Dammit's holidays in the Scottish Borders, featuring mountain bikes

Ballater is a good day on the bike. Heartbreak Ridge (a must do), over to Mastermind, along to ET n Rollercoaster. Only some of it is properly hectic and, although very Toryesque, Ballater is a nice wee place.

Braemar if you want some big mountain days (Ben Macdui gnar-ish, Beinn a'Bhuird chill)

Some relatively unknown, quiet spots for good laps are Pitmedden and Ballo Wood.

I need to decide (and book) where we are staying on the way up to Scotland. Ideally I'd like to stop around halfway, which is approximately Leeds-ish. Where's good to stay for a day and go and ride a bike/hike/do something interesting if it's pissing with rain?

Decided on Pickering, in honour of the eponymous Ronnie.

Bradford.

If you're looking for somewhere to ride round there on your stop I'd have a look at routes and base it on the places there are trails, because other wise you might find that it's either forbidden or a gate/stile every 50 meters, or if you lucky a gate 5 feet up a wall thats only a foot wide (had that one twice the other day).

Regarding the rain, it always rains, but isn't generally that boggy, streams will form in the trails though, so expect to get wet but with clean water.

I’m hoping there will be fun trails in Dalby Forest.

It’s great. We went there years ago.

Dalby forest is the UKs biggest trail centre isn't it?

Lots of fun trails but bigger (interns of km) than Afan??

Dalby Forest is really good fun, we stayed in the Cayley Arms, which is both lovely and you can ride straight into the forest from the pub.

Did you do the a-line drops on the xc world cup black? That course is ridiculous

(I bottled it)

Great forest and trails though. Top mushroom foraging potential also.

medusa drop?

Might be

never been but googled and the course looks absolute mad!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQsaegFCVcU&ab_channel=UCI

I wouldn't like to ride much of it on an XC bike. Except for the hilariously brutal climb in the middle.

We didn't get to the XC course, I would really like to go back to do more - and as we have the second week with no firm schedule we could always do that.

In Peebles as I type this, and intending on heading to Glentress tomorrow morning after breakfast.

All advice welcomed as to routes, where to go etc.

At GT a trail on Trailforks called "A Trail Fairy Plan" from the very top (at the mast) is a beauty. In the off piste variety.

Always known it as B Side but thats what its called on Trailforks.

Sounds like that might be a little intense for my girlfriend who is new to mountain biking?

Absolutely glorious day here.

Ah yeah, definitely. GT's marked routes are perfect for newcomers and experts alike, its very popular for that reason.

My ex who was new to the whole thing really enjoyed the red route the first time she ever went. She cried a lot the second time but thats a different story.

Enjoy!

Is Glentress very much 'between the trees' or are there more open trails? It's such a glorious day it seems a shame to be under cover today.

Yeah it's tree-y.

Only thing in the area I know that's open and mountain bikey is the Gypsy Glen route (south of Peebles, nice n easy but lovely stuff) Could smash that out in the morning n ride some trail centre trails in the afternoon or vice versa.

I've done that a few times, it's a good day!

https://www.strava.com/routes/2842334112698320764

?

Thats the one. "Gypsy Glen Singletrack" on Trailforks.

Back home in London now - where it's sheeting down with rain and (if my thermometer is to be believed) it's 16.2 degrees.

The contrast with the Scottish Borders is very strong - I got sunburned sitting outside cafes in Peebles and we rode pretty much everyday in beautiful countryside with clear blue skies.

I am aware that this isn't what Scotland is always like - otherwise I'd not have come home.

Glentress is a great trail centre, I expect Innerleithen is also great but we spent all our time in Glentress because that meant my girlfriend and I could ride the same trails.

I made progress on the tasks I'd been set during the coaching session I had before we left and F had a session at Glentress that she found very helpful.

Next time I head that way I'd stay in the Glentress Hotel if my stay was exclusively about riding, the Tontine Hotel if I wanted to ride and also enjoy the town, head to Edinburgh/other places.

We stayed in the Hydro Hotel for our second week and whilst the building and the grounds are impressive it was enormously overpriced for what you got - £229 per night and you got a breakfast of such low quality that it was actually difficult to take seriously.

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