A quick brake application and, with a little momentum, we head into the next bend. And immediately after that, a quick decision: slow down and turn left into the black section with the big jumps or turn red, leave the gas on and surf through two berms into the serpentines. Better to keep up the speed - a few meters further on, the two sections come together again anyway...
Spiced up with lots of biking fun, this trail specially created for biking, "Red Route", stretches for miles through the Scottish landscape at the foot of the Highlands. Laggan / Wolftrax is the name of the area here, our first impression of biking in Scotland and already much better than we would have expected despite our high expectations of our bike trip in Scotland.
Because Scotland wasn't really high on our bike map and we couldn't really imagine what a trail center was supposed to be. Gitta from BIKE magazine had given us the tip. She had heard something about epic adventure trails over the remote mountains of the Highlands and specially created "flow trails" - perfect bike routes, specially designed for mountain biking - in a wide variety of shapes, lengths and levels of difficulty. And all within a few hours of Germany, thanks to low-cost flights. That sounded interesting enough for us to see for ourselves. And so we asked Pete Drew, an English bike colleague and proven expert on Scotland, to organize a road trip to the country's mountain bike highlights for us. And what we found in the land of rain, kilt and bagpipes exceeded our expectations in every respect.
The Highlands
First, we headed for the Highlands to experience Scotland as we first imagined it, following in the footsteps of Connor MacLeod ("There can be only one"): Green hills, lonely lochs and rugged nature... After a "Full Scottish Breakfast", consisting of a slice of roast haggis, beans, bacon and fried egg, we set off on our first Highland trail east of Torridon, well-fed and with a decent cholesterol level. Euan, the Scottish bike guide, has obtained permission from the landlord in advance because, surprisingly, a large part of the huge mountain section through which "our" trail runs is privately owned.
But for what is supposedly one of the best single trails in Scotland, you can't spare any effort. And we couldn't agree more. Initially very relaxed along cart tracks and past gentle sheep pastures, the trail climbs ever more steeply and leads us into the poster-perfect landscape of a Scottish tourism advertisement. Far and wide, there is not a soul to be seen or even traces of human civilization. Instead, green hills, gorse bushes and moorland lakes as far as the eye can see - and on the plateau, a feeling of vastness that makes you think you're standing in the middle of heaven. Only to the right are the rocky peaks of a mountain range which, although only a few hundred meters high, look very similar to the peaks of the Alps. Wild and ruggedly jagged, they tower into the cloud-spotted summer sky and give an idea of the force with which the winter storms must gnaw away at them. The narrow hiking trail becomes steeper and the going gets really tough. You have to maneuver around rocks and loose scree and keep enough pressure on the pedals to keep your balance. To make matters worse, there are gullies with rocky steps running across the path every so often, over which you have to place your front and rear wheels. In the beginning, this is still considered a "sporting challenge", but after the hundredth time of "pulling the front wheel up and the rear wheel down", it becomes less and less fun and the calluses on your palms get bigger and bigger. The last chunks of the sumptuous breakfast have also been digested and the body is crying out for more energy. Time to rest. We've now made it far into the Highlands and as we bite into our sandwiches, we look back a little proudly at the trail as it disappears into the mist: All under our own steam!
And the best thing is: from now on, it's all downhill - with everything your heart desires! In the upper section, we surf over smooth granite surfaces that stand like petrified waves in the landscape and jump over small steps that the trail offers to the right and left of the main track. We continue over a technically difficult section where the mountain drops more steeply and narrow hairpin bends demand all our riding skills, and soon we are rolling along dark lochs again - the typical Scottish lochs. Everything is just right: the atmosphere of sun and clouds with a magnificent landscape, as you would expect from Scotland, and a mountain bike trail that offers just the right mix of flow and technical challenge. The icing on the cake of this day is our overnight stop in the form of an old fisherman's hut at the foot of the green hills on the banks of Loch Damh. Far away from civilization, it seems, and just for us. It even has a small sandy beach and a crooked jetty right outside the door. All we need now is a sea monster sticking its head out of the water and the Scottish cliché would be perfect. Picture gallery
The trail centers
We start our trail center exploration tour in Laggan / Wolftrax, south of Inverness and what we find can be said in one sentence from a biker's point of view: This is exactly how it should be! Directly from the bike station with parking lot, small café and bike store including bike wash, well-signposted trails in various levels of difficulty lead through the terrain as circular tours. There are no lifts, you have to cycle up everything yourself, but that doesn't bother you as everything is so perfectly integrated and laid out in the terrain that you always have the feeling that you are actually riding more downhill - we call this phenomenon the "trail paradox". Before you set off on your tour, you can use the "Skill Center", a small test course, to check whether your riding ability matches the difficulty level of the selected trail. All trails may only be ridden in one direction and are forbidden to pedestrians. Very pleasant! And what particularly amazes us is that the trail centers are built and kept in operation by the Scottish Forestry Commission. From a biking perspective, our first "trail center experience reads like this: After a relaxed twenty-minute ascent along a forest path, we enter the "Red Line", which is almost like a natural rollercoaster for mountain biking: a path covered in broken gravel winds playfully downhill through the heath. The moderate gradient allows for a sporty riding style and everything is perfectly integrated into the terrain. Approach curves with perfect radii along old dry stone field walls lead to perfectly shaped rootstock jumps with matching, smooth landing bumps, so that even non-professionals can experience the feeling of airtime. And again and again, stone slabs are laid to form winding dams through nature, whether to overcome boggy spots or simply for riding pleasure - always with optimal ascents and descents, of course. This is probably what our guide meant by "flow trail". Every now and then we pass small forks in the road, where signs explain at a glance what kind of obstacles to expect on the alternative passages. Most of the time, the downhill is smooth and the small climbs are so cleverly integrated into the landscape that we never get the feeling that we are really cycling uphill and wonder how the short ascent at the beginning can fit in with this enormously long descent. In the forest, we are greeted by a real treat in the form of a Northshore Trail several hundred meters long - this wooden boardwalk leads through the pine thicket in gentle bends at stomach level. Not too difficult, but exciting enough for a bit of adrenaline. At the bottom, the trail spits us out onto the lower part of the orange bike park route - a long winding track peppered with large tabletops. Those who like it have another chance to really catapult themselves into the air at the end, while everyone else can relax and roll out over the big jump hills. After more than 15 km of singletrack, we roll into the parking lot right next to our car with big grins and the feeling that we've just played a reality bike computer game. We give the bike a quick hose down, sip a medium coffee, have a few scones and shortbread as a snack and head south into Scotland to the 7 Stanes, the 7 oldest and most famous trail centers. "Stanes" is an old Scottish word for stones and it was in the 7 Stanes, more specifically Glentress and Innerleithen, that the foundation stone for the Scottish trail centers was laid.
On the way back south, we stop off in Lockerbie to soak up a little culture. Although better known for the bomb attack on a Pan Am jumbo, Lockerbie is a very normal, typically Scottish small town with narrow, winding brick buildings and romantic half-timbered houses with small windows and low door frames. The pubs look as if they are hundreds of years old and the fish-and-chips stalls built anachronistically into the historic buildings entice with their greasy offerings. But we would rather eat something "proper", preferably something hearty from the region, accompanied by an ale and later a nice single-malt whisky... Unfortunately, everything is already closed here and we hurry on to Dumfries, because it is not only difficult to get something to eat after nine o'clock in the evening here, but in Scotland in general. We are lucky and find exactly what we were looking for in the equally tranquil town center of Dumfries. A rough-looking guy with tattooed clubs for arms warmly shows us the way to a small restaurant and recommends steak from Galloway cattle in the already familiar, difficult-to-understand Scottish. Wait, those were the cattle with the mad cow disease... Our new friend waves it off with a laugh: "Oh, that's long gone, we'd better watch out for the ale here, because it's really strong and certainly has more of an effect on our minds! We promise to take care, because our tour of the 7 Stanes trails starts tomorrow and we want to be fit for that.
As in Laggan, in the north, we once again find perfection in every respect: Line layout, condition of the tracks and creativity in track construction. It's amazing what the Scots have done with these - undeniably beautiful - but actually insignificant forest areas with a few inconspicuous hills. All the centers are no more than an hour and a half's drive from each other, always offer parking, a café and bike store and each has its own unique character. Glentress and Innerleithen, just a few minutes away from each other, certainly have the greatest variety of trails and parks on offer. There are trails for beginners to feel their way around slowly, as well as radical downhill trails for experts. We try to take in as many of them as possible and enjoy the playful rolling on the blue route in Glentress as well as the speed rush on Innerleithen's Cadon Bank Rollercoaster, which is marked red and turns out to be a veritable firework of rollers, banks and jumps. Kirroughtree also impresses with the longest single trail loop of all the centers. Almost 35 kilometers of perfect mountain bike trail with every conceivable component: spectacular granite descents in McMoab - the Scottish slickrock answer to the legendary trails in Utah.
Infinite serpentine combinations in the upper part of the "Red Loop", also in Kirroughtree. Or would you prefer something a little more challenging? The Kona Dark Side in Mabie offers 3.8 km of Northshore Trail in one go. Extremely challenging, as some of the wooden walkways are only slightly wider than the width of a tire - and that's one and a half meters above the ground... But no matter what you do, every trail center guarantees a permanent grin. No matter what level you're riding at - and even in the rain, of course. Contrary to popular preconceptions, Scotland isn't as rainy as you might think, but careful as the Scots are, they have prepared all the trails in such a way that a rainy day doesn't necessarily have to turn into a mud fight. The only real disadvantage of this country as a mountain bike destination are the ubiquitous little midges. But here, too, the Scots know the remedy: a cosmetic skin care oil called Skin-So-Soft doesn't repel the little beasts, but it does stop them from biting. So we come back from our trip to Scotland not only with a whole bag full of new bike adventures, but also pleasantly scented and with velvety soft skin - and with the firm conviction that Scotland is one of the best mountain bike destinations in the world. All pictures in the galleryText: Jan Sallawitz | Photos: Stefan Neuhauser
Travel information
Scotland covers an area of almost 80,000 square kilometers across the northern third of Great Britain. The capital is Edinburgh and the official language is English or Scottish Gaelic or Scots, which initially sounds like an incomprehensible mixture of all sorts of things to untrained ears... The most famous mountains are the Highlands, which stretch across the northwest of Scotland and are divided into the Northwest Highlands and the Grampian Mountains. The 1344-metre-high Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the Grampian Mountains.
Climate and travel time
The climate is temperate and mild with frequently changeable weather. The average annual temperature is 10° C, 19°C in summer, although the regional differences (Highlands, Lowlands) are very large. sit for mountain biking is between May and September, although the frequency of rain increases significantly from August.
How to get there
Plane: The best way to get to Glasgow is by plane: direct flights from Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Frankfurt or from Munich to Edinburgh Munich. The journey is a little more time-consuming by ferry: ferry connections are available from Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Zeebrugge with a duration of 12 - 18 hours for approx. 500,- EUR (2 persons with car)
The Highlands
The biking opportunities in the Highlands are almost inexhaustible. It is advisable to book a tour guide, as permits for mountain biking are required for many hiking trails. We concentrated on the region around Torridon, west of Inverness. Recommended agency (both Highlandtrips and Laggan): Euan Wilson
Highlands and Islands Adventures
80 Grigor Drive
Inverness
IV2 4LS Tel: +44 (0)1463 239716 | Mobile: +44 (0)7796 833 142
www.mtbholidayscotland.com
The trail centers
What makes Scotland so special for mountain biking, apart from the epic Highland trails, are the trail centers. These bike stations can be found all over the country, where extensive networks of trails have been created specifically for biking: with all kinds of obstacles, jumps, banked turns and. It's almost like a mountain bike park, only without the lift that you see in the local bike parks - but with trails to cycle yourself at different levels of difficulty, all perfectly signposted. Pedestrians are prohibited here, so you can really let it rip. Each trail center has its very own character, resulting in a range of offers that appeals to every type of mountain biker, from families with small children to bike pros. The most important (and according to our local guides) also the best centers:
Laggan / Wolftrax in central Scotland (south of Inverness)
7 Stanes: Glentrool, Kirroughtree, Dalbeattie, Mabie, Ae, Glentress & Innerleithen and Newcastleton in the south of the country
