whiteleewindfarm near Glasgow photos added 26 Oct

drummondjhn

Just wondering anyone been to these trails yet



http://www.whiteleewindfarm.co.uk/index.php

asdfhjkl

Nice find - I'll have to check this out sometime.

Edit: found this written about it

Mountain bikers will find the terrain well-suited to their heavy tread mountain tyres but would find the flat, featureless moorland boring.

<snip>

Then again it will only be a matter of time before some of mountain biking's maddest reclaim the remains of the old forest to create more challenging escape routes around the Fenwick and Darvel perimeters.

That's when Whitelee Windfarm will be a true haven for bikers!

Sounds like it has potential.

drummondjhn

off in weeks time will post thoughts once ive been

let us know if anyone goes

Resin42

Did a bit of riding around there a couple of months back. The tracks themselves are pretty much fire road and while unexciting would be a good training circuit.

Near tower 109 you can drop into the land track through the forest. It eventually narrows into single track and good fun wee descent which brings you out here. What I'd like to do is park the car here and come back to down this track at the end of a loop but I've not found a way around yet. Maybe now the visitor centre's open it's a bit more accessible.

It's worth bearing in mind that when I did this I was very new to biking and need to go back and cast a slightly more experienced eye over it but it's definitely worth exploring.

The terrain off the roads tends to be very boggy and tough to walk on never mind ride, I'm not sure of the feasibility of bikers forging there own trails but you never know, I've not fully explored it yet.

drummondjhn

Not great pics

hope link works let us know your thoughts

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id= ... 577&ref=mf

fitch28

we pop up there every now and again because it's conveniently only about a 5 or 6 mile ride on country roads from my house. normally start at the point resin42 marked on the map and then ride up to the wind turbines at the top and then back down again. decent enough to keep the cycling legs working if you cant get out anywhere else. reckon the area has loads of potential though, would be fantastic if they got some trails built in there!

Resin42

Showers? Did I see that right drummondjhn? With all those facilities you'd think they'd make it worth riding in.

Who do you think we could bug/lobby to get some sort of trails developed up there? Scottish Power? F.C.? It's crying out for it.

Treniad

I went up to the wind farm on my MTB a couple of weeks back. I parked at the visitor centre and had a cycle about the main area where the majority of the turbines are. It is, as someone already said, mostly just fireroad; there is a stretch of tarmaced road but the majority of the road comprises of loose stones that just get annoying rumbeling over. I didnt however, go into the wooded part at the far side, which some people report as being a bit more interesting than the barren hill, that is the wind farm.

I was a bit dissapointed by the whole experience to be honest. I had expected some actual purpose built cycling trails, instead of a web of poorly surfaced fireroad. The place is extremely exposed and very windy - as you might expect :-)

Having said all that there could be huge potential if they were to develop the forest into some sort of trail network. I have read the odd statement like those above saying this is a possibility for the future but nothing concrete.

If any 1 hears anything or comes up with a lobbying idea let us know :-D

woodywmb

Scottish Power did promise cycle trails at the planning stage. But this has been abandoned because there is a rush on to get another 50 turbines erected. Once the work is complete and the fire roads bedded in with some foliage growing up round them, it might look more interesting. I wrote the piece about mountain bikers developing their own trail extensions (www.kilmarnockstandard.co.uk) and I firmly believe that will happen. Some of them already know their way through the bottom half of Whitelee and it will only be a matter of time before there are paths worn into the ground all the way to the tarred spine road. Scottish Power also proposed the inclusion of a cycle hire service at the visitors centre.

George Poole

Hi all,
Back in the summer I spoke to John and Neil Walker of Walker's Cycles in Kilmaurs who told me that they would be providing bike hire at Whitelees.

Don't know if this is still the case as I haven't been up in a while.