Why we owe a big debt to the mountain bike pioneers who blazed a trail for us all to enjoy
One hundred years ago, the Forestry Commission (FC) was formed to oversee the reforestation of the UK.
In the year after the First World War, woodland cover was down to 5% after the conflict forced us to raid our natural resources.
The first commission forest, a mix of beech and larch, was planted in Devon in 1920. In 1926, they began to make plans for Kielder – now England’s biggest man-made wood – in large swathes of spruce and pine.
Of course, they were grown for harvesting, though now the FC also looks to protect native trees.
In 1996, the Welsh forest Coed-y-brenin was the first to have its own mountain bike trail, in a move that would soon be replicated all over the UK.
In the 2000s, the 7 Stanes popped up in southern Scotland, and not long after a collection of standalone centres appeared. Designed to withstand all weathers, they provide a guarantee of good riding all year round.
What trail centres do well is give riders a chance to progress in less risky, remote areas, on features that are built with riders in mind.
Whilst a brilliant part of Scotland’s trail network, Lochgilphead’s trails belong to a handful of FC centres that have unfairly fallen off the radar.
In Argyll, over two hours from Glasgow, the Fire Tower Trails lie just a few minutes from Lochgilphead – way off the
map for most cycling tourists. These trails are a complete change of pace. There’s a 50:50 split between forest road and the five singletrack sections, which make it more of a familyfriendly trail.
Here, there’s scant chance of bumping into another cyclist, even at the weekends.
At the route’s highest point, Argyll is spread out below with sea lochs and craggy wee hills stretching to the horizon. This happens on the second of the five singletrack sections called Twisted Fire Starter before sending you into the best section of the whole route – Murder Hill.
No surprise that this involves a steep hill to start, but it soon becomes a brilliant bob-sled run back to the car park. Two short sections see you home. We owe a debt to the folk who built these trails and there’s no better way to repay it than by visiting them.
The flat cycle out to Crinan by the canal is well worth it and easy to do from the Achnabreac car park. Visit the Crinan Hotel’s coffee shop for a cup of tea and cake after a loop.