Although the weather doesnt look great this coming weekend I was thinking on taking the daughters (although probably just the youngest) away to somewhere new. Now the youngest can get round the glenlivet blue no problem but thats about her level at the moment so I'm on the look out for something like this but .... different! is there anywhere we could maybe head to for the day with a bit of variety? We live just north of Aberdeen so borders or about Fort William would be a good 4 hours each way.
How about fochabers, thats quite good fun if small. maybe swerve the gulley monster.
Comrie would be perfect, but is a long way!
Wasnt sure about the monster trails but have never been so might give them a look.
I did think comrie but would need to have a look at some videos, although its twice the distance of glenlivet from us it's not twice the time due to far better roads. I'll have a look at some videos and may be back with some questions!
ok I will be back with questions
Laggan - lower red isn’t too hard and the orange is all rollable?
Fort William may be worth a look - bit of a hike but shouldn't be anything like 4h from Aberdeenshire (where about are you based?). Lots of blue trails were added a couple (more?) of years ago.
Tarland might be worth a look if you've not been there. Small area but some fun trails for the kids to spend a few hours on.
Kirkhill might have some routes that would work but they get pretty muddy as soon as the rain starts (so from Wednesday until sometime in July).
You could do some exploring around about Bennachie centre - colony trail etc. A few trails above Rowantree. Depending what the kids are up for, you might be able to link together something fun.
Gartly and/or the ski trails at Clashindarroch might be worth a look?
Comrie would be perfect, but is a long way!
Comrie is ace! My recommendation would be take a tent or book a Kata and make a weekend/adventure of it.
Learnie has a blue and fun green and is fairly close (Black Isle). Final blue DH section on the carpark side of the road is best.
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don't really think you need to go far, must be something in amoungst this lot! plenty blue.
Honestly - driving 8 hours is madness ! Sorry but even Learnie would be quite far enough and there must surely be something suitable nearby ? Glen livet ? Aviemore even
@ NZCol The mention of the 4 hours each way was to try and say im not driving that far so please some suggestions a bit closer you know how STW is someone asks for recommendations for a bike with a budget for 1500 and at least a third will suggest 2.5k bikes :), I maybe should have made that clearer.
Tarland is within 5 minutes the same travel time as Glenlivet but I dont think theres enough to keep her interested for the travel involved but have been there with her older sister a few years ago.
@seomamh77 youre right there are plenty blues spread out around us but I was looking for some pointers of where to take her. Done quite a few places around us but was hoping for some advice on some I maybe hadnt been or didnt know or had forgotten about. As she is just now within a 90 minute drive Glenlivet is maybe still the best place to take her
I can see us either doing Fochabers or heading back to glenlivet as she likes the place and is comfortable there. Will show her some videos tomorrow and see what she fancies
Thanks for all the replies
Glenlivet is better now with the new bits of trail, orange is good too. I wouldn't go there if it's windy tho, it's a bit exposed in places since they chopped the trees down.
Fochabers is more sheltered, kids enjoy the wee trails at the carpark, the red is manageable by most abilities however it may be worth missing out 'Helms deep' if there's been rain.
When we take kids bike club there we usually take more direct route to the top and avoid the waymarked red climb.
The blues are good too, although part of the haggis can get a bit damp if there's been much rain.
Another straightforward option is Alyth bike park, quite a bit closer to you and with village facilities alongside. There's only one fairly modest main park type trail and a small but quite tasty pump track on site but the hill above has lots of trails, many hand built, none too scary and a useful addition to the park. There's one you'll find directly above the park trail in a small wood, makes a useful extension to the main trail. There are also some mellow trails in the Alyth Den, on both sides of the river and some connecting trails too. Bike shop at the Barony in the village and across the road from that there is a sweet/ice cream shop as well as cafes on the main square.
Views from the top are decent as well. Recommended.
Without knowing exactly what you and your daughter are up for you could:
Do a couple of runs of each trail and the pump track at Tarland
Have a wee snack on the benches
Head to Aboyne and do the bike park there in a similar fashion
Have a wee cake from Spider on a Bike
Head to Birse Forest and do 'Chutney' on TrailForks - should be OK for her if she is happy with the length of Glenlivit Blue.
If you've still got energy then Cambus O May multi use paths can be good fun.
Plus theres Courie Courie cafe there too...
