We're thinking of going on a mini mountain biking adventure this Summer - maybe for a week or so.
Plan as it stands is:
1. Rope in our best friends to coming along
2. Take a fun road trip up to Scotland - possibly stopping along the way (staying over at a B&B next to some good trails)
3. Arrive in Scotland and stay at a nice bike friendly B&B type of place and ride some fun trails
4. Move to a different B&B and ride some more amazing trails
5. Drive back home - possibly stopping along the way for some trails.
So yep, quite a few details to be filled in! I've never been to Scotland so don't know anything really...
It would be great if people could suggest the best trails centres/trails (epsecially good combos) and some good places to stay as well.
We're open to going with a company, but figure there's not necessarily that much benefit for the extra cash...
So - can anyone advice on which are the "must do" trails centres in Scotland and on the way (we're based in Bristol so pretty much anywhere is on the way)
Any advice is very much appreciated! (Oh and yes, we know we're leaving it late to book places...)
Cheers!
Do one of Mabie, Dalbeattie or Drumlanrig on the way, or stay overnight near here and do more than one. Then go over to Peebles or Innerliethen and spend a couple of days over there. Then go back and do some more of the first three if you haven't done all of them. Try MB7 if you want to use a company. They had a hand in the Bikefax book for Southern Scotland, which has a good selection of all the riding in that area, natural and man made.
A couple of days in the tweed valley to ride Glentress and Innerleithan with possible an "natural ride" such as Gypsy Glen then a couple of days up in the Highlands. Beinn A Ghlo circuit perhaps - nice into to highland riding - mainly double track but very scenic
Laggan is another possibility - there is a bunkhouse there, Laggan wolftracks playpark and more "natural" riding in the area. Ben Alder circuit for that bit of hikabike that no Scottish trip is without but nice single track and again very scenic.
Or kinlochleven and the Blackwater Dam - can be combined with a big loop out into the mountains. Not far from Fort William there as well where there are more trails and the DH
Coming all that way I would deffo go into the highlands
just got back from a trip this evening.
Details including great accomodation near Dumfries and [url= http://domtbforum.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=3055&page=1 ]ride reports (and mechanicals and injuries etc.) here[/url]
Do it, it's great!
this was what we did
4 of us just did 6 days/5 nights in Scotland from Kent last week of May. 1,355 miles driving and stayed Newton Stewart 4 miles from Kirroughtree (NS) b&b 2 nights and Laggan bunkhouse 2 nights (3 miles from wolftrax)with a night at Glentress (1/2 mile from GT and 4 or 5 from inners and a mile or so to town)in between. had two days (after drive up and before drive down with hardly any driving)
Tuesday leave 4.30am Mabie red pm (got there at 12 noon) - stay NS
Wednesday Kirroughtree black craigs (includes red) wet & damp rocks early on and a couple of slips on the bedrock stay NS
Thursday Ae - shredder and descent at end of red, lunch, innerliethen red xc with black bits (or climb up and bust crank so limp down and fix at GT shop in my case)stay GT
Friday GT black then GT red - black first is way to go.drive to Laggan up A9 stay there (3 hours plus if busy round Edinburgh/4th bridge)
Saturday laggan lower red, upper red x 2 and laggan black stay Laggan
sunday drive home (10 to 11 plus hours as M74 closed a bit)
might have done Drumlaring instead of Ae but wet day before. didn't do Fort William as 10 under ben there. great weather apart from the Wednesday. Dalbeatie a possibility at start but Mabie a nice warm up after 400 mile drive. might have done a big country loop if another guy whose done it before would have come. if planning a country loop would have had two days at fort william to allow ride on best weather day and would have dome XC and/or downhill other day.
great riding all different and nice riding sections of Laggan 3 or 4 times and bits of GT twice. Also a distillery close by Laggan.
mudhound
I would really really recommend at least on "natural mountain day - not just the trail centres. Even tho Laggan has a bit of the "big mountain" feel its just not the same.
Apart from that that sounds like a top trip Mudhound
Stay in Aviemore - a whole lot of choice for natural routes plus easy driving distance from Laggan trail centre.
tick...
Any route you can advice on allysharp?
Best advice would be to pop into Bothy Bikes and ask them for route advice. I didn't visit until the [i]end[/i] of my stay (to clean off my bike for free) and they mentioned a whole lot, but I can't remember details now.
From what I rode I'd recommend heading out towards Loch Morlich then up to the trails at Badaguish. There's some maintained singletrack in the woods there but it's not waymarked or anything, so again Bothy Bikes might be the people to ask.
A lot of routes in the area all start around the Rothiemurchus estate - where there's some great singletrack around the lochs. You could probably spend hours in a small area just exploring all the tracks within the estate.
Juan - wot allyharp says.
IIRC you will be travelling by train - is that correct? I would have a look at teh Beinn A Ghlo circuit - its nice and right out in the wilds but nothing too gnarly - something like 35 miles and 1700m of climbing. easy access from the road / train at Blair Athol.
Rothiemurchas has some really nice riding.
Aviemore for sure.
Old Ministers Guest House. Just across the road from Bothy Bikes. Pitlochry and Dunkeld are just down the road (well, less than 60 miles but easy to get to by direct train service).
If you just do trail centres, you'll be missing out on soooooooo much!
Cheers
Sanny
Thanks for all the info guys! I'm a bit spolit for choice now! Think I'll start by booking a cracking place(s) to stay (after all, it'll be good to have a nice place to hang out if the weather isn't great) and then work out the best trails to visit from there. Exciting stuff!
kin i come? 🙂
But i'll stay at TJs for a week and eat his food.
No problemo sharki - with any luck there will be some work for you here as well to finance the trip
with any luck there will be some work for you here as well to finance the trip
Now THAT is ironic, TJ in capitalist behaviour 😀
somewhere else between aviemore and edinburg to stay one night and ride?
Juan - I have thousands of pounds worth of plastering / building work to be done - I'd rather the money went to a friend.
As for your trip - Blair Athol ? Laggasn ? Kingussie
I'd rather the money went to a friend.
Tax dodging anyone 😉
Second Aviemore and Bothy Bikes to pick up some maps. PLEASE don't think Scotland's all about trail centres! Try Kenny Wilson's book for some amazing rides (should be on Amazon) - try Central Scotland - Stirling, Callander etc.
as well as the usual tress/7stanes, perhaps head to laggan and along to have a play at fort bill (new red D/H might be open), after that if you can deal with more driving, head north to base yourself near inverness as Golspey, Balblair and Lernie ar all in striking distance. There are great trails at dunkeld on the way back down.
enjoy!
Oooo, i'm a fwend of Tj.....
Woot!
Errr, hold up, this could be a bad thing.....
Even better if it's nearer the B'day bash date...