which 7 stanes?

craigw99

im going to be in Gatehouse of fleet in a couple of weeks for easter holidays with the family, which of the 7 stanes should i be taking my young kids round they are 9 + 6? looking for nothing too hard as the 6 year old doesnt have much exp but likes a bit of fun.
Ae, Mable, dalbeatie,and kirroughtree and the ones close by which would be best for the family and what do you recomend for me alone :-0

EH_Rob

dalbeattie and kirroughtree are my favourites out of those. kirroughtree hase trails suitable for the kids and for you.

that said dalbeattie red is also excellent.

milko9000

Do Kirroughtree black on your own, it's a killer but one of my favourite ever rides. Definitely not one for the nippers

rob39

Kirroughtree is great with trails suitable for the kids, with the red/black for yourself. But don't rule out Glentrool. Not your hard core 7 stanes but a blast none the less, not to technical but plenty of fun. Do the green tor route. visit http://www.7stanesmountainbiking.com/Home for more info. Enjoy

downhillbike

dalbeattie green track for the kids

Duki

I've only done Mabie and Dalbeattie and I love them both. Mabie has a cafe and bike shop whereas Dalbeattie doesn't. I've never done the green routes on either trail but I reckon they would both be suitable. I think Dalbeattie is closer to Gatehouse of Fleet. Also if you decide to go to Dalbeattie you could visit Kippford afterwards, just a couple of miles further on. Excellent pint and food in The Anchor.

craigw99

thanks for the advice i'm thinking Kirroughtree to start - the cafe+playpark wins for the family plus the skills loop to try them out on and if i can get away with it i'll do another one another day!

trailpuppet

Good cafe at Mabie, an adventure play area and lots of easy walks with ponds/boardwalks and the likes. There is also a good wee skills area. 9yr old could cope with the blue route, bit of a climb to begin with and the singletrack sections are mostly downhill, the rest being forest road.
Just down the hill from the playpark is Mabie Farm Park.
On your way to Kirry there is http://www.thecocoabeancompany.com/
This is also nearby http://www.creamogalloway.co.uk/ Not as good as the bean company, looking a bit tired imo.

trailpuppet

http://www.kirkcudbright.co.uk/childrensactivities.asp

craigw99

just back today - many thanks to all who replied esp trailpuppet, you basically mapped out my holiday for me :-) we did both the chocolate factory and the cream of galloway! on the biking side we did kirroughtree (only 9 miles from the cottage) and did mabie this morning both green routes with the kids. also did the blue skills loops with the oldest - he managed no probs some bits were just too tricky for the youngest so he rode the dirt jumps at mabie instead! only downer for the trip was the ambulance heading to the top of the mini x course or whatever else is past there for someone- their buddies were showing them the way up - hope they are ok, I woosed out the mini x course as its friday the 13th and didnt want to tempt fate

trailpuppet

Cheers, glad you and the kids enjoyed the trip
D&G is my home turf, Mabie, Ae and Dalbeattie being my home trails. Getting to visit all these new visitor attractions and finding new ones now that I have a few grand children to amuse
Hadn't heard about Fridays injury but another guy ended up in A&E with a busted shoulder having crashed on the Ridge. It was the first day of his holiday!!
I also help out with a kids bike club so tend to know what youngsters are capable of riding, esp in Mabie.
I was up the road a bit riding the hills above Sanquhar