The Great British Mountain Bike Trail Guide

FACILITIES

Car park and charges: Yes; charges apply

Cafe: No

Toilets: No

Showers: No

Bike wash: Yes

Nearest bike shop: MPG Cycles, Millo Place, High Street, Dalbeattie. DG5 4DP (01556 610659)

Next Level Bikes, 21 St Andrew Street, Castle Douglas, DG7 1EL (01556 504698)

Bike hire: Yes, at MPG

Accommodation: B&Bs, hotels, self-catering accommodation and camping around the area. All amenities in nearby Dalbeattie, Castle Douglas and Dumfries.

Other trails on site: Green, Blue, Skills taster loops of all grades, permissive paths and forest tracks.

Ordnance Survey map: Explorer 313.

ENJOYMENT FOR SKILL LEVEL

Beginner: 6/10

Intermediate: 7/10

Advanced: 9/10

Getting there: From Dumfries take the A711 heading south-east for 23km to the small town of Dalbeattie. Pass through the town, past the petrol station and take the A710 Solway Coast road round the edge of town. You need to take the second forest entrance on the left in just under a kilometre.

Grid ref: NX 83625

Sat nav: Dalbeattie

More info: www.7stanesmountainbiking.com

HARD ROCK TRAIL

On-site grade: Red

Clive’s grade: Red with Black sections

Distance: 25.2km

Technicality: 8.5/10

Ascent: 718m

ENJOYMENT FOR SKILL LEVEL

Beginner: 2/10

Intermediate: 5/10

Advanced: 9/10

From the trailhead signs, head outbound on all trails. Throughout this opening section of single track the trails are shared with the taster loops. There are some interesting option lines of various grades for you to experiment with. The Red-grade trail flows through the centre of some large granite outcrops, the Black-graded sections comprise of open bedrock with stone-pitched sections that link the large granite slabs. In the early days the slabs were very grippy, however, nowadays there is a lot less traction and caution should be taken on wet days as they can become exceptionally slippery!

After a few hundred metres of shared trail there is a short Red section to your left, then some fast sweeping corners lead you back onto the shared trail. Take your time in this section if it’s your first time here and pay attention to the signs. There are trails running off left–right and you could easily end up making a short loop rather than heading out on the main outbound trail.

All trails head out on a smooth single track. After crossing the forest road you join a long section of boardwalk. This is the first of two sections of boardwalk – a short section of old forest road breaks up the two sections. At the end of the second section of boardwalk you join a forest road where you take a right turn climbing up to a T-junction, take a left turn and climb up

In a few hundred metres you start to rise up and you’ll take a junction to your right, switching back before continuing to climb uphill. Once again the gradient levels out and a few hundred metres of level ground leads you into the final section of forest road climbing up to the Heart Stone. You will see the Heart Stone over to your right and a large granite slab on the opposite side poses an interesting challenge. The main trail runs past the bottom of this slab and through a nice section of single track out in the open.

At the end of the section a rock drop joins a single-track climb. The surface here is quite loose and the gradient quite steep. At the top of the climb, you pass through old woodland and there are a few interesting technical trail features to deal with before you enter the next descent.

The downhill is very fast and pretty rough. When the trail drops into an eroded water gully get ready as you will take a right turn dropping down a steep bank: the surface is loose and the opening section of bedrock is quite rough. At the bottom of this steep bank you join into a smoother single-track trail (shared with the Blue) and here you need to take a left turn.

The Blue trail takes a right turn and the Red continues straight ahead into a climb. This is quite steep, and on the exit to a left-hand switchback the gradient steepens again as you ascend a short stone-pitched section. The trail levels out but only for a moment, then you’re into another steep section climbing up onto a large piece of bedrock. Once again this is another physically demanding and technically challenging section of trail.

The Moyle Hill loop continues to twist its way around the hillside. There are plenty of small outcrops of rock and tight sections of trail. At the end of the Moyle Hill loop, traverse through gorse and out into the open to a forest road. Follow the forest road for a few hundred metres with spectacular views out to your right. You will get to a Black option line to your right. This option line leads down to the infamous Slab.

If you decide to take this Black option line, you drop down a steep gradient over stone-pitching into a hard left-hand corner. A short straight links you to a tight right-hand turn up over an outcrop of rock and into the main slab drop. Care should be taken at the bottom of the slab as you need to make a hard right turn, and there may be riders approaching from your left.

There is also the option to avoid The Slab and take a turn into the right down a narrow section of single-track trail. If you do this expect exposed bedrock sections and rock drops. This trail also links back into the Red section that runs below the main Slab.

The main Red trail continues straight on along the forest road for another hundred metres before turning right and dropping down a rough single-track descent. You will pass the bottom of the Slab and a couple of rock-pinch gullys need to be negotiated before a stone-pitched section switchbacks down the hillside. The single track levels out and blends into a forest road.

The forest road link climbs up the hill. Take a junction to the right and almost immediately a junction to the left. The forest road has seen little use and a double-track trail narrows into single track. A short technical section drops down to a forest road over some stone-pitching, take a right and descend on the forest road.

You will fork off to the left over a stone-pitched bridge. This section is very fast and you can enter here with a lot of speed, so take care and slow down before turning off the forest road. The trail climbs up slightly and you have to work hard to maintain a decent speed on the rough surface. Partway along you will come to a sizeable rock drop. You can roll down this drop or you can launch off the top of it! If you have never ridden here before it’s worth to take a look before you leap as the surface is quite rough on the landing and the entrance blind. The trail continues in a similar vein and will link you back onto a forest road. Blend into the forest road and rest those legs.

You will come to a fork in the forest road where you need to take a left turn. You’ll now be facing a steep gradient and staring up at a wide grey strip climbing up in front of you. When you crest this hill you will turn off to the right and into another section of single track. Once again the trail surface becomes quite rough in sections and there are large stone-pitched sections of trail for you to negotiate.

At the end of the section, a tight right-hand switchback brings you out onto an old forest road where you take a left turn at the T-junction. Continue to follow the old forest road to the turning circle at the end and take the single-track trail to your left, climbing up a short steep bank. This next section of trail links to The Terrible Twins and has a small climb into a short descent before another small climb. At the top of the hill you drop down and will have the Black option line down The Terrible Twins to your left.

The Terrible Twins are a pair of rock slab drops back-to-back. The gradient on each slab is reasonably steep and the exit to the second slab quite tricky. Rejoin the Red trail and take a hard left turn – it’s imperative to control your speed on the entrance to both the rock slabs. This is a Black-graded section and can be avoided by continuing straight ahead on the single track and traversing the hill. At the time of riding there was an exposed section of bedrock just after a tight left-hand switchback that really pushed the grade into the next level.

The trail levels out and a single track joins into a forest road. Follow the forest road that climbs up around the hill. At the top you will come to a junction: take a left turn and continue to climb. The gradient here is very mellow and you get a good couple of kilometres to recover. Turn off the forest road and take a right turn into a single track. The trail comes out into the open and joins a disused forest road. This old forest road dips down and climbs up slightly before you come into the trees, arriving at Jacob’s Ladder.

A tight right corner will lead you into a very steep stone-pitched section. Drop down over boulders and bedrock onto the stone-pitched run out. There is little room for error in this section and the overall look of the trail can be quite intimidating, especially in the wet! At the bottom of the stone-pitched descent a small kink to the right leads into a left-hand berm, the trail then blends back into a forest road.

You will follow the forest road for approximately 1km. The next section of single track will be on your right-hand side and is shared with the Blue trail. This is known as The Hyperlink. The Hyperlink joins into a forest road where you take a right turn. After a few metres take a junction off to the right and follow a forest track for a few hundred metres. This will peter out into a single-track trail, which is the start of Rock don’t Roll.

Rock don’t Roll only lasts for about 800m, but the gentle incline and rough surface make it a tough challenge. At the end of Rock don’t Roll you will join a forest road, taking a tight switchback to the right. Continue on the forest road for approximately 1km before turning left up a rock slab into a single track. This short section links on to another forest road where you take a left turn. You will now be back at the junction where you headed outbound.

Continue straight ahead and retrace your steps along the forest road until you come to a junction on your left at the top of a small rise. Traverse around the hill on an old forest road. This will descend down and join into a more established forest road. Take care here as the speed is quite high and there could be other trail users on the forest road below!

The forest road descends round a tight right corner. After a short straight track you will take a fork to the left and be on familiar ground. This is where you headed out earlier in the lap. Within a few hundred metres the forest road bears round to the left and you will head straight on into a single-track section named The Instigator. This section of trail leads you up into some pine trees and a few technical rock features make for an interesting challenge when taken at speed. You will then come to a split-line option. For the main trail stick to the left, a Black option line goes on to a skinny log ride, the initial log links on to a section of bedrock where you have to take an awkward left turn down onto a narrower log.

A wooden bridge links into a series of switchbacks and up to the next split-line option at Shakey Jakey. The Red trail takes a left turn and snakes its way along the bottom of a large granite outcrop; the Black option line takes a right turn and climbs up a section of boardwalk onto a large slab of rock. When you come off of the boardwalk and onto the bedrock you have to take a tight right turn: this is off-camber and is a real challenge on a wet day. Shakey Jakey was named in memory of a dear friend of mine, Adam Jakeman.

On top of the rocky outcrop you will find skinny logs to negotiate. There are other options and alternative ways to drop down and rejoin the Red trail below. A short section of single track links to another split-line option, the Red trail on your right takes a drop-off and the Black option line to your left takes in a pinch gap between two large boulders and onto a skinny log ride. The trails blend together and a boardwalk section leads you on to a forest road where you take the right turn.

After a few metres on the forest road you take a left turn into another single-track section. This runs parallel to the forest road for approximately 100m before taking a left turn into the trees. Once again you will have another split-line option: the Black line to your left takes in a series of open bedrock sections and the Red trail to your right continues in a similar vein to the other single tracks. The lines converge as you come out into the open. Next up is another boardwalk. Here you will see to your left a Red-line option, this simply climbs up the bank over large root beds, traverses a few metres then drops back down to join into the trail you’re currently on. It is a great short technical climb but only worth taking on if you think you have enough energy to make it.

The boardwalk links on to a single track. Heading back to the car park on a shared trail with the Blue. For this reason the trail surfaces is much smoother than the rest of the trail. A short section of forest road brings you into the backside of the car park. You can either go round the gates in front of you to the far corner of the car park or take a single track on your left to return to the trailhead signage.

DALBEATTIE