BLUES CRUISE PT.3 SCOTLAND
WE HEAD NORTH OF THE BORDER TO SEE IF SCOTLAND’S FABLED TRAILS CAN COME UP TRUMPS IN OUR HUNT FOR BRITAIN’S BEST BLUE ROUTE
Time to head north for the final leg of our mission to track down the best blue-graded route in Britain – a trail that’ll still give advanced riders a thrill while being a ton of fun for newbies
his feels like a proper adventure. It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to travel so far, let alone stay away overnight, and this time I’m the newbie to the area, rather than Julia. In our quest to find Britain’s best blue trail we’ve now made it to Scotland and the widely-acclaimed Glentress, which is the flagship trail centre of the country’s excellent 7stanes network. Glentress’s blue route emerged as a firm favourite among our team, contributors and readers alike. So, as soon as it was possible, we packed our Saracen bikes and headed north of Hadrian’s Wall.
Blue fun day
We knew Glentress would fit the bill perfectly to be a ‘best blue’ contender. Our requirements are pretty straightforward. First, the trail has to be an entertaining and fully ridable loop with engaging climbs and fun, flowy descents – so, not too many tedious fireroad sections, and runs that are only accessible via an uplift service or push-up track don’t count. Second, although designed to be accessible and exhilarating for new riders with limited experience, it needs to be equally exciting for advanced thrill-seekers.
This is where the trail builders’ skill comes into play. The best blue routes incorporate features that aren’t too intimidating for noobs but are also a blast to hit flat out – such as rollers that can be ridden with wheels on the ground or doubled up. We’re well-placed to judge this from both perspectives, because Julia, our newish
designer, hasn’t been mountain biking that long, while I’ve been riding for years and have spent my fair share of time between the tape. So, time to hit the trail and find out if Scotland’s finest lives up to our expectations…
Up, up and away!
As we get ready (OK, ‘faff’ might be a more honest assessment) in the bottom car park by the Peel Cafe, we can’t help but feel like we’ve lucked out with the weather, yet again. With parts of the UK having had twice the average monthly rainfall in May, the east of Scotland among them, we’ve arrived on a dry, sunny day and it puts us in high spirits. It’s just as well, too, because on our visits to ride the English and Welsh finalists we had sunshine, so we wouldn’t want our decision skewed by poor weather making us grumpy. While neither Julia nor I are wellacquainted with the area, she has been to Glentress once before so I’m quick to assume she knows everything about the place, which might be wishful thinking. Fortunately, it’s not too difficult to suss out, with a big trail map near the car park by the shower block.
The blue route is 16km long with approximately 350m of climbing, but you can split it into two 8km loops. Starting from the bottom car park, the lower of these winds its way up to the Buzzard’s Nest car park before dropping back into the valley. The second loop begins at the Buzzard’s Nest and heads up into the hills before dropping down to finish where you started. We want the full Glentress experience, so we go for the whole loop. A gentle cruise along a forest road takes us to the blue, red and black trails, which share the same singletrack climb into the woods. Fortunately, the gradient is never too severe because the path meanders its way through the forest. And what a forest – this has to be one of the most picturesque sections of trail we’ve had the pleasure to ride during our hunt for blue heaven. Below the canopy, bright green grass floods the forest floor. Julia even gives this part of the climb praise, which is a welcome change from her verdict on the Beast of Burden ascent at BikePark Wales!
The fantastic thing about this ascent is the different options available depending on your skill level. You can stick to the blue trail or try some of the harder red and black-graded options depending on how brave you’re feeling. These tend to be steeper with more rocks in the way, but they’re great fun for a challenge. The climb is quite prolonged, and if you only tackle the lower 8km loop, it makes the trail more of a winch-and-plummet affair. Thankfully the surface is generally very smooth and the gradient isn’t too taxing on the legs, to Julia’s relief.
Double trouble
Once at the Buzzard’s Nest we resist the lure of Glentress’s freeride park and follow the second loop of the blue up the hill. There’s a bit more doubletrack climbing in this section, but the singletrack trails are equally as enjoyable as on the lower slopes. This climb takes you to the highest point of the blue loop and the first swooping descent, ‘Betty Blue’. This is a fun, flowing trail with linking hairpin berms. It doesn’t have the gradient to make it pedal-free and requires substantial
WHAT A FOREST – THIS HAS TO BE ONE OF THE MOST PICTURESQUE SECTIONS OF TRAIL WE’VE RIDDEN
effort to keep the speed up, though. After this section, you drop out on the fireroad, and it’s a shame you lose quite a lot of altitude by following this down before climbing to the next singletrack section. While trails are expensive to build, it seems they missed a real opportunity to add in some additional flowing singletrack to the blue here. The next segment of trail, aptly named ‘Motorway’, must take top honours for the fastest section of blue route we’ve ever ridden. Even though there’s nothing technical here, it’s fun to feel the wind rushing past as you hurtle down this high-speed line. The only issue is that it’s over far too quickly. After this, you climb up to ‘Blue’ Velvet, where the real fun begins.
The only way is down
After all that climbing and just a little descending, we take a break before tackling ‘Blue Velvet’. It’s good to grab a snack to keep our energy levels up before hitting the long descent back to the car park. While the ride to this point has been thoroughly enjoyable, the Glentress blue doesn’t undulate in the same way as our English winner, the Verderer’s trail in the Forest of Dean, and you spend a lot of time climbing before reaping the rewards. The following two sections, ‘Blue Velvet’ and ‘Berm Baby Berm’, are a real thrill, though. As we pump, weave and twist our way down the flowing trail, we can’t help but grin from ear to ear. Our bikes skip from one direction to the next as we thrash through the linking turns. There are rollers to pump and jump, and with some effort you can keep your speed high. But, again, there’s nothing technical to worry about, and it’s the flow that wins us (and many others) over on these two sections.
Skills training
As we continue down the hill, the next section, ‘Electric Blue’, feels a lot less manicured. It’s got a raw vibe, which I dig. There are a couple of lines over roots that help you set up wide for corners and are great for practising more technical skills. The woods are darker and spookier, and it feels like we’re further into the wild. Also, the surface is a little rougher and keeps us on our toes. The trail remains relatively gentle and flowing, but the rocks seem a little slicker, so careful braking down here is wise.
Crossing a wooden bridge, we return to the lush, green-carpeted forest floor, where the trail snakes a dark
AS WE PUMP, WEAVE AND TWIST OUR WAY DOWN THE FLOWING TRAIL, WE CAN’T HELP BUT GRIN
line through the grass as the trees thin out. The next few hairpins are fantastic corners for all abilities – they’re great for making sure you brake early, roll around the turn and spot your exit. Switchbacks can be challenging so are often frustrating for beginners. They’re a good feature to practise riding, though, and less confident riders can just cruise around the main line here. These hairpins have fun, high entry lines carved in by expert riders wanting to carry as much speed as possible. You can bank up high, lean the bike over and then dart back to the main line. The cool thing is you don’t need to be an expert to do this – you can start small and work your way higher up the bank as you build confidence.
Hop and pop
As we get lower down the slopes and hit up the ‘Good Game’ section, the trail traverses much more of the hill. While you lose the entertainment of the turns, the trail builders have thought of this and included a series of jumps and rock drops along the way. That’s one area of her riding that Julia’s keen to improve, so she takes the lead and pops off the features, getting air under her wheels. It’s interesting to see how she interprets the trail and what she spots that’s different from me. It’s not long until we shoot out on the fireroad at the bottom.
Before we return to the cafe for a well-earned lunch, there’s one last section of the loop to tackle, ‘The Admiral’. It’s nice and cruisy, and an excellent way to wind down after what’s been a hell of a long descent from the top of ‘Blue Velvet’. As we roll back to base, we’re already chatting about our highlights, and the conversation turns to trying to choose which of the three fantastic routes we’ve ridden in England, Scotland and Wales should be named our best British blue trail. This is going to be a tough decision, so we’d best grab a burger to help us make it!
THESE HAIRPINS HAVE FUN, HIGH ENTRY LINES CARVED IN BY EXPERT RIDERS CARRYING SPEED