Hey there peeps.
For folks who live round and about Stirling, you'll have noticed the wholesale destruction of our local trail network by the council over the last 18 months or so.
There are obviously good trails left on the area (Yellow Craig, etc.) but the amount of single track available seems to be disappearing at an astonishing rate.
I moved to the area over 15 years ago purely due to the quality of riding and the latest "improvements" are really getting me down.
So ... I thought I'd post up here to see if there were any trails I'm missing that I should be scouting out.
Any and all suggestions of trails in the Stirling, BofA and Dunblane area would be welcome. Well aware of the gathering stone, wharry burn, copper mine woods, uni woods, darn walk, Dumyat, North third and menstrie Glen trails but there could be variations I'm missing.
Plenty...just jump on bike and go explore, that is how they were found to begin with...
That's all well and good but I've been exploring for 15 years. Mebbes I'm just sh1t at it.
Cambu always surprises me with how much is there.
Check out Strava for alternatives from Dumyat summit and all around Ochils and Hillfoots.
Ride stuff the wrong way?
Gravelly riding:
Dunblane out towards Ashfield, out and along from Dunblane to Callander up to windfarm and back to Braco, I discovered a Cromlix back to Kilbride few tracks this last summer.
Torwood?
It's just been logged heavily and there are many trails just plain gone, but there are also quite a few survived or been rebuilt. Even a few new lines opening up.
Come on over!
Get yourself a mattock, rake, bowsaw, find a bit of forestry with decent access to top, gradient and length. Make your own. 😊
Go north...
Ride the sanitised trails more - that way they'll deteriorate sooner.
15 years is still quite new though* (unless you ride the whole area every week)...there are plenty, you have probably found plenty as well, but go explore and just follow a something and see if it pans out.
Appreciate my comment is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but that is how all the trails got discovered in the first place - someone went out and found them (and back in the 'old' days there was no internet stuff to share anything (which probably helped trails stay in better condition - but that is a different conversation)...
*As an example of that, I've a mate at work who mountain bikes, has lived in this area all his days, but still drives to Glentress to go ride as the stuff round Stirling "isn't mountain biking" - and he has been here about 50-od years and biking for about 40 of those and MTBing about 25 of them...
Is it easy enough to do some of the decent non Cambu/North Third trails using Trailforks? I haven't explored Stirling at all (based north Glasgow)
There are loads. New ones and some old ones coming back. Many being kept off strava. We have about 3 hours with no repeat at a decent pace...
Who do you ride with and where from? Out atomorrow night and live in Causewayhead.
Burnwarroch off Dumyat or Alva Glen? The upper section of the latter is dangerous in places though, need to check the zigzags off Wee Torry instead.
Is it easy enough to do some of the decent non Cambu/North Third trails using Trailforks?
Yes.
Mine and Uni woods you can also follow your nose, as it's all pretty well contained.
After a dumyat/mine woods ride, I'm quite partial to a hurl down Kippenrait Glen to finish.
matt_outandabout ... I'll have a look at that trail at the wind farm. Other than blindly searching for it, do you have any hints. On the 15 years thing, I've been riding here virtually every week for 20 years and lived here for 15 years, so I'm pretty well aware of all the follow your nose trails in the area.
I'll also have a keek at Burnwarroch and Alva Glen. Pretty sure I ride all the other trails mentioned but know them by different names.
In which case, would it be worth mixing the routes up and get different trail networks to ride?
I'm in agreement with your statement at the start about the 'improvements' but they will settle down shortly and improve after a year or so of use, they always look awful when first done. I'm not saying I agree with it all, but it is short term scars...
For folks who live round and about Stirling, you’ll have noticed the wholesale destruction of our local trail network by the council over the last 18 months or so.
Wholesale destruction? I'm trying to think of examples but maybe I've not been out enough? Is this is in reference to Dumyat / witches craig? Not a snarky comment, jut interested!
Most of the stuff on t'other side of the city from BofA remains in good (although different from a while back) nick. N3, cambu, torwood etc. continue to be maintained and altered with new lines and trails opening up as new blood comes in and old fades away (and the forestry dudes have their wicked ways). There are also people scoping out new trails in other locations around that area (pushing further north a bit) so lots going on to keep you busy and exploring.
It just takes a bit of adventuring I guess. Sack of a normal trail ride to go and scope something new, with full acceptance that you might find absolutely diddly squat! And new trails don't stay quiet for ever (Glen Sssshhhherup for example) so it just takes a bit of creative scoping and you'll find something new. I mean even Carron Valley has its own cheeky trail alternatives if you can find them!
With so many places closed off due to forestry over the last year, I slowed down a bit and started opening my eyes, especially to a lot of stuff that I just whizzed past on my way to do my normal loops. I now have a cracker of a 14 mile XC loop that maybe only involves a mile or two of road and has a few bits of Shhhh...don't tell the 'trailbuilder' / Strava spoilsports or they'll ruin it, sections straight from my front door.
I ride into Stirling from the south and I can tick off masses of lovely wee woodland trails that I've normally ridden past, but now add onto my list. It's like Dick says, you just have to go and explore....just watch out for that trail half way up the Glen road on the left hand side. I went up there in the winter and there were some very odd gentlemen camping in the woods!
Might head up and explore Torwood sometime
is there anything in the area between Callander and port of Menteith??
The trail halfway up the Glen Road is odd indeed. Trail to and from nowhere! I took a walk up Dumyat today and had a good look around. Could be some double track options.
I've only been up Dumyat once since the new track went in. To be honest, it doesn't really bother me as I rarely descend that way nowadays. There are other routes down that don't get clogged with walkers, cut to death in damp weather or terrorised by Strava junkies! Still can't beat Uni-Mine-Kippenrait then a pint in the brewery for a most excellent wee spin. Cambu is brilliant, North Third has benefitted from the logging in my opinion. What used to be an albeit fantastic trail has been opened up with each drop now having multiple options. Rather than do it the old way or casualty calls! Out to the south, Torwood has taken a hammering, but like N3rd the hill has been opened up and new lines abound. I've found 3-4km of unridden trails up there ..but I'm not telling the internet! I've honestly been looking at all the 'track improvements' and forestry work as a positive thing as it's made me get off my complacent arse and go find new stuff to ride. I might actually go out tonight again cause there's a plot of woodland near me that must have trails in it. I've been searching for the last 20yrs and haven't found any, but they must be there!
If the Barrwood, then not many, but plenty tracks...however, it is Scout land so if you do go, make sure it not being used.
Nah, just to the Denny side of Barr Wood, behind North Field quarry. There's some lovely wee deer tracks in there. It's just finding them again that's the bugger!
