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After procrastinating on what to do for our family holiday, we’ve just booked in for some camping at Comrie Croft followed by a week at a lodge on Kielder Water.
Never been anywhere near either before so was looking for any info anyone has on the best trails to do and any other family friendly activities. Kids are 8 and 5 and both enjoy their cycling. Wife is happy on the Blues at FOD, Llandegla, CYB Minotaur etc but doesn’t like it when it gets too rocky.
Only insight I’ve had was the Comrie Croft episode of Mountain Bike Adventures which gave some inspiration!
skills park and the blue route at comrie
At Comrie I'd suggest camping in the top meadow. The blue trail goes around the side so the kids might be able to session that section whilst you relax at the tent, they might be a bit young though for you to do that. I camped in the lower meadow once but it felt really cramped whereas the upper meadow has a lot more room and great views. The spaces in the woods are a bit small for a family tent. If it's warm there's a good bit of the river for swimming near Comrie, ask a local for directions.
Red and black are pretty rocky at comrie, but the blue is mostly smooth (some rocky bits but they're short).
The landy trails up by Loch Turret are great for riding with some nice views.
Plenty of trails in the area around Comrie besides the croft. Camping on upper meadow? Good luck, we are booked in for 3 weeks time and can only get the pop up field by the road.
There is an adventure centre at Crieff Hydro just along the road, not cheap but plenty of outdoors stuff to do. Cultybraggan camp is on the other side of Comrie but not sure what's on there. Also lots of hills to climb.
For good views at Comrie walk or bike up to Melville's monument.
The blue at Kielder is lush - properly fun but at the same time family friendly.
Midge repellent might be a good idea.
The great thing about Comrie Croft, trail wise, is that its so compact you can give most things a go, and if you find yourself out of depth the exit routes aren't going to take you forever. The blue route, both upper (for everyone) and lower (especially for the kids) are excellent. Obviously the skills park will be a big draw for the kids, and you can just happily observe with coffee and cake from the cafe.
As for rocky trails, Comrie Croft is all about the rock and slabs when it comes to the red and black!
Biking aside, if you've got young-ish kids a day or afternoon at http://www.auchingarrich.co.uk/ wildlife park wouldn't be a terrible idea, and its ten minutes by car from the Croft.
If you haven’t been to Comrie before, it’s worth being aware that the red is a pretty dark red, in comparison to the Stanes ones. Still great fun but a definite step up in technical features.
^^^
Agreed.
Comrie is great though.
Stayed in Keilder at the end of last summer, really enjoyed it. There is a cycle path all the way round the reservoir with way marked trails linking off of it. Just a really chilled out way to enjoy the bike. You head off along the path by the reservoir and then just have a go at what you fancy. You then just end up back on the cycle path and pootle home.
Yeah take midge repellent, they are fierce, i think the midges are on holiday from Scotland too.
Cheers for this, some really useful info there.
At Comrie we could also only get the pop up field as we’ve booked pretty last minute. Sounds like the blue will be good for the wife and kids (and me). I’ll also give the red a go and see how it is but appreciate the tip that it’s at the tougher end of the spectrum.
At Kielder it also sounds like the blue will be good then. Having looked at the trial maps there’s a fair few reds. Any thoughts on the best ones?
Thanks again
There’s a wildlife park (Auchingarrich) on the road out of Comrie to Braco - something to do that isn’t cycling. Similarly a whisky centre in Crieff, Tartan Museum in Comrie. Walk up to the Melville Monument for good views over Comrie.
It’s possible to ride into Comrie from the Croft completely off the road, and there are also some good cafes and a great butcher in there.
There are really only two red routes ( excluding the Lonesome Pine over to Newcastleton ) at Kielder...both can easily be done on the same day ..call into the Bike Place and speak to Ian ( owner ..if he is there ) , Kevin , Martin or Mart who will point you in the right direction / give good advice .
The blue is excellent but be aware it is a red without features ...depending on how proficient your kids are ..they may struggle..
A better bet with the kids would be The Lakeside Way .start at Kielder down to Waterside ( play area there too ) leave the bikes with the Bike Place and maybe take a trip on the ferry ..?
This is a relatively flat section ..the whole thing is 27 miles and not as easy as a lot of people think as it is very undulating with some sharp climbs a good surface though if it hasn't been wet for a while ..
There is also a pub by the Lakeside serving food ..reverse the route back up to Kielder ..
The Pheasant in Falstone is good for meals as is the Cheviot down in Bellingham which is the nearest village for supplies with a CO-operative store open from 7till 10 every day ..
Give me a shout if there is anything else you need to know ..I'm local ( Bellingham)