Heading to Edinburgh at the end of October for a few days for my dads 65th. Managed to schedule a days riding in there with my brother and his mate. Other than Glentress what is there a bit closer to the city (Pentlands or East Lothian)?

Bear in mind my brother and his mate are complete (unfit) novices so nowt too technical/scary. They are okay with red bits at Dalby but not much more.

Pentlands has plenty of route options, I’ve been up a good few times and still struggle to string a route together on my own. Definitely a great place to go with someone who knows their way around.

If you have transport Glentress is only 45 minutes. I find it great fun even with a novice as you can ride the same trails just at different speeds and all enjoy it. Plus if they get fed up send them to the cafe and off you go!

As above, if you have transport then GT would be better as the Pentlands is hilly in parts and you might find yourself doing significantly more ups and downs if you don’t know the area

The ‘Pentlands Reservoir Loop’ is the most straight forward to ride and navigate for novices

There is a bike bus from Edin to GT at the weekends for £15 (i think) return

Cheers, we have transport so that isn’t a problem was just trying to see if there was anything nearer. Probably end up at GT anyway.

Pentlands might offer a more interesting ‘local’ experience, Glentress will just look like any other Forestry Commission forest. However you’ll probably get more consistent riding out of Glentress.

I’m sure some kindly person could put together a gpx route for you on Mapmyride if you have a GPS you can follow…

A few ideas here

Post the date up and I’m sure you’ll find a willing guide for the Pentlands.

Not that you need one if you stick to the main drag, but there’s a lot of good stuff up there if you’re willing to explore. Not necessarily supremely techy stuff either, just nice quiet trails that feel a lot farther away from the city than they really are.

I’d post back here a bit nearer the time. If the weather has been wet then you are probably as well to go to Glentress. If the weather has been good then you could park at Flotterstone and have a great day riding in the Pentlands and the woods of Midlothian if you can find yourself a guide :wink:.