Drumlanrig...

Saturdays MTBscotland forum rideout was to somewhere very special...
Down in Dumfriesshire is the Estate of Drumlanrig
another scenic area of Scotland the drive down there with friend Andrew on Saturday was as scenic as the destination...


crossing the River Nith its trees this now are cloaked in Autumn colour...

entering the estate a grand driveway leads to its mansion castle and car park,

home of the Buccleuch family and surrounded by scenic woods and the nearby rolling Lowther Hills the area is very scenic...



the Estate grounds have a mountainbike trail centre...
trails that are a bit different to the Forestry Commission trail centres and quite special,alot narrower and with alot of exposed tree roots make these trails a bit of a challenge and therefore very rewarding to ride...the old stables and out buildings are now shops,The Scottish Cycle Museum-sadly closed for the winter
In 1839 the Bicycle was created by a local blacksmith Kirkpatrick Macmillan...
so a fitting place to come cycling today...
a cafe and Riks bike shop

Shop owner Rik Alsopp is well known in the mountainbike scene for his trail building here in Scotland and he built the trails here at Drumlanrig...
there are trails for all ability's,easy routes for family rides, and there are red and black grade trails...and what amazing trails...twisty undulating singletrack with rooty technical sections and the odd rock section makes this place one of the favourite destinations and must do rides for mountainbikers...

trails which keep you focused- quite hard today when the trees were draped in Autumn colour which seemed to glow in the sunshine...



meeting friend Dave we rode round into the woods on what was a fantastic ride...


the short fireroad sections allowed you to soak up the Autumn colour around us..

some lovely old trees here...including redwoods...

and every so often at the sides of woods are stunning views across the countryside...

choice of bike to ride here is up to the individual but a hardtail bike is great for these trails...

returning to the House we went for a Cuppa and some food at the cafe we were joined by Rik for a brew and it was great chewing the fat with the guy who built these great trails...top bloke and he has invited us to a guided ride around on our next visit...
heres some film of the trails...and something nice we saw while driving home...

East Lothian Rideout, October ...Autumn Delight

Sunday i led another days trailriding around some of my local trails...
after an add on Singletrack forum and MTBscotland 19 riders made it to Longniddry Rail station,some friends couldn't make it and some new faces came along...
was a great day weather wise as after Saturdays washout Sunday dawned clear and drying fast with a brisk cool Northerly wind...

lots of bikes...

down through Gosford Estate and around the ponds,trees an Autumn bronze looked stunning in the sunlight...



through the estate and along the road into the next estate at Luffness...


and down the trail to Biccertons Tomb, in the ruins of an Abbey is a tomb to Sir David De Lindsey a crusader Knight...

then onwards and leaving the estate a short road ride to pick up the old railwayline into Gullane Village...


leaving the old railway line we joined the John Muir Way into the village...


then it was the only climb of the day up Gullane Hill...i was leading but Shane blasted up ahead on his Singlespeed...hence a pic with me in it...



regrouped up top at the millenium cairn we had a break and a group photo...

i had a camera mounted on the bars of my On One 456 which friend Ian was using and a rear rack mounted camera on the pugsley...
heres some film of some of the trails up to the break on Gullane Hill...



then it was all down to the coast...

stopping at the Clifftop WW2 anti tank blocks,i didnt take pictures here but did some film, then it was down to the beach and showtime for Pugsley,those who had a shot were amazed at the bike on the sand...i was impressed also at TJ solo on his tandem on the beach!...



its worrying though when the possible future of complete fatbikes being imported into the UK falls off though!...
thanks Shane for capturing this!



he loved it and says will be on the phone monday!
heading across the reserve for Aberlady...

and Brad got a bit too excited and jumped of the end of the bridge...which resulted in this!...

spokes were all still ok so he set about trying to straighten it...

can it be done?,yep watch this...thanks again to friend `Sharky` Shane...



he could of borrowed the wheel off this Halloween witch at the road side to Aberlady village but he got it going again!

next stop was the cafe...


Gavin getting into the halloween spirit...

was a great mix of bikes today including a cyclocross bike,tandem and my pugsley...

from the cafe we followed the coast back to Longniddry village on the John Muir Way Trail...i rode along the beach below and filmed...




heading back to the Rail Station car park we stopped off for a while at the kids bmx theme cycle track and enjoyed the warmth of the Autumn afternoon sun and goofed around on the track like big kids...

getting some airtime Mr Pugsley style...

heres some film of some of the trails from Gullane Hill back to Longniddry Village...



this area is where i grew up and means alot to me...
its great to show friends around my old backyard and everyone seemed to enjoy the day out...
its nice to make folk happy...