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The Northern Trail Centres

Seven days of singletrack riding in the northern trail centres

Since the first of the 7 Stanes centres opened at Glentress in 2001, the Scottish Trail Centres have become one of the must do riding experiences for mountain bikers worldwide. Further north there are more trail centres which, while not as well known as their southern counterparts, can certainly match them for the quality of mountain biking on offer. The Northern Trail Centres compliment the 7 Stanes perfectly and give some amazing mountain biking combined with stunning, rugged Highland scenery. If you want fast, fun, technical riding the Northern Trail Centres is the mountain bike holiday of a lifetime!

Trip Summary

Seven Day Guided Mountain Bike Tour

Grade: Moderate/Challenging
Total Distance: variable

Cost? £395 with bunkhouse accommodation

Upgrade all accommodation to B&B £90 (based on two sharing, evening meals not included.)

View Dates and Book Now?

We can run this trip on any date for groups of 3 or more. Contact us with your requirements.

View Northern Trail Centres Photo Gallery on Flickr

 

Itinerary

North Trail Centre

Day 1: The Witches Trails

Nevis Range just outside Fort William is where our adventure begins. The Witches Trails have played host to the Mountain Bike World Cup since 2002, and the World Championships in 2007. World class athletes demand world class singletrack and the Witches Trails don’t disappoint. The trails provide fantastic views of the surrounding area as well as providing technical challenges like the Berminator ascent, the Cauld Run and the Bombhole. The perfect start to a fantastic mountain bike holiday.

Day 2: Moray Monster Trails

The Moray Monster Trails join up mountain bike centres at Fochabers and Craigellachie. Almost 30km of trails includes natural and man-made singletrack, and a freeride area. Lord of the Rings fans will be especially keen to take in the Fochabers Ring trail with its Helms Deep, Rivendell and Mirkwood sections.

Day 3: Highland Wildcat Trails, Golspie

The Highland Wildcat trails at Golspie take us to the summit of Ben Bhraggie, almost 400m above the Moray Firth. It’s a big climb, but the fantastic trail helps you to forget the effort. After lunch at the summit monument, a full 7 kilometres of twisty, rooty singletrack descent takes us back to the start. It’s so good though, you’ll never want it to end and you might just turn round and do it all again!

Day 4: Glen Feshie Singletrack

After three days of challenging trails, it’s time to rest the legs for a day and recover for the riding ahead in the remainder of the week. If you have energy to spare, we take in a short singletrack loop in Glen Feshie, just outside Aviemore. Those wanting a day off the bike completely can visit the town of Aviemore, or watch the birds and red squirrels at Slochd Mhor Lodge.

Day 5: Kyle of Sutherland

The trails at the Kyle of Sutherland are split across two centres at Carbisdale and Balblair. Carbisdale provides the easier blue and red graded routes to warm up on in the initial part of the day. A short trip round the loch to Balblair leads to the main event of the day – the Black Route. Superbly grippy bedrock, wooden trail structures and hard-packed singletrack make up a technical challenging trail, which finishes with a fantastic 4 km descent from the high point of the route.

Day 6: Learnie Red Rock

Learnie has a multitude of short trails of varying difficulty levels as well as a dirt jump area. These can be linked and ridden over and again to provide an amazing days mountain biking. Rocks and roots abound so you need to stay sharp or the trails will get the better of you! Learnie’s location on the Black Isle, just over the Kessock Bridge from Inverness also means it has fine views out to sea over the Moray Firth.

Day 7: Wolftrax

We think we’ve saved one of the best for last on the final day. Named after the legendary Wolf of Badenoch, the trails have the reputation as some of the most technical in Scotland. The flowing funpark has berms to carve and tabletop jumps. The red route is a narrow, rocky blast and the black route is no ordinary black route. It earns its “Double Diamond Black” rating with drop offs, rock slabs and “Stiletto Staircase”. Just don’t get bitten!

 

Accommodation

Our base for the week is Slochd Mhor Lodge, just outside Carrbridge on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park. It is a 4 star rated hostel and has earned the Silver Award from the Green Tourism Business Scheme. The Lodge sits, surrounded by woodland, on an off road section of Sustrans Cycle Route No 7, and there are numerous tracks and trails to explore in the vicinity. The lodge has a bike hire centre, with a well equipped workshop so any disaster which may befall your bike out on the trails can usually be fixed overnight. If you prefer, you can upgrade to bed and breakfast accommodation, using good quality local providers.

How difficult is this trip?

Most of the trail centres have a variety of routes graded from green (easy) to black (severe), so each day you can chose something to suit your ability and watch your riding progress during the week. The higher your fitness level, the more trails you will be able to ride and so the more you will get out of the trip.

How many people will be on the trip?

Trips are limited to a maximum of six participants, so your professional guides will have plenty of time to help you work on those bike skills out on the trails.

What do I need to bring?

Click here for detailed kit list

What’s not included?

Any other questions?

Please call us on 01475 740 414 or email info@ScottishMountainBikeGuides.com to discuss any aspect of this trip.

Click here for dates and booking