Routes near Glasgow

Resin42

Hi folks

New to the forum and still relatively new to biking. I wanted to pick the brains of my fellow Weegies about good routes and trails within easy driving distance of the Glasgow area. I've been around a few areas like Mugdock park and Cathkin Braes, which are decent and warrant more exploration, but they're not amazing and I'm trying to find as many good rides as possible to keep it varied and interesting. Obviously I'm aware of the trail centres but don't always have time to make the journey.

I was doing some research on Google and found the Glen Mile trails in Cumbernauld. Has anyone tried it? Is it worth the drive?

I've found that accurate and up to date info on the net is very hit and miss. Does anyone have any wee gems they care to share?

Thanks

David

asdfhjkl

Have a look at this thread for a few ideas

BoardinBob

You won't find much better than Mugdock, providing you're straying off the beaten track and not sticking to the main paths. There's some very challenging stuff in and around Mugdock.

Resin42

Cheers for the link asdfhjkl, some good info in there. Muirshiel sounds very promising, must take a trip down there soon. Pollok I've tried and won't be in a mad rush to go back tbh. I can see it's value for kids or someone on a bike for the first time but I honestly felt like it had been designed by a child, it had absolutely no flow to it.

I keep driving by Harthill on the M8 and wonder if it's worth a look, there looks like there should be some interesting routes down from the transmitter but it's tough to gauge the terrain from that distance. Anyone know where I can get on the trail to fauldhouse, I'm really not sure of the area.

Mugdock I'm actually a huge fan of but I've spent a lot of time exploring there and trying to figure out some good loops, I'm just wary of going too often and getting bored with it. No problems going off the main track, even if it means ending up fork deep in mud and minus a shoe.

dombra

Resin42 wrote:

Hi folks

I was doing some research on Google and found the Glen Mile trails in Cumbernauld. Has anyone tried it? Is it worth the drive?

David

in a word, no. its ok but if you had to spend actual money and a lot of time to get there i would find it hard to recommend. worth a look if you are local though, i do a couple of laps a week there but thats mainly in the dark and on my way back from my other local trails at the back of croy. there is other stuff in the glen but mostly very steep and very short and not for the faint hearted as normally wet muddy and slick.

mugdock is very good, you need to explore more. if you want trail centre i like carron valley but probably best leaving it for a few weeks as they are doing some work on it.

there is a a glasgow rides type thread about 6-7 pages back that has some good stuff in it.

allyharp

Yeah there are quite a few threads with route suggestions on here (including this one
And What Mountain Bike magazine even had 3 routes this year (issue 86, was it?) Just search bikeradar maps for wmb86

There's some good stuff around Mugdock, but if you want to find it you just have to be willing to explore every little minor path you see leading off into the woods. Or follow someone!

A lot of the stuff is outside the park itself - take a look on the map for Boards Farm, there are a few stealthy trails around there. And also even a signposted path down to the Cuilt Brae Road which is fun but short.

Resin42

Lots of helpful info there, cheers folks.