Glentress Peel Centre update

Just seen this on facebook.

Tracy and I are gutted to announce that we are out of the tender process for the new centre at Glentress- we received an e-mail yesterday from the Forestry Commission. We’d like to remind everyone that we will still be there next year-our 10th anniversary-as we have a lease the Forestry can’t terminate-we’d like to thank all of those who have offered their support through this difficult process-on behalf of ourselves and our much valued and appreciated staff. xx

Cant believe FC have done this.

I know where i’ll be getting my cake.

Business is business. I’m sure the new place will sell good, over-priced, food too. Hell, bacon baguettes might even make a comeback! 🙂

bumer. 🙁

Well I’m sure it’ll be a vast improvement…after all getting shot of sian and dafydd at cyb was a huge success and did’nt turn the cafe into a atmosphereless anodine overpriced soulless service stationlite abomination did it? 😐

Well I will be supporting Emma and Tracey for as long as they have tender

Sad news. Plenty will patronise the hub though!

i hope the tender process is transparent enough to let them know why they were unsuccessful.

Only use the caf once in a blue moon, so not really arsed who’s serving the coffee and cakes tbh.

I hope this does not prevent me from joining in the recreational outrage of the OP though. It is a blooming travesty, fk the forestry commission etc.

Nooooooooooo 👿

Fing bull…

These people that did so much for the whole place are getting kicked out so the FC can put a chain restaurant in.

That is totally unfair, and also will spoil the atmosphere of Glentress irreparably.

The *bright* thing to do would be to have MORE THEN ONE cafe and let people decide where they want to spend their money.

Ok, the current cafe isn’t exactly salubrious, but it oozes character and community. That is going to be shattered once they are closed and the new goldfish bowl opens… and how many muddy bikers are going to be allowed in there? Take a £5 shower 1st matey.

Shame for them both after all their work, but as said, business is business. And as much as people will squeal about it, in a few years no one will probably care and be in the cafe anyways.

it is simple if it is crap then people won`t go. I dont mind paying a little extra if it is good stuff.It is a location outside town and not busy through the week. I will be some big company who reckon they will make a mucho profit. It is all about money i suppose.

Maybe the new place will not run out of Bacon rolls at lunchtime, will have enough space for all the customers and will have decent loos.

TBH, I really don’t know what all the fuss is about.

But will the new place have legendary millionaires shortbread? Sorry to hear that have always enjoyed the hub servings

i heard mcdonalds have won the contract! 😆

i’m missing the overpriced ice lollies already

As long as the new place has nubile waitresses and serves nachos, I’m not bothered.

gutted remember after gt had just opened tracy picked us up from edinburgh airport in the van to take us to peebles so excited about how us soft southerners would love the new trails

and if anyone has seen them taking the tiny wee kids out on the trails they have an idea of what these 2 put into the sport

business is business so if not maccyds a tescos metro perhaps?

The end of the worlds greatest chocolate flapjack?
Noooooooooooooooooooo…………….

sucks how the FE have done this many times, Dalby, CYB, now GT. They ride on the passion created by the local cafe’s then when it hits critical mass cash in and dump the original people who created the success. Very ruthless and business like really.

simonm – Member
sucks how the FE have done this many times, Dalby, CYB, now GT. They ride on the passion created by the local cafe’s then when it hits critical mass cash in and dump the original people who created the success. Very ruthless and business like really.

Yes. You see, it IS a business.

tis a shame, based on coed y brenin I’m not looking forward to the new centre!

I can only suggest taking your own cake in future. Mrs Mmmm bakes better than they do anyway. I found the staff in the bike shop and the cafe rude every time I went there.

🙁 Not good, we’ll be served prepacked overpriced Motorway services crap instead of homemade Banoffee pie, Chocolate flapjack, carrot cake and that wonderful black pudding and egg doubler!!

How many times I’ve been tempted to shout “HERE” when one of them comes out with a big plate of Nachos, shouts a number, and no-one answers! 😆

Tracey gave me some pointers on how to get the best out of the trails on my first visit and sells brilliant food. I’m now waiting for the bland crap that prevails at most other fc hovels

Hi Neil, nice to see you here!
See you over on Club323F shortly 🙂
Rob

ianMmm i do know what your saying on that front it’s not allways the best.

AlasdairMc – Member
As long as the new place has nubile waitresses and serves nachos, I’m not bothered.

POSTED 1 HOUR AGO # REPORT-POST
It’s impossible not to look I know! 😈

Yes. You see, it IS a business.

No it’s not, it’s a government department.

Only been to GT a few times but I always liked the cafe. Shame.

I love the comments about how Tracy and Emma will be replaced by some soulless/corporate/chain entity. What amazing prediction skills you must all have…! How on Earth do you know that the business who wins the tender is not a local enterprise, who know GT trails inside out, and will provide freshly-cooked decent food? Hmmm?

And interesting comments about CyB – I went there a few years ago after the new visitor centre had opened. Never been before and I thought it was great! So much better than the damp portacabin that somehow counts as a “cafe” at Glentress. And given that many many visitors will come to GT, not just to ride the trails but to see the new visitor centre, I’m sure it’ll be a resounding success.

Whats the inside track then Kit – who’s won it?

I can only suggest taking your own cake in future. Mrs Mmmm bakes better than they do anyway. I found the staff in the bike shop and the cafe rude every time I went there.

Totally agree with this.

i got told off for being too muddy in the Hub cafe, i hope the new place doesn’t stay too pristine for long!

i’d like to thank all the staff at the hub for good humour, good food and good service even at the busiest times, shame they couldn’t compete for the new tender and i hope they find that bigger and better things come their way in other ventures

Whats the inside track then Kit – who’s won it?

Me 😉

One thing’s for certain: tough gig for whoever ends up winning the tender!

I found myself using the cafe less and less as it was becoming too expensive. Harsh as it may seem, Im not really interested in having the cafe or the even the bike shop and the captive market that we have become just encourages them to charge what they want. Their food is good, but £2 / £3 for a roll, a bit greedy if you ask me. As for the bike shop, that’s just as bad.
Why dont people just stick some basic spares and a couple rolls in their camelback and go ride their **** bikes. We are becoming a pampered lot and some will soon be complaining that the leaves dont get swept from the trails or that they want a cafe/bike shop in the middle of the Pentlands.
Before I get slated for my comments, I also think the way they have been treated by the FC is harsh after all the work they put into the place.

I do not believe the success of GT/Hub is due to the STW massive so i doubt a few folk from here not buying their cake from the new centre will make any difference. Besides for the most part people here slag off those that go to trail centres so why get upset.

The riders that made GT successful are those that turn up just to have a go and for which the trails are almost secondary. The vast majority will use the new cafe no matter who runs it.

As has been said it is a business, budgets are being cut everywhere so the FC have to go with the tender that is best for them, even if that means upsetting a couple of cake eating tubbies off the internet.

Totally agree about the bike shop, wouldn’t use again. But the Hub did have a good atmosphere in my opinion, it was a bit of a nightmare in winter as their was no room to sit. Fancy sitting outside eating your nacho’s? don’t think so.

As someone else has said though, we don’t know who’s won it yet, and as long as the tender process has been transparent, tracey and emma can see where they’ve lost out on and we can see why they’ve won the contract. That’s fair ebough to me.

And watching it been built earlier in the year, I asked the Project Manager which ‘young bright thing’ thought it would be a good idea to space out all the buildings? It was pouring down at the time.

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/peelsitemap.pdf/$FILE/peelsitemap.pdf

For me a good template is the Drop-Off building at Afan, all facilities under one roof, next to the car park.

And this made me laugh:

•To be designed and built on sustainable principles.

Did you see just how much earth they moved, plus demolished a large standing building that looked pretty decent…

Edit – just reading the tender document and they talk of upping the visitor numbers from 200k (in 2005) to 300k by 2011 and 500k 2015 – where are all these people going to park; better get there early.

Hmmm. Though it’s all too snowy for the foreseeable future, I think the pang of guilt I’ve felt at hefting my bike over a FC fence to access a “closed” bit of trail in the past won’t be quite as sharp the next time…

I mean, it ain’t personal…..

….it’s business.

Anyone know how long the Hub’s lease lasts?

I would hope E&T move on to something good – not the best time to be forced to do so though.

As for the “it’s just business” comments, are there many other businesses that contribute to much to the success of a state venture then get dumped in this way?