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Looking to book a couple of weeks in Dumfries & Galloway in August for a family getaway. Our plan is for us to get to all of the 7 Stanes plus Drumlanrig. Me and the boys will be doing red trails, Mrs Velocipede will be needing greens/blues.
There'll be 4 of us.
Any hints/tips on best towns or maybe even some cottage recommendations? Bike storage obviously really important!
The Solway coast is good for a holiday, stayed in nice places near Rockliffe / Kippford before. Of course this will put you on the doorstep of Dalbeattie / Mabie but a bit of a stretch from the Tweed, which is where the best riding is. But if you chose somewhere very centred for the 7stanes it probably wouldn't be as good a holiday spot.
Kirro is a hell of a distance from both the tweed valley and newcastleton.
Kippford/rockcliff area would be ideal as you can join the dalbeattie trail (1/2 mile from kippford), mabie is 30 mins, kirroughtree is 45-60 mins, glentrool is just over an hr (30mins from kirroughtree) and you have the best blue route along with nice trails around Loch Trool and the Merrick if you want proper hills, drumlanrig is an hr, Ae is an hr, tweed valley is 2hrs away. There's loads of nice wee trails around the kippford area and plenty of other stuff to do locally as well.
Don't fall into the mistake of thinking the best riding is in the tweed valley.
The best of the 7 stanes riding is in the tweed valley Soma, I enjoy all the others, but the sheer scale and diversity of riding has it head and shoulders above the other stanes.
I'd agree with your suggestion though, that area is great.
+1 Solway Coast
Spent a full week there recently, glorious place if you can arrange some sunshine like I did.
Mabie's my favourite spot, so I'd stop there or nearby.
I've had water skiing holidays at castle Douglas many times (easy access to loch ken). We've stayed at a few different places. I can recommend gelston castle estate cottages, which is about 10 mins from dalbeattie, useful for quick spins, and of course longer to the other stanes. A couple of us used to nip to dalbeattie early mornings to do odd sections before everyone was heading to the loch.
Aye, Gelston is between Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie, ideally situated.
Once Mrs 100th has finished work we're off the Kirkcudbright well just outside.
Mind you tweed valley is 20mins from home so not missing out.
Despite living in Kirkcudbright I forget to recommend it to folk asking about the area 😀
We stay on a farm just outside lochmaben. I love it.
It's an hour or so drive to kirri and glentrool, probably the same or a bit more to glentress but it's quite central and cheap as chips to stay round there. There's an amazing chippie in lochmaben too. Going on August this year and I can't wait.
It'll be the first time I've had a full suss bike since the first time I went just to kirri years ago.
Some food for thought: https://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/dumfries-and-galloway/
Deciding where you want to stay depends on how much travelling you want to do and other activities? ie farther west you go the more you may need to travel. On the other hand you have Loch Ken for outdoor pursuits, Lagan outdoors for various activities including zip wires, Galloway ice cream, CoCo Bean for chocolate making.
Anywhere near CD/Dalbeattie means you are closer to Dumfries Stanes and Drumlanrig. DGone swimming pool reopens next week, there is the ice bowl for skating and lots of historical stuff to do. Drumlanrig is also a good bit nearer than if you go over west.
https://forestryandland.gov.scot/visit/activities/mountain-biking/7stanes
Check the Facebook page on a Friday for trail updates, various events and harvesting may cause diversions and closures.
I hate to recommend the solway view campsite because it'll get busy but we love it. (I can almost see my childhood house from here).
Haven't been for a few years but me and my mates thought Kirroughtree was the best of all the 7 stanes. The Tweed Valley trails were pretty generic if you've done trail centres in Wales.
Haven’t been for a few years but me and my mates thought Kirroughtree was the best of all the 7 stanes. The Tweed Valley trails were pretty generic if you’ve done trail centres in Wales
Very few folks I know ride the actual stanes in the valley, I was referring to the wealth of other riding that's there now mate.
The place has everything.
Ace. Is it all signed and easy to navigate for a visitor? Website?
Trailforks is the app for all “Enduro” trails on forests, tend not to be sign posted(not been to Tweed valley tho)
Aye, trailforks csb, great app.