Mountain Biking in Southern and Central Scotland. Peter Edwards

USED IN THE ROUTE DESCRIPTIONS

       left

       right

       straight ahead

       path crossing/junction

      N north

      S south

      E east

      W west

      NW etc. northwest etc.

      LH and RH left-hand and right-hand

       Mentions of left and right (and left-hand and right-hand), other than specific directions, are given thus: ‘where the road curves to the right ignore the turning on your left-hand side, instead go onto a farm track’.

       Easy to miss paths are noted in bold green; warnings of steep, dangerous or possibly crowded routes in bold red.

       Place names in route descriptions that appear on their maps are noted in bold.

       Roads are shown as A74, motorways as M8.

       Grid references are shown as SU 123 456.

       Important signs along the way are noted in red italics in route descriptions.

      ABBREVIATIONS

      LDP – Long-distance path

      NNR – National Nature Reserve

      WHW – West Highland Way

      SUW – Southern Upland Way

      SCW – St Cuthbert’s Way

      JMW – John Muir Way

      PW – Pennine Way

THE 7STANES

Ae Forest

      About the centre

      Located to the south of the Lowther Hills in Nithsdale, Dumfriesshire, the Ae mountain bike trails have something for all abilities, from green and blue routes for beginners and families to a challenging red route for technical MTB trail riders. Ae has been popular as a downhill venue for some years and has two competition-level orange-graded routes.

      How to get there

      Follow the A701 north out of Dumfries towards Moffat. Turn left after 12km onto a minor road, signposted Forest of Ae (or head south along the A701 for 19km from junction 15 of the M74). The trail centre is on your right, just after Ae village. Grid ref: NX 984 894, sat nav: DG1 1QB

      Facilities

      Bike shop – including bike hire and servicing, pay & display parking, showers, toilets, uplift service. Ae Café open Monday–Sunday, 10am–5pm (except winter). Tel [phone] for further information.

      The trails

      Larch View (blue, 13.5km, technicality 2/5)

      This blue route follows the Ae Valley family trail and extends to take in more of the surrounding forest, returning through the valley, following the river and taking in some easy wooden duckboards. Around a third of the route is on singletrack paths and the rest follows forest roads.

      Ae Line (red, 24km, technicality 3/5)

      The Ae Line is a fast, challenging cross-country trail with plenty of climbing. A couple of new sections were introduced in 2014 – a fast, flowing descent and a climb packed with 22 switchbacks. The final descent, The Omega Man, is filled with jumps and drops and is an absolute joy to ride.

      The Shredder (orange, 1km, technicality 4/5)

      The Shredder is a downhill run for beginners and gives a good taster of the discipline with fast berms, open corners, tabletops and rocks, and off-camber sections.

      Ae Downhill (orange, 1.6km, technicality 5/5)

      The Ae Downhill course combines technical root and dirt sections with huge manmade features, including berms, tabletops, triples and a couple of very big drops.

      More information

       www.7stanesmountainbiking.com

Dalbeattie

      About the centre

      Dalbeattie has a good range of trails, including one of the most famous features at any trail centre: the Slab – a 14-metre high lump of granite forming one of the Hardrock Trail’s descents. The waymarked trails include a green-, blue- and red-graded trail with numerous black options. There’s also a skills area and short taster loop.

      How to get there

      From Dumfries, head southwest on the A711 for 21km to Dalbeattie, then follow the A710 for 2km where the car park can be found on your left a short way south of the town. Grid ref: NX 837 590, sat nav: DG5 4QU

      Facilities

      Bike wash, pay & display parking, toilets.

      The trails

      Ironhash Trail (green, 11.4km, technicality 2/5)

      A little over 11km, the Ironhash Trail is a fairly level route that will suit inexperienced riders and families. The green trail mostly follows forest roads, although it also includes two brief sections of singletrack.

      Moyle Hill Trail (blue, 14km, technicality 2/5)

      The Moyle Hill Trail covers a considerable distance without any real technical difficulties, although there are a few climbs to contend with. The route provides a good introduction to riding singletrack and to the granite rock that gives Dalbeattie its distinctive character. Some grand views too.

      Hardrock Trail (red, 27km, technicality 3/5)

      The Hardrock Trail is characterised by narrow singletrack with lumps of granite across the trail to help you stay alert. The trail winds along rough singletrack to the infamous Slab. It’s a great ride for the technically adept and there are also optional black sections along the way.

      More information

       www.7stanesmountainbiking.com

Glentress

      About the centre

      Café and campsite at Glentress 7Stanes trail centre in the Scottish Borders

      Scotland’s biggest and best-known trail centre, Glentress is something of a mountain biker’s Shangri-La. It’s home to 73km of varied trails, which will suit everyone from beginners to technically adept freeride enthusiasts. The range of trails on offer, the location and the centre’s wealth of facilities account for the huge popularity of Glentress with riders from all over Scotland, the rest of the UK and beyond.

      Situated just outside Peebles in the Tweed Valley, Glentress caters to all abilities with green-, blue-, red- and black-graded trails. There’s also a skills area and an orange-grade freeride park, not to mention various opportunities to incorporate some of the ‘natural’ trails in the area, such as the classic Gypsy Glen (see Route 10) for example.

      How to get there

      From Edinburgh, get onto the A720 ring road and head south on the A702, A703 and A701 through Penicuik then the A703 again towards Peebles. At Peebles turn east on the A72. The trail centre is on the left 3km outside town. Grid ref: NT 284 397, sat nav: EH45 8NB

      Facilities

      Bike shop with bike hire and bike