This is the main fire road climb and access path off it:

https://www.trailforks.com/trails/fireroad-24388/
https://www.trailforks.com/trails/access-path-30148/

There is some parking on the road up to the golf course, but I've always staying in Innerleithen and pedalled up from the accommodation.

Park at the dh car park on the inners side, on the road to that out of the town or there is a small car park at the top of the road to the golfie if you're early. Don't park on that road down to the course as locals have been complaining.
Way up starts on left of golf club house, left then right at fire road junctions you come to. This will take you to top of flat white area. From there it's left up through the trees to the moor but this part of the climb is much harder.

+1 park at DH trails or here:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Hall+Street+Car+Park/ @55.6191065,-3.0685238,17.35z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x48878c4b31c51b5d:0xa16b467aeebf14c8!2sInnerleithen!3b1!8m2!3d55.624015!4d-3.064912!3m4!1s0x48878d47f41501f3:0x8e2f1fa06b3c17ad!8m2!3d55.6191626!4d-3.0670685

Then ride around to the fireroad entrance just passed the Golf Course.

Yup, there's some stuff that's a wee bit harder to find but for a first visit don't overcomplicate it, just grind up the road and ride stuff.

3G is a pretty good place to start, Repeat Offender is right beside it and a little easier... Everyone loves flat white but I don't really, it's good but it takes you down the hill so fast, I'd rather do community service (which is brilliant). Boner is fantastic, quite relentless so it's one of those trails that really no 10 feet of it is that hard, but it soon builds up, love it. TBH none of the trails are bad, some are pretty dang hard- waterworld and nae spleens are probably the hardest of the "easy to access" ones.

Do that one that's near vertical* shale. It's hilarious. 🤘😀🤘
You'll see it on the climb up.
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*Might be exaggerating it a little.

Not that much of an exaggeration. (Avalanche)

Flat white has just bedded in after being maintained and is frikin awesome just now. Well worth the climb.

Repeat Offender is magic and my fave "new" trail is right side clyde.

https://www.trailforks.com/poi/37109/
Big lay-by on main road to walkerburn been empty when I’ve seen it
Not on trailforks but a couple of hundred yards to the west is a steady climbing grassy path to get you round the hill a bit

Apparently it’s been updated of late but waterworld is nowhere near an Orange, especially when the much harder no social (or liver damage) is somehow a single black
New York New York the easiest of the blacks I’ve ridden
Big baw my biggest surprise how good and well built it is given the map makes it look flat

We parked in the lay-by that James mentions and warmed up on the road before the first big climb, then finished our day with Feed the Pony, happy days.

Big baw my biggest surprise how good and well built it is given the map makes it look flat

+1 on that, it's my new favourite trail there. Great value not being as steep as some others, so it lasts a long time but more importantly it's really good fun.

A couple that haven't been mentioned Right Side clyde , Greg Joliffe and jawbone. I avoided 3g for about a year as i could never take to it but rode it again recently and It's ace. You can also start on repeat Offender and cut over to 3g .
If you want to head ove the the walkerburn side you have a hoor of a push up but rewarded with 2 trails. Feed the Pony which is great fun and easy or No Social which is great Scary fun and for me as hard as it gets. Also FTP kicks you out at walkerburn so you could crossover and do the Glenbenna trails which again are good but fairly steep.

Pretty much a fan of all the trails along the bit of hillside that Right Side Clyde is on. Still really enjoy Kendal, 2nd base and the new one Hangover is a cracker too 🙂

I’ve been growing a pair on Cresta lower so might give 2nd base another go soon

As said park in inners and pedal over.

I think flat white is fun. Simple trail-centre-esque fun.

Feed the pony is good but a long way up.

Anybody know if or when anything north of New York New York might be ‘unclosed’, ie all the wolfs and loose women?

I might have phrased that badly; I like Flat White a lot, but it's slap in the middle of the golfy, so there's always something I'd rather ride. I just mentioned it because it comes up so often in golfy chat. I think for the last few years I've only ridden it when showing someone else around.

Feed the pony and no social are sort of similar, both fantastic but such a bloody battle to get to, it makes them a pretty hard recommend, you can get more smiles for your effort elsewhere and the location means there's always more riding than there is time. Stick a lap like that in the Pentlands and I'd do it tons, put it in the valley and it just gets mobbed out.

Avalanche can **** off 🙂

Thanks to everyone that has replied to my OP. I think we will have a grand day out.

A great way to finish is to do Big Baw, then up the climb to Right Side Clyde or Hangover, but then stop those trails at the fireroad and push up to Greg Jollifes. I would definitiely start with either NYNY or Repeat Offender (harder). They will give you a good feel for the place without being too mental.

Don’t park on that road down to the course as locals have been complaining

Didn't realise the locals owned the roads down there. Oh wait a minute, its a public road like everywhere else, you have just as much of a right to park on it as the locals do. I've always parked on that road and have never had any issues as long as you park with consideration to peoples properties. Just need to compromise.

There's been times when the road's lined with barely-parked cars right up to the golf course bridge, it's not smart- not just about locals nimbying. And totally unneccesary, considering that the trail centre car park is pretty much never full

Didn’t realise the locals owned the roads down there. Oh wait a minute, its a public road like everywhere else, you have just as much of a right to park on it as the locals do. I’ve always parked on that road and have never had any issues as long as you park with consideration to peoples properties. Just need to compromise.

It was more a case of people parking on the actual road, not at the parking bit at the start or the layby up near the golf course. The bit between the bridge at the golf course and the houses was having folk park along there. Not the smartest. I believe they've actually introduced proper legal parking restrictions for that section and it's completely understandable. It's a narrow country road.

considering that the trail centre car park is pretty much never full

Agree with you there, but thats probably because (a) its a good distance away from golfie, and (b) its not free, doesn't help that FCS have bumped up the price of parking there recently.

The parking issue is something that the local council really should be looking to resolve in the near future as the place will only get more popular as the trail network expands.

It's a ten minute pedal away FFS. And the price of parking is nothing compared to what people spend on their mince tanks. Even if you don't want to pay there's plenty of sensible space to park, you don't have to be a dick and try and park as close as possible. No excuses for selfish and lazy behaviour.

chainbreaker
Free Member

The parking issue is something that the local council really should be looking to resolve in the near future

That's exactly what they're doing by putting restrictions on the road. The trail centre car park's a trivial distance further away, literally a couple of minutes flat ride.

The parking issue is people doing it in antisocial and selfish places, not a lack of parking.

Agree with the above. Its an easy ride from that car park and a good warm up.

I need to join the golf club for vip Golfie parking.

I park at the wee quarry before the cattle grid , have never parked at the Weir. Saw some folks camping about 5 miles up the granites last week. The golfie is so busy these days and thats not a bad thing. I constantly meet folk from all over England , even some dude from cornwall the other week.

That is a good place to park. Happy valley.

We parked in the lay-by that James mentions and warmed up on the road before the first big climb, then finished our day with Feed the Pony, happy days.

Still one of the best days riding I've ever had!

We're off again next weekend and plan on doing the Golfie on Friday afternoon. From what I can remember of last time (must have been 3 or 4 years ago now), fitting in Repeat Offender, Flat White and then looping over to do Boner/Waterworld and Feed The Pony would be a decent afternoons riding. If time permits, would No Social be worth a spin down if we're pushing to the top of Feed The Pony as well?

If time permits, would No Social be worth a spin down if we’re pushing to the top of Feed The Pony as well?

Call me soft but I wouldn't be doing "That" climb twice in one day! What you suggest sounds like a pretty big afternoon. I would recommend trying Hangover or Right Side Clyde instead of Flat White but it's all personal taste.

Maybe you're right - its a long while since I've done it and remember it killing me last time! Got 2 more days riding after that to consider!

I did New wolf, NY NY then over to Big Baw and back again to do flat white and Community Service. Was pretty shot at the end. On a steel HT which is really fun on Caberston. Community Service on it was ace.

Just don't warm up by mistake like I did on Nae Spleen.

would No Social be worth a spin down if we’re pushing to the top of Feed The Pony as well?

I'd not even consider that on my Ebike. Also go round the back side climb up old Caberstone Road it's far nicer than the push up.
Just back from doing Boner, Pony bottom half, Pony, Glenduro, Inners and the trails are spot on condition wise.
There's a new end section been cut into the field at the end of Pony for the EWS by the looks of things.
Great day to be riding today.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51484228425_4190ba6d70_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51484228425_4190ba6d70_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2mru8qM ]Glenduro Trig[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/stu-b/ ]multispeedstu[/url], on Flickr

I was in Innerleithen last weekend and they've put a proper climbing trail in from the turn off just after flat white to the big concrete thing at the top, it is now beautifully smooth and cuts out the rooty, boggy section so saves a lot of time. It makes the climb a lot easier.

And I don't like flat white either, just doesn't do it for me.

Ridden all the Golfie trails last few years find them too tame/easy now !!

Ridden all the Golfie trails last few years find them too tame/easy now !!

Sure you do 🙄 I mean it's not like they're about to run an EWS there.

GWs latest alias?

Rode up there today, some fun fresh cut stuff going in presumably ready for EWS.

A lot of the golfy stuff is quite easy to ride slow, being as they are trails not world cup DH tracks... so not many jumps/gaps you have to be on pace to hit or chicken line round. You can just plop over most but it's different to be able to do a full top to bottom at race pace.

Ridden all the Golfie trails last few years find them too tame/easy now !!

Are you Richie Rude?

Is Vodafone 4G signal good all over the Golfie? Just been having a look and theres a load of stuff i havent ridden there before so would like to use trailforks whilst up the hill.

Is Vodafone 4G signal good all over the Golfie? Just been having a look and theres a load of stuff i havent ridden there before so would like to use trailforks whilst up the hill.

Shouldn't be too much of a problem. It's pretty patchy around the bottom of Big Baw / Waterworld though.

A lot of the golfy stuff is quite easy to ride slow, being as they are trails not world cup DH tracks… so not many jumps/gaps you have to be on pace to hit or chicken line round. You can just plop over most but it’s different to be able to do a full top to bottom at race pace.

A fair statement, although there is some stuff that is steep or committed enough that you can't really bimble down it.

I’d not even consider that on my Ebike. Also go round the back side climb up old Caberstone Road it’s far nicer than the push up.

Done it before - remember it being tough but looking at your suggestion, you reckon drop down the bottom half of Feed The Pony, along the road and then spin up the old forest road? How long does that take?

Done it before – remember it being tough but looking at your suggestion, you reckon drop down the bottom half of Feed The Pony, along the road and then spin up the old forest road? How long does that take?

It's not that bad from memory, sub 30 mins on a normal bike at a reasonable pace? It's fairly mellow until you get through the gate into the trees where its a bit punchy & slick, but that bits not too long & the top is all easily pedalable too.

It is certainly more appealing than going up the push up that runs next FtP. I went up that on an ebike & even on that, it was disgusting.

A fair statement

Perhaps, but maybe for a fairly decent rider who has the skillset. Believe me, I've ridden the golfie very slowly, and if I try to slow to a snails pace to get down a steep tight section for example, I'm going down. I had this exact experience on No Social. I spent 50% of it on my arse as it was so steep I was just trying to go as slow as I could.

you reckon drop down the bottom half of Feed The Pony, along the road and then spin up the old forest road? How long does that take?

Yes. Much more pleasant, I hate that pushup its bloody horrible.
Looking at my Garmin log from yesterday it was 16 minutes on the Ebike. From memory it was around half hour on a normal bike.

Cool, maybe try that then. Cheers Hob-Nob/SSS.

It’s not that bad from memory, sub 30 mins on a normal bike at a reasonable pace

But the push up is only 20-25 minutes🤔

But the push up is only 20-25 minutes

I've never pushed it, and went down Walk or Burn to the fire road, then round to the dead end.

That said, a 'bike ride' to me isn't pushing my bike up a hill for 25 minutes, to ride down it for 3. I'd rather pedal round.

But the push up is only 20-25 minutes

Have you done both Bob?

The pedal is far more civilised and worth an extra 10 mins or whatever.

Whats the climb around the back like? If I'm looking at the right thing on google then I can't even see evidence of a road/track, just grass!

That said, a ‘bike ride’ to me isn’t pushing my bike up a hill for 25 minutes, to ride down it for 3.

Weird logic. I'll pedal for an hour+ to do 7 minute descent. Never once considered how I get to the top of a trail Vs the descent time

Weird logic. I’ll pedal for an hour+ to do 7 minute descent. Never once considered how I get to the top of a trail Vs the descent time

Not really, a bike ride is a bike ride, not into going for a walk with my bike. Did enough of that crap, racing DH years ago.

To be fair, it's a non issue for me now anyway - i'll ebike the other way round in ~15 mins.

I think the pedal up round back from Walkerburn is only worth it on the rare occasion you are in Walkerburn And want to do feed the pony again, or no social.

But if at the bottom of big baw I wouldn’t go dropping down to go round the back climb.

just vomited at the thought of that doing that climb twice in one day!!

would No Social be worth a spin down if we’re pushing to the top of Feed The Pony as well?

If I’m looking at the right thing on google then I can’t even see evidence of a road/track, just grass!

Turn left out the cafe and head along the road for about a mile.
Turn left where the big Caberstone gates are.
Head up the fireroad until just before it finishes.
Turn left through the gate and head up the track through the woods.
Turn left at the top and go up again on open moor land.

So to summarise for the OP (part 2).
Up to top - Repeat Offender
Back up - Waterworld into Boner
Traverse round, push up to FTP
Up track East of Walkerburn to top of No Social.
Back up to Hangover/RSC/FW/CS etc and collapse.

Do the 'old Caberston forest' climb first to start with no social, then ride everything else you fancy and finish with the push up to feed the pony if inclined.
Honestly the pedal up option isn't an awful lot more pleasant than the push up unless you are on an ebike.

Cheers all. See how we feel but suspect we'll be pushing.

In fact, if we have the legs, is there an option to climb back up from Walkerburn to the main Golfie trails without going all the way back up to the golf course so we could do FTP and then maybe finish with a bit of a climb and then Spanner or something back into Inners?

is there an option to climb back up from Walkerburn to the main Golfie trails without going all the way back up to the golf course

Yes

From the farm at the bottom of pony at Walkerburn, follow this fireroad back up to the main trails. It's a fair slog though
https://www.trailforks.com/trails/fireroad-24388/

DaveyBoyWonder
Free Member

In fact, if we have the legs, is there an option to climb back up from Walkerburn to the main Golfie trails without going all the way back up to the golf course so we could do FTP and then maybe finish with a bit of a climb and then Spanner or something back into Inners?

From the bottom of FTP there is also the option to head across the Valley and finish on a trail on that side instead. You just head up using the normal uplift fireroad, so just a fairly standard grind up as high as you can be bothered with at the end of the day. It does mean you can finish off with something fun like Angry Sheep

Thanks (again). Both options might be a go-er...