Natural techy trails in reach of Edinburgh that aren't munros.

Drive an hour to the Golfie?

How close is “in reach”?
How techy is techy? Big rocky stuff or twisty single track?
How mushy / hike a bike can you be bothered with?

honourablegeorge
Full Member
Drive an hour to the Golfie?

Pretty sure that's the exact opposite of what he's wanting

Top of Dumyat down to Witches Craig?

I would go Dunkeld, not quite the epic length on Ciaran in one go but loads to go at.
Rake and Ruin, Cairn to Cottage, Bambi's Fart into 9.8, Bobby's Baws and Rocky Balboa for medium hard tech.
NuSkoll Hidden DH, Fool Skool, Life insurance and Precious for proper steep tech.

Dunkeld and the Golfie (along with Yair and Thornielee) are really just more of the same old stuff.

Dumyat's a nice ride - is there a way to extend it with other stuff?

Poly - I'd say 2 hours away, rocky or twisty is fine (as I say, usually I'd ride up a munro so that sort of riding is good), I can hike a bike all day.

Ben Ledi is good for a quick(ish) blast. Descent is not 'natural' but top is techy and multi-line and techy rock pitches further down. Great views. I normally ride up Stank Glen (path north of Stank burn) then hike up to the Bealach and onto the top. Saw a brocken spectre last time. Noice.

Edit: doesn't take long so could do this and Dumyat or Ben Cleuch in a day no bother.

Ochils or perhaps Pitmedden.

+1 on Dumyat and Cluech and Ledi.

What about the area near Aberfeldy - @TheGeneralist I think knows the area better - but from Glen Almond around / over to Aberfeldy.

There is a bit of fun to be had going the Glen Kendrum Glen Dubh route - https://www.komoot.com/smarttour/e990096293/glen-ogle-glen-kendrum-and-gleann-dubh-loop-loch-lomond-and-the-trossachs-national-park - but take heed over water levels for one of the crossings. You can extend this ride into Killin and ride alongside the Auchmore Burn into Killin - there is a path parralel with the burn (marked as track but it is not), then under the south Loch Tay Road bridge (wee stoop with a path under the road) and it spits you out actually at Auchmore house/Kinnell Farm. It is way better than it looks on OS Map... I can send more detailed map.

I remember getting caught on Cleuch in an impromptu snowstorm. Had to get off the hill pronto straight down into Tillicoultry Glen.

Naturally techy - another one for Pitmedden.

How about a Fife Coastal Path or Fife Pilgrims Trail. Get a train back? Keeps you on low ground, have a start and end point and natural enough for an XC ride.

Go to Arrochar and ride the descent path from Beinn Ime / Cobbler / Narnain etc from just below the snowline if there is one. That's good fun but I suppose I would question how worth it the drive and climb is. Probably within 2 hours if it is quiet roads.

Now bare with me here - Cardenden Dell 🤣

It's hard to put it into a decent ride without the Fife knowledge but it has two of the finest sections of singletrack I have ever ridden. 'The Cairngorms but covered in dragon soop cans'

Dumyat’s a nice ride – is there a way to extend it with other stuff?

Linking it with Uni Woods, then Mine Woods, then onwards to Kippenrait gives a few hours of riding. Opportunities to loop around in Uni and Mine Woods on some of the steeper/techier trails too. Most on Trailforks now it seems. More importantly, all low level if there is indeed snow forecast.

pigyn
Free Member
Now bare with me here – Cardenden Dell 🤣

Did not see that coming. Sounds like good stuff.

This seems to be largely refreshing my knowledge of what I know exists but there's some nice new suggestions too.

On a Fife tip, I've not been up the Lomonds for ages.

I'd also count Jock's Road and Glen Clova in the same scope.

On the Lomonds.... i was up there Sunday.

Do Blairadam, through to the Meedies, over Harran Hill and Benarty, link onto Loch leven trail then do the Lomonds!

You can get up to the Golf Ball (on the Bishop) from Scotlandwell - cracking hard climb.
Have a spin about East/West, West Feal etc and Falkland Estate, then come back same way via Glen Vale.

Cardenden Dell 😀 ive not done that for years! Last time i did it was with the Leslie Bike Shop crew rideout.

Horseshoe at Glen Sherrup? Suspect that is a major fail as it isn't techie...

I've a logfile of a ride over some of the Ochils, suspect it'll be a slog due to weather. Starts in Menstrie, heads up Silver Glen in Alva then up and over to Sherrifmuir and back via Dumyat. Again, probably not techie and the top bit will be a slog.

It’s hard to put it into a decent ride without the Fife knowledge but it has two of the finest sections of singletrack I have ever ridden. ‘The Cairngorms but covered in dragon soop cans’

I found an unbelievable amount of excellent singletrack in Fife whilst exploring on the gravel bike. Granted it was mostly all CX style pedalling through mud but still absolutely brilliant, linking Dalgety Bay to Crossgates via the old Coal mine, could then head east to Cardenden, back past Lochore, through Blairadam, Carnock Moor, Dean Plantation, Pattiesmuir, a wee drop into Limekilns and then back to Rosyth. 80km ofuddy nadgery singletracky goodness 😎

@TheGeneralist I think knows the area better –

Blimey. I doubt it 😉 I live 250 moles away. ( typo left uncorrected) Always ( pleasantly) surprises me when my name is mentioned WRT routes. Hadn't realised anyone read the dross I write.

Anyway, in keeping with the first few replies. Ie responding to the thread title rather than the thread detail.,

Ben Vrackie....

I'm sure you've been there more than me..

My other suggestion was to drive to the lakes and do a route with me, but the lakes appears to have the same forecast, so that's out.

And I wouldn't dream of suggesting driving even further to the Peak, cos it's shit.

Hope you find something

ballo, Pitmedden, Balquidder

ballo, Pitmedden, Balquidder

They're also all just turns in conifer plantations though. Good, but there's got to be more to technical riding in Scotland than that.

@thegeneralist - my bad, maybe @thegeneral ?

Have you got Kenny Wilson's book? I can't find my copy... ...suspect I lent it to someone. A great ride which I think was in there from Dollar, in the hills above the castle. Might be bogfest. Its not big air stuff, or even particularly steep - but when you get the flow right it was great.

On a Fife tip

All of it.

Is Dalwhinnie too far? I have a liking for the Bealach Dubh descent of Ben Alder - towards Culra.

Top bit of Ben Vrackie?

The paths in cardenden dell flank the upper edges, with the main walkers path running down the middle. It's only a few mins rolling trail on each side but both sides are great. Proper hard too. You could sort of ride most of them on a gravel bike I guess but I have never bothered, XC bikes are perfect. You can link some really nice trails down to Kirkcaldy and back, but there has been some felling and everything is a bit muddy just now. Wait till bluebell time.

Check out my activity on Strava: https://strava.app.link/oJwjY7W2yHb

That's a proper nice loop from Kirkcaldy. Make it longer if you want by riding out on the coastal path. Very high percentage of very good singletrack in that. Likely not the vibes you were going for but if you are into litter and ex industrial funtimes it's great.

Low down and natural tech is hard to find, pitmedden is good if you go onto castle law hill, depending how much people have been riding it, less plantation more natural. Again for Dunkeld, some great routes you can put together with more of a walkers path feel.

Pitlochry you could ride out of town along the river, do a couple of trails on the Enduro(tm) hill, finish on Divine Intervention then turn right, under the road then along to Killercrankie. There is a grim climb up to the bottom of the fun bit of ben vrackie, where you can judge the snow level and push up if it's a go-er, then back down into Pitlochry.

You picking on Fife Scotroutes 😜

There can be a fair bit of litter, but nothing like Edinburgh is now. It's grim down here. 'what has happened to people' etc.

It strays into plantation a bit but don't forget North Third is also lovely good fun, and very low.

If you want technical and low.... How about the WHW along loch Lomond.

😝👿😟

Debatable where the line is between technical and walking.....

Lomond Hills? The track down to John Knox Pulpit (or whatever it is called is brilliant. Been sanitised but steep if you don't ignore the warning sign about possible rock slides and do the new tourist path. Maspie Den (spelling?) is a painful climb due to steepness. again, not hugely technical, but a pleasant area to ride.round, I think you could also join up with Pitmedden as well.

Second vote for Balmaha out to Inversnaid on the WHW and back again. Then grub at the Oak Tree Inn.
30 miles, 4500' ascent and with plenty of rocky tech.
Did it in late January, it's a bit of an annual pilgrimage for me.

There's too much snow on the Capel Mounth circuit at the moment to make that viable.
Sidlaws are riding quite well at the moment, in the area from Craigowl hill across to Auchterhouse hill and over to Kinpurney. No long climbs but plenty of really nice, old school heathery singletrack.

Lomond Hills: Up Glen Vale, across to the back of East Lomond, techie descent down zigzags west from summmit. Across to West Lomond and down the line to the right of the small quarry (SE side of hill). Pick up singletrack from the fence stile round to the right which leads back to the top of Glen Vale.
Ochills: Silver Glen up to Ben Cleuch, back to Ben Buck, singletrack starting just before BB goes diagonally back to fence on the shoulder at 584m. Over Ben Ever then the track SSE over pt 558m to fast descent turning left at cairn before Tillycoultry quarry. Tech riding into glen heading N. At bridge go N to upper bridge and high path down to Tilly.
A fab hard descent here is down ridge from Bengengie Hill down to Wee Tory. Steep path down off S then zigzags which fade (start again hard to the right). Leads left into shallow gully then back right down to sheep fodder point. Hard left onto path N to viewpoint at top of Alva Glen. Very hard and committing descent down to Alva. To get to the start either come up from Menstrie and Colsnaur Hill and some bog or in a draught in a loop from the head of Silver Glen on quad track turning S just before the summiy of Blairdenon Hill (it's a Donald but don't die of excitement!).