Kirroughtree Mountain Bike Trail Centre

Hampshire:

A great place to visit to improve your skills and grow your confidence. I have visited 4 of the 7Stanes trail centres and for simple MTB riding enjoyment this is the place for me. I'm an experienced MTB rider and I rode both the Blue and Red routes and found both entertaining and extremely fun to ride. The Blue is real good fun for all abilities and combines elements of the Red which a less intimidating and allows you to build your confidence each time you ride a loop. The Red is just fab, it flows really really well and is not so challenging (like Dalbeattie) that you can't ride it fast n loose which is what I really like. It is technical and you still need your wits about you in places, but it's just the way it flows that makes it so good to ride with minimal climbs for some downhill fun.

Well maintained trails New visitor centre under construction looks mint Good if basic bike shop with hire bikes etc and friendly staff Less climbing than some centres but just as much downhill fun A great place to build your confidence.

Katherine Simpson:

This was my first trip to one of the southerly 7Stanes (my usual playground is Glentress) and Kirroughtree did not disappoint. The red route is ideal for going fast and slogging out some miles. The uphills are even fun with smooth singletrack and swithcbacks making for an easy up. The downs are more xc than the ones I’m used to at Glentress (this is not a negative, it’s just different, and more like a natural trail) but blasting around the tight twisty sections and rock gardens is lots of fun! A dropper post would have made this perfect if you want a trail to session and get fit on (my seat clamp got a lot of use, but that’s more a technique issue for me personally). This was my first ride following a crash so we didn’t attempt the black, although we drove to the huge rock garden section just off the main road for a play. Great technical fun! Looking forward to coming back here in September for my first race attempt!

- Fast and flowy - Well maintained trail - The bike shop was great - you could even try out tyres for free! - Ideal for xc sessioning

Luke Griffiths:

In terms of difficulty the first time round the red I remember feeling it was easier than Dalbeattie Red but harder than Glentress Red so it may prove tougher if you have only ridden Glentress however it is still fully of flowy single track and exciting descents peppered with fun features. The main shouting point for Kirroughtree is the Black grade Black Craig's route for which I was nervous at first as it was to be my first black trail but from then on I have seen a vast improvement in my riding through the boosting of my confidence all brought about by this one trail. Various parts of the black trail are wide and allow you to experiment with line choice which is a very important skill to develop. There are several tough and often technical climbs which are well rewarded. Bear in mind I rode the whole black route on a hardtail - a Specialized Rockhopper that ultimately cracked in 3 places - so I imagine it is best to ride it on either a high end hardtail or preferably a full suspension bike. The skills loops at Kirroughtree are getting an idea of the kind of features you will encounter on the different levels of trail. Also if you are trying to get to all the stanes (for photos ect.) the Gem Stane is enroute for at least most of the trails and in a nice spot by a wee pond/lochan. Bottom line is Kirroughtree is great

Great fun Technical and challenging Good for developing skills Great sense of being in the wild especially at the far end of the black trail

Kirkcowan Cycles:

The blue route at Kirroughtree is a slightly more technical blue trail with small sections of red than can be avoided if need be, It's a very fast flowing trail and great fun, taken at speed it will test the fitness of any rider and will push a novice that bit harder than most blue grades without venturing into red levels of skill. Rocky Road requires a confident approach and faith in the forks, can be tricky in the wet but pick your line and go for it.

Very free draining Flowing and fast Great fun on a hardtail Small step ups and drop offs that can be avoided

Oggie:

Excellent trails in awesome condition with huge variety. McMoab is superb! would have got 5* all round but i'm sure an improvements in facilities is in mind with future developments. Top trail!