How’s Laggan these days?

Up in Aviemore this weekend. Had initially planned on doing Sgòr Gaoith, but the weather isn’t looking too flash, plus the doc is about 90% sure I’ve got Lyme Disease (caught early; on antibiotics).

I’ve ridden High Burnside a fair amount in recent years, but haven’t ridden Laggan in nearly 15. How are people finding the new trails there? Also, how are the enduro trails on the opposite hill at the minute? Never ridden them before and I don’t see a huge number on Trailforks.

There’s been tree felling over on the brown side. I’m not sure what is still standing.

Laggan? Nah. Don’t bother. *Wink emoji*

Good inversion. They have that there every Saturday, aye?

20th anniversary of the trails this weekend, so expect it to be busy.
Haven’t done the brown trails this year but they are very good. One main climb and a number of different ways down. New blue flow trails are also lots of fun. Easy to ride but get trickier the faster you go.

Last went around January this year. I do live about 300 miles away though. But have been a couple of times before.

The new blue flow trails were good fun. Nice change from the rocky reds/black routes. Still enjoy what used to be the orange jump trail at the bottom. I’d definitely go.

Also, how are the enduro trails on the opposite hill at the minute? Never ridden them before and I don’t see a huge number on Trailforks.

I haven’t been for a couple of years but Tweedlove held a race there earlier this year. Pretty sure they used a fair few of the off piste trails (on the opposite hill) that were closed for logging last time I was there and I’d say it’s definitely worth a day there if it’s been 15 years as the trail centre stuff is some of the best in the UK, especially the black. Just had a quick look at Strava and the majority of the enduro trails have been ridden recently so I’d say go for a mooch, the stuff I’ve ridden there is top notch

Good inversion. They have that there every Saturday, aye?

You have to be good, and then like Santa, a present is delivered…

We really like Laggan. It’s a family favourite, particularly in early autumn as the weather turns and the trails run sweet.

We really like Laggan. It’s a family favourite, particularly in early autumn as the weather turns and the trails run sweet

We really like Laggan even more. It’s a family favourite, that almost makes the drive from Manchester worth it in its own.  Perhaps not that much, but we do love it.

Just imagine having a trail centre like that locally…

( Yes Matt, I know shut up) ?

(¬,‿,¬)

I went in July for three first time and spent 3 ish hours riding on the other side of the road from trail centre. Found loads of good stuff using a combination of Strava and Trail Forks.

Unless there’s been a recent change the more concentrated block of “brown” near the fort which is also the easiest to find was untouched by the felling, but the hill to the left as you face the brown from the trail centre was logged out and that’s affected some trails and access. Never actually been into that bit! I get hopelessly lost up on the castle stuff but it’s all good, and easy to lap, so I don’t mind.

The trail centre’s as superb as ever, the old stuff’s had some tweaking and tidying which has made the black just a little bit less awkward but hasn’t affected the overall feel off the thing, I think mostly it’s stuff that’d worn rather than how it was supposed to be (though I’m pretty sure the devil’s chessboard has been rebuilt, it used to feel like basically just a heap of rocks, now it feels basically like an actual manmade bike trail? Easier, or perhaps I have just become a riding god?)

I was a bit underwhelmed by the new stuff, I found it a bit flat to feel really flowy, speed was quite hard to find. Except ironically the climb is quite nasty!

I was worried I was the only one but I was also a bit underwhelmed by the new trails. But I reckon they’d be good if you have kids and it’s quite a nice wee warm up. But Laggan is lovely and if I’d had more time and fewer mechanicals I’m very keen to go and try the Enduro trails. It’s a just a wee bit far for me which makes it a long old day and I have to drive past Dunkeld etc to get to it.

I was a bit underwhelmed by the new stuff, I found it a bit flat to feel really flowy, speed was quite hard to find.

They’re blue trails and as someone used to riding Tweed valley tech, you’re not really the target audience.  I thought they were a perfect stepping stone for less experienced riders to build up to the red.

I was there last Friday and it was riding well, with no closures I could see. I rode the blue route as a warm up, then rode up to the top of Alpha red and rode Rib Rattler etc back to the bottom for a coffee and cake. I then rode up for the black (which is very good and was manageable on my full sus xc bike) then rode Howlin’ Wolf red. Will be back on my burlier bike at some point as I bottled Air’s Rock again.

Really enjoyed it and is quite a compact trail centre with easy going climbs, so easy enough to session sections.

https://forestryandland.gov.scot/visit/laggan-wolftrax

I then rode up for the black (which is very good and was manageable on my full sus xc bike) then rode Howlin’ Wolf red. Will be back on my burlier bike at some point as I bottled Air’s Rock again.

I am the opposite – I can barrel down Airs Rock easily, but the Black intimidates me and I have made it down once with only one foot down and a dodge at the Chessboard….

First trip to Laggan a couple of weeks ago for myself and my lad, managing to avoid the tractor beam pull of Glenlivet when heading South from Inverness.

Very, very impressed with the red trails on the cafe side of the valley.  We didn’t venture over the other side of the valley though.

Will very definitely be back!

Well, that was very pleasant. New stuff is a mixed bag. Can see both sides of the blue debate; feels slower than a lot of the new generation blues I’ve ridden recently (BPW, Glentress), but it’s not hard to imagine those being more intimidating to a new rider (e.g. massive infinity-berms and the like). Enjoyed the new reds, especially Spare Rib. Impressed at how much the builders squeezed into a pretty small area.

Air’s Rock made me all nostalgic. Still remember bricking at the top on my old Gary Fisher Hoo-Koo back in the mid-late 00’s. Heart-warming to see gaggles of riders still clustered around the edge, variously encouraging, cajoling and bullying one another.

Similar feelings to @Northwind when riding the black. Just feels so much easier on a modern bike, minus the twitchy geometry and the constant worry of smashing your enormous triple chainrings into every rock. Still loads of fun, but obviously no longer the bogeyman of trail centre riding it used to be. The fact that it still holds up so well shows how far ahead of its time it was.

Still loads of fun, but obviously no longer the bogeyman of trail centre riding it used to be. The fact that it still holds up so well shows how far ahead of its time it was.

Agreed.
But it’s still a moderately spicy proposition for many used to typical FC trails..

Agreed.
But it’s still a moderately spicy proposition for many used to typical FC trails..

Oh, totally. 27-year-old me would be so proud of 45-year-old me!

clubby
Full Member

They’re blue trails and as someone used to riding Tweed valley tech, you’re not really the target audience. I thought they were a perfect stepping stone for less experienced riders to build up to the red.

I mean, sure but I’m trying to avoid falling into that trap and viewing it with my trailbuilder and “would I bring beginners here” eye. We saw kids literally rolling to a stop on one descent, others complaining of being tired, too pedally, etc etc. But at the same time it has parts that you need to be flying for them to really work. Progression either needs a lot of trails or it needs trails that can rise with you- GT’s blues old and new are great examples of that, something you can roll down on a balance bike then ride every month for years on your first pedal bike, your 24 inch apollo, etc etc, and that grow up with you.

(tbh from the descriptions it seems like the blues are supposed to have an internal progression with flapjack the easiest and slabba dabba doo the hardest and a direct step to the new reds, but it just didn’t feel much like that to me, the level felt pretty similiar. Especially as I think there’s a green? The step up to the reds is still quite big)

Gotta say this sounds very critical and that’s only because I’m specifically picking up on what I see as the failings, rather than writing a balanced review! The quality of the build is fantastic and there’s no such thing as a bad new trail, especially at a place that used to be so skewed. But I do think it should have been better than it is. More so with that bloomin blue climb! I mean, we’d already done all the rest of the centre but it damn nearly killed me spinning back up that to complete all the new stuff, I suspect the gradient’s almost the same as the descent, overall.

While I’m getting all pipe-and-slippers, another thing that made me nostalgic was the last leg of the climb up to the start of the black: techy, engaging, and just the perfect gradient. I’m sure you can find new examples out there, but it feels like a bit of a lost art in modern trail-building.

The black climb is perfection in difficulty IMO, I had a couple of dabs on my first time up, purely from losing momentum trying to work out the optimum line, second time was just as enjoyable and and I managed to clean it all.

The black descent was engaging and took plenty of concertation, and I doubt I’d have enjoyed it as much if I hadn’t been riding tougher enduro trails like at Glentress, at the Golfie and Dunkeld etc.

@arrpee I like your comment:

27-year-old me would be so proud of 45-year-old me!

It struck a cord with me. I’m amazed by the difficulty of trails I’m able to ride when compared to how rubbish I was when I started, I’m even more amazed how much better other people are compared to me. As with everything, there’s levels within levels with mtbing.

God, I love mountain biking.

God, I love mountain biking.

Yep. It’s just happenstance that I hadn’t been able to ride there for so long, but it’s a really stark demonstration of progression. Better bikes are obviously part of it, given the range of terrain they open up, but your sills necessarily evolve alongside as a result.

Nothing else quite like it: a ride like that still leaves me buzzing for days.

arrpee
Free Member

While I’m getting all pipe-and-slippers, another thing that made me nostalgic was the last leg of the climb up to the start of the black: techy, engaging, and just the perfect gradient. I’m sure you can find new examples out there, but it feels like a bit of a lost art in modern trail-building.

It is so good isn’t it. Makes the fireroad parts feel miserable. A good climb is like sorcery, even if it’s harder to ride it still gets you to the top with less psychic effort.

This is partly a demand thing though, it costs about as much to build a climb or a descent and it’s just so obvious that most people don’t dig a techy or even a nontechy wellmade climb. Like, people chose to go up the fireroad to the buzzard’s nest at glentress, some people basically get off and push at laggan and golspie.

It is so good isn’t it. Makes the fireroad parts feel miserable. A good climb is like sorcery, even if it’s harder to ride it still gets you to the top with less psychic effort

Comrie has sections like that. The middle red climb that goes up to the whale rock then down through the burn. It’s more climbing than the fireroad shortcut, but feels easier to me.

It’s a shame these parts aren’t appreciated. Some trail centres feel less like a complete route and are now just a collection of downhill trails fed by a fire road.

+1 on enjoying Comrie climbs

Comrie and Laggan are my 2 favourite trail centres in the country. Unique in many ways,  both great. I rode Laggan on Saturday on my 180mm enduro bike and it still works just fine. Trails need to be hard nowadays as bikes got so good, up and down. What I love about Comrie is how random it is. Not random bad, but random as in built to use the terrain, not to hit a KM target, so every bit of trail just goes where it needs to to use the terrain, not forced down a certain route.