Bike
MTB
Go on a wild mountain biking in adventure in Scotland
From Tweed Valley to Fort Bill – this road trip will cover the best riding in Scotland.
Load up your bike rack and get ready for a crazy mountain biking adventure that only Scotland can give you. Go on a grand tour of the top mountain biking locations in the north of the British Isles. Of course, there are so many beautiful and exciting MTB areas in Scotland, but these six are the top dogs;
- Tweed Valley
- Comrie Croft
- Dunkeld
- Kinlochleven
- Fort William
- Torridon
1. Tweed Valley
Glentress has something for every rider
© Andy McCandlish
No Scottish road trip would be complete without a visit to the Tweed Valley, home of the original man made trails in Scotland. Take your pick of everything from cruising a family green trail at Glentress right through to steep and woodsy extreme grade singletrack, plummeting through the trees above Innerleithen.
And that is just the Forestry Commission trails – once you are done with the official riding, go off-grid to the Golf Course trails, guerrilla built enduro singletrack regularly ridden by some of the best riders in the country. The area was recently used for a stage in the 2015 Enduro World Series too. Yes, it really is that good.
2. Comrie Croft
An often overlooked diamond in the Perthshire hills, Comrie Croft is well worth a visit for those of us who prefer the more natural feeling ride. Hand built trails cover the hillside above a unique farmhouse and croft, complete with an excellent campsite and comfortable bunkhouse accommodation.
Although it is a cross country destination, we would rate the red and black trails as more challenging than their forest counterparts, with some cracking rocky, rooty singletrack descents to test the best.
Why not linger onsite and finish the day with a seat around one of the many fire pits, and stay in one of their excellent Kata wigwams with wood burner stoves and watch the sun go down.
3 min
Amaury Pierron's Fort William winning race run
Amaury Pierron's winning run at Rd2 of the 2018 UCI DH World Cup in Fort William, Scotland on June 3, 2018.
3. Dunkeld
Dunkeld trails
© Andy McCandlish
Dunkeld has exploded as an enduro hotspot in recent years, with some incredible and challenging trails, pokey enough to test anyone. An enduro event each year showcases the new routes hewn by the enthusiastic local volunteers. In places they are steep, flowing and technical – and superb to ride.
These can also be slotted into some excellent singletrack, cross country rides, ranging across the local hills, perfect if you're bringing along your trail bike.
For the latest and greatest trial guidance stick your head into Progression Bikes or FloTec Suspension, both in Dunkeld town centre, and speak to the guys there. Progression also offer an uplift service onto the hilltops of Craigvinean Forest, accessing a multitude of trails and a vast amount of descent time.
4. Kinlochleven
Home of the legendary Dude’s of Hazzard Enduro, the rugged and mountainous terrain above Kinlochleven is the perfect area for some serious and gnarly mountain biking. Once you have climbed the rocky estate track up onto the hill there is no way down other than to throw yourself down the craggy slopes, so be ready to get a battering.
The Ciaran Path is one of the best known and longest established trails, with a baby’s head rock opening stage, and technical riding virtually the length of the rid which tracks the river all the way from Blackwater Dam into Kinlochleven town.
There are plenty of other options of course, with stages of the Dude’s Enduro still evident on the ground, although some can be boggy in places if the weather is wet. Which it nearly always is in Kinlochleven.
The beauty of riding here is you are only half an hour from Fort William.
5. Fort William
A fine day in Fort William
© Bartek Woliński
Fort William may be famous for hosting UCI DH World Cups, but it has so much more on offer than tough-but-tasty downhill course we see on our screens every season.
The Nevis Range is the most popular mountain biking hub in the Highlands with quick access to the beloved cross country Witches Trails with green, blue and red graded trails. If you want more of a challenge try the two jump lines which run parallel to the Motorway section of the World Cup track, accessed by a 2km climb or by a vehicle uplift service.
It goes without saying the mountain biking on offer here is rich with variety and the singletrack is unrivalled by anywhere else in the UK.
6. Torridon
Views like this are what Torridon is all about
© Andy McCandlish
Torridon easily deserves a spot reserved for the sheer quality and wild feel to its riding. These are big mountains and the trails weren’t carved into the slopes for mountain biking.
This gives the whole area a more rugged feel – we didn’t create this for riding, we are just guests here – and once committed to most of these routes you are very much so out in the wild, with no civilisation, or phone signal, for huge parts of the day.
Big climbs, rocky terrain and technical riding are the name of the game here, and you will soon be hypnotised by these surprisingly flowy and rideable routes that cross and recross the mountains from glen to glen. The only problem with Torridon is that every trail you ride after it seems tame.
6 min
Danny MacAskill's Wee Day Out
Want to see what Danny MacAskill does on his day off? "Wee Day Out" explores the rural landscape around Edinburgh in a film that sets out to capture the simple fun of a ride in the country.
