£25k for Perthshire rural bike trails

Cycling options for the Highland Perthshire towns of Dunkeld, Pitlochry, Blair Atholl and Aberfeldy are to be improved with major investment to create exciting new off-road networks.

Funding for the countryside bike trails has been agreed to the tune of nearly £10,000 from Rural Perth and Kinross LEADER Programme, with additional funding of £15,000 from the SSE Griffin and Calliachar Community Fund.

Known as the Perthshire Gravel Trails Project, the paths will be suitable for riders of different abilities and will be complemented and connected by a long-distance bikepacking route.

It is going to mean Perthshire has an even better tourist offering in the active holidays market and better facilities for local pedal enthusiasts.

The routes will be designed and promoted by Markus Stitz of Bikepacking Scotland, who has developed a number of longdistance cycling routes in Scotland, including the Wild About Argyll Trail, Dunoon Dirt Dash and the Capital Trail.

Highland Perthshire Cycling trustee Mike Stead will head up the project, with the assistance of project manager Kat Brown.

Construction of the dirt tracks is expected to be completed by next September.

Explaining the importance of the Rural Perth and Kinross LEADER support , Jackie Brierton, the group’s chair, said: “This is an innovative project which will establish a network of off-road cycling routes across Highland Perthshire, for cyclists of all ages and abilities.

“Making these areas accessible to all will encourage people to explore their local areas with confidence and will have a positive impact on the mental health and wellbeing of the communities involved, we are thrilled to have been able to support it.”

Mike Stead said: “Worldwide the trend is for people to use widertyred gravel bikes for cycle touring, as they open up the possibility to use unpaved roads and paths, to get closer to nature and away from motorised traffic.

“This project will increase visitor and resident participation in offroad cycling opportunities, it will increase local business income through accommodation, food and other visitor spend, and finally it will increase awareness of Highland Perthshire as a holiday destination.”

Consultation with members of the community will start in

December and an online survey will form the first phase of the project.

The consultations will be held on December 10 at 7pm in Dunkeld and on December 11 at 7pm in Pitlochry.

More public events are planned for December 17 at 3pm in Comrie and 7pm the same day in Aberfeldy.

More information about the community consultations can be found at www.perthshiregravel. com/community, where local businesses, interested groups and individuals can also sign up to an email newsletter about the project.

The online survey is available at www.perthshiregravel.com/survey

More information about the project can be found at www. perthshiregravel.com and Highland Perthshire Cycling’s Facebook page @HighlandPerthshireCycling.