in this- someone is telling porkies.
Apparently it was a mountain biker who was dishing out the abuse on Tuesday.
Its not 'someone' though is it. This was all agreed wasn't it, as a sweetener for the pylon thing? Surely the council were implicit in this- someone is telling porkies.
Which is my point.
Did they say who were giving them issues?
Probably some knee jerking drama queens with limited social skills that leads to an inability to ask sensible questions to the right people before mouthing off / posting on forums.
🙁
Don't see what the problem is. Making the summit easily accessible for everyone sounds like a good idea to me. It's not like it's the only hill in the country..
Don't see what the problem is. Making the summit easily accessible for everyone sounds like a good idea to me. It's not like it's the only hill in the country..
It already was accessible to most people, at least on foot. Be nice if we don't lose every hill to the drive for easy accessibility.
SPen are about to issue a press release. There has been a lot of inter-agency communications today.
I think most people are not against the path, but the scale of what is being done and the method clearly won't work. The path/road being built is simply scraped bedrock and turned over a bit into a muddy/rocky mess that's over 3m wide in places.
It already was accessible to most people, at least on foot. Be nice if we don't lose every hill to the drive for easy accessibility.
It's unlikely that this will happen to every hill in the country. I think people are overreacting a little.
Still waiting on an answer to this, feel free to step up gav
If you've got suggestions of natural trails that are as good and within such easy reach then I'd love to hear about them
Which one is as good as the normal Dumyat loop though?
Aberfoyle is miles better than Dumyat IMHO
TBH.. I rate Cambusbarron and North Third as being better than Dumyat as well..
I've also heard good things about Glen Devon although I haven't ridden there
I'm all for new/reconstructed paths being built to combat the effects of erosion on popular hills. I've seen some great examples of well built paths where a lot of thought and effort has went into them (unfortunately this doesn't look like one of them). I've also seen plently dickheads both on foot and on bike shortcutting them or running alongside them creating new lines adding to problems. It's selfish behaviour and needless, go build your own stuff or ride eleswhere if you can't ride what's there. The access code allows for responsible access, it's about time people start paying attention to what constitutes this otherwise rights that took a long time to gain will be taken away bit by bit.
Aberfoyle is a totally different sort of place. You wouldn't compare Dumyat to the Golfie, and that's the same kind of place as Aberfoyle.
N3rd is also really good but completely different again as it doesn't have the massive continuous downhill hat Dumyat has, it doesn't really have much downhill at all (1,100ft elevation including some playing in Cambu iirc)
Dumyat is a big loss to a lot of people
A very Tory type **** you Jack attitude Gav. You have tweed valley, not all of us have that locally.
I'd expect better from you tbh.
I live an hour away from Tweed Valley..
15-20 minutes from Dumyat. Dumyat is more local to me than Tweed Valley
Even more disappointing that you think that's okay then.
A very Tory type **** you Jack attitude Gav.
It's actually a more socialistic attitude. I think that anything that improves access for everyone is good. If the path was exclusively for use by MTB's then I could see the point in people being pissed off.
Edit - in fact, I can't be arsed tbh.
Happy biking folks, Even you Gav.
Edit - in fact, I can't be arsed tbh.Happy biking folks, Even you Gav.
Thanks... I think 🙂
Probably another of the sanctimonious Stirling Mudders that believe they are an authority on all things mountain biking. There was previous trolling on the thread by one...
Dumyat was an evening ride and there's not much comparable locally. Aberfoyle is a drive away and not possible after work.
Aberfoyle is a drive away and not possible after work.
Not trying to troll, but if you have a car, then Aberfoyle is 25 minutes drive from Stirling and it is very much doable in an evening (assuming you live in Stirling)...the major difference between the 2 areas is that Dumyat is right on the doorstep to Stirling people so is much more doable.
I'm interested to see the press release, particularly if it covers what the plans are for the boggy bit and the upper sections. This destructive wide path along the route of the current main path cannot be the best solution.
The existence of Aberfoyle trails does absolutely nothing to mitigate this.
I really don't buy the accessibility for all thing.
Dumyat Path - the finished article bar the final compaction.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/4RomNf8tFkeuNyih1
The climbs are just steep slopes and what was exposed rock is under this mess too. They've got as far as the first narrow section.
They've not progressed any further up the hill - I guess the plan is to leave each section "finished" in time for the weekend traffic.
I challenge anyone to run, walk or cycle up this.
To complain, email as per the link for Customer Care North.
https://www.spenergynetworks.co.uk/pages/complaints.aspx State that it's not senstitive, it's not best practice and there's still no site toilet (I could go on,,,,)
So all they have done is taken the top level of soil/grass off? That's a bog waiting to happen not a path.
No - they've taken the top level of soil/grass off, mixed it up and then put it back down.
Not really an improvement on what I said is it lol
It's kinda a shame - I loved that descent... I think my fastest time down was chasing some (considerably more talented) folks down on an OLD Patriot (which I sold to Beagleboy many, many years ago and I believe he still has!). It was an eyes closed, point and prey type affair!
That said, I do think it is going to erode and become something worthwhile again... it may take a while, and it will be different - but perhaps it will be as good in it's own way.
(I am trying to be positive - every time I am up there I wish I had brought the bike with me! Perhaps I will get out on my new local improved trail soon in solidarity... it's Walna Scar so a bit further down the re-eroded path!)
Comedy lols from SPE https://www.spenergynetworks.co.uk/news/pages/dumyat_hill.aspx
replicate the existing path using the same materials
Oookay then. I suppose sending up a digger to move some of the same soil around a bit is cheaper than carting up loads of stone and aggregate.
Our contractors on site will be happy to discuss the techniques being employed for those people who are visiting while the work is taking place.
I bet the digger driver will be over the moon
Oh dear...that is a comical release. Sounds like head office has decided to put the buzzwords in and the contractor wants the quickest way to complete...and never the twain shall meet!
FYI the post I linked to yesterday, https://aye.tf/2017/09/07/thoughts-on-the-dumyat-path/, has been updated since the press release was issued.
