Forestry Commission Scotland - 7stanes - Glentress Forest
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The No. 1 Visitor Attraction in the Scottish Borders
Located two miles east of Peebles on the A72 towards Innerleithen in the Scottish Borders, Glentress Forest attracts over 130,000 visitors each year. Here you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of one of the Tweed Valley Ospreys [4] or you can spend a while on some of the stunning forest walks. April 2011 will see the opening of the new Glentress Peel Visitor Centre [5] which will offer unprecedented facilities to all forest users including mountain bikers.
It also boasts 'the best dedicated mountain bike centre in Britain' and is only one of 7 centres (Glentress and Innerleithen count as one) located across the South of Scotland all within 2hrs travelling of the Tweed Valley. As at all our 7stanes centres, Glentress caters for experienced riders, beginners and intermediates too, plus it is suitable for year round use - one of the requirements of the Forestry Commission was that not only should they be rideable in all weather, they should also have a working life of 20-25 years for conservation reasons.
At Glentress [6] special mention needs to go to the red graded 19km route with everything from killer climbs, rocky chutes, drop offs, technical single-track and blindingly fast descents with berms to whip you round corners.
The 30km black route is the longest route that skirts the perimeter of the forest and takes you up to the highest point called Dunslair Heights. It is mostly technical single track with long climbs and descents that test both skill and stamina.
The 16km blue route starting at the Osprey car park and the 8km blue starting from the Buzzards Nest car park are excellent for beginners or as a warm up for those going on to bigger things.
At Innerleithen [6]you will find an 18km red route and 4 renowned downhill tracks. Choose from the legendary 'Make or Brake - a wide fast flowing track packed with huge berms, tabletops and doubles as well as more natural tracks - steep, tight and rooty down through the trees. All are graded Orange Bike Park and a popular uplift service runs on selected weekends.
All information about the mountain biking trails across the South of Scotland can be found on the 7stanes [6] website.
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Downhill |
Getting ready |
Off road |
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Skills circuit |
End of a long day |