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I'm taking my son (16) to Glentress next week for three days of riding.
From what I remember of the trails (from my last trip, 8 years ago) he will enjoy the Glentress and Innerleithen red XC trails. But I can see lots has changed since I last visited. And there is a lot of forestry work/storm damage, especially at Innerleithen.
We'll start with the Glentress blue and work up from there, but just wondering if anyone has suggestions on what loops to ride at the moment.
Thanks!
Play around on the new stuff. The older stuff is a bit disjointed because of the building work for the new lodges. Not sure what's open or closed blue wise around the top car park but it's a bit of a mess
Various sections are of the black routes are diverted.
The new sections are fast and flowing.
I was up there a couple of weeks ago and did the gypsy glen ride for the first time and quite enjoyed it. Although we only did 9 miles of it due to staying too long in the pub at Peebles 🤔
Be prepared for loads of climbing.
This ^^^ could be an idea 😉, although personally I don't quite think I'd make it round. Credit where it's due tho cos that's some days riding
The old stuff isn't *that* interrupted really, maybe the black although nobody rides that anyway.
I was up there a couple of weeks ago and did the gypsy glen ride for the first time and quite enjoyed it. Although we only did 9 miles of it due to staying too long in the pub at Peebles
Sadly the last few years have not been kind to the track. From the top of the fireroad to the burn crossing are alot more chewed up and muddier than they used to be.
The fun used to start from the fireroad.
Can't help with Glentress as we always ride the off piste when there but when your at Inners, I believe the red is currently diverted down Angry Sheep. This is no bad thing as it's great fun and better than the propoer red descent. But you should also do Green Wing, which is slightly less fun but still really good. The entrance is to the right of Angry Sheep and runs parallel to it and is really easy to lap back round.
At the moment, GT black is mostly useful as a way to access the offpistes.
The red is mostly unaffected by diversions EXCEPT for the absolutely bloody stupid signposted diversion up pennel's vennel, which just makes no sense, it's a horrible pushup for one short descent. Instead just ignore it and carry on past it, it takes you into the red climb anyway for the loss of just one trail. Or, if it's quiet, just push up beside berm baby berm, it's an easier push and not usually proplematic.
(is falla brae still shut? I've heard conflicting versions of this... Was diverted down the blue last time I went to ride it)
The new stuff is really easily accessed though the signage imo is a wee bit unclear. You can loop it, session it, allsorts. The loops at the bottom and the new blue are imo better done than the main new red The Twitcher, which is mostly just very fast with a couple of good jumps- it's over very fast and loses a ton of height, good but inefficient.
(stw people seem to be down on the new stuff, we fear change,but it's incredibly obvious just by looking how popular it is, a lot of people's GT ride is now just laps of it, and there's swarms of people sessioning the bottoms)
If he's up for a little bit more the newer offpistes at GT are absolutely superb- well built, and mostly not as mad as tweed valley offpiste tends to be. And easil accessed too. Skullduggery is imo one of the best trails in the valley and it's only a small step up above the reds.
I really enjoyed the new stuff there, the top section where you can see the trail go off into the distance for ages is wonderful and the lower sections seemed to have a good range of difficulty. There's enough harder stuff in the valley already so I think this hits the right mark to fill a gap.
I’m at Edinburgh currently, just done a Glentress weekend. Rode black/red/blue, my favourite is actually the blue, super fast and flowy.
Ta rudedog.
Check out Thunderstruck and careless Whisper if you like tech. They are below Golfie level but a good bit more "Enduro" than the rest of the stuff there. I also like Ho Chi Minh because you can just point your bike in a straight line and hold on. None of them very scary but can be challenging.
Thanks so much for these pointers everyone. Very useful!
Definitely thinking of taking him down Carla's Lane and Truong as an intro to off-piste. Not sure where Skullduggery is though?
Not sure where Skullduggery is though?
Up next week, so also interested in the whereabouts.. (or alternate name?)
Its original name was Jailbrake, starts between the top of Careless and Buzzards Nest carpark opposite the start of Soor Plooms and finishes near the bottom of Careless. Not on Trailforks anymore but its right next to a blue footpath.
Was never finished due to "issues" over permission.
My son and I rode all the blues and reds we could find. Definitely worth looking at Trailforks to extend the official loops. We took the climbs easy and he most enjoyed the red descent via Carl's Lane, Spooky Wood, Pie Run etc — a great variety of trails, all still in pretty good condition. The new Twitcher red is already knackered and not so much fun.
We stayed at the Riders Retreat at the bottom of the hill. Nice room, good food, bike wash and storage, and super convenient. Also great advice from Murray.
Glentress is well worth the drive from London and Gypsy Glen is definitely on our list for next time.