So I'm just planning our annual Scotland trip with a buddy. We've got seven days, leaving from the Midlands Friday evening, coming back the following Friday night, so we need to work out our itinerary. Also from the lesson that we've learnt last year, we want a few easier days amongst a few epics.

My plan is leave Friday afternoon, to go to Dumfries,

Saturday – Dalbeattie

Sunday – Laggan

Monday – Fort William red downhill (for a bit of a break)

Tuesday – Possibly Golspie, possibly a non trail centre ride in the highlands

Wednesday – Need a non trail centre ride on the way back to the borders

Thursday – Glentress black and red

Friday – Innerleithen until we drop then come home.

Is it worth going all the way up to Golspie?

Would we be better doing a non trail centre route that's not as far North?

Would we be better spending a day less around Dumfries? Laggan and Dalbeattie in one day isn't really feasible if we're going to enjoy the rest of the week.

Your thoughts please ladies and gentlemen.

Yes, spend a day less in the Dumfries area and get up north! I'd also combine Thursday and Friday to give another 'natural' day doing proper riding in the hills. Search on here, there have been countless suggestions and threads over the last few months. I've not done Golspie but have heard it's very good.

laggan is about 2 hours north of edinburgh.
dalbaettie, bit more than 2 south.

but laggan is short, super short. each track (either old red, new red/black with the blue on the end) are all less than 8km long. old red can be done in 45 mins at a super easy pace. black an hour taking it easy (which includes riding the jumpy/swoopy blue to finish). new red about 45 mins again. but good to get a few laps in on a day.

i would be inclined to do all your border stuff together, at the end. and all northern stuff earlier.
drive straight to laggan sat morning. ride there that afternoon. shuffle stuff up a day.

golspie is a great trail centre. really good fun, as is blairadam nearby (both easily doable in a day)
but a couple hours north of ft william/laggan. so could add a good chunk extra on to your trip, where you could do a couple great natural rides.

up to laggan, over to ft bill, and come back down the a82, and theres a few great natural rides down that side of the country. or a day around aviemore (near laggan) would show some good riding.

Golspie is very good, and by your plan you seem to enjoy trail centres, it is quite a big hill to climb back up for each run, you have a very busy plan, you are going to be shattered adding all that driving in as well.

It would be good to get some non trail rides in, or maybe a day off the bike to chill out? You are going to be spending a lot of time in the car.

Mr Bunnyhop here. Golspie is great, best of the trail centres you mention there. The order seems a bit odd though – up to laggan, down to Fort William, back past laggan en route to Golspie? I'd either do Fort William first or miss it out and do something natural on the way up to Golspie instead – save laggan for the trip home, it's about half way from Golspie to Innerleithen distance wise

Ok, got confused about where Laggan was on google maps 😳

So make it-

My plan is leave Friday afternoon, to go to Dumfries,

Saturday – Dalbeattie

Sunday – Fort William red downhill (for a bit of a break)

Monday – Laggan easy day.

Tuesday – Possibly Golspie, possibly a non trail centre ride in the highlands

Wednesday – Need a non trail centre ride on the way back to the borders

Thursday – Glentress black and red

Friday – Innerleithen until we drop then come home.

We do quite enjoy the trail centres, most of our riding is done on the peaks, so it's quite nice to have a few man made obstacles that you know are rideable.

Oh good god yes.

Golspie is the best trail centre there is, joint with Laggan for me because they're too different to split.

Do Golspie and Blairadam in a day- they're REALLY good! Blairadam is unique and really good fun. Neither are massively long. (we did golspie twice last time- we were going to do blairadam but were having so much fun we had to go round again, did blairadam the next day).

simply_oli_y – I'm guessing by Blairadam you mean Balblair?

Blairadam is also good, just a bit away from Golspie 😉

Golspie is well worth the journey as a 'treat' and can be combined with Balblair for an excellent day's riding. I'd perhaps stay an extra day in Aviemore and get some natural riding there – Bothy Bikes sell maps that show all the decent trails in the area.

I agree that you should just make a push straight up North so you can get the most out of the rest of your holiday by not cutting into it with long drives. Perhaps the following itinerary as my suggestion:

Friday – drive to Laggan, ride it.

Saturday – ride Laggan, drive Golspie, ride Golspie

Sunday – ride Golspie, ride Golspie, ride Balblair, drive Aviemore

Monday – ride Aviemore (this can be your easy day as there's loads of low level singletrack in the area)

Tuesday – drive Fort William (optional Laggan stop) and ride Fort William DH and perhaps Witches Trail/World Cup XC/10 Under the Ben course

Wednesday – natural ride, perhaps the Devil's Staircase or some other Highland adventure. Drive Glentress

Thursday – ride Glentress, ride Innerleithen. Drive Dumfries or general area

Friday – ride Drumlanrig, return home.

Quite a heavy week, but that's how I'd do it if I didn't live up here.

I was just thinking Blairadam is nowhere near Golspie (unless there are two trails called Blairadam…)

AlasdairMc that itinerary would kill us, we need a few days with max 2 hours on the bike based on previous experience.

How about –

Friday drive up to Laggan

Saturday – Laggan

Sunday – Golspie

Monday – Natural trail around Aviemore

Tuesday – Fort William

Wednesday – Love the sound of Devil's Staircase

Thursday – Glentress

Friday – Innerleithen then home.

I think there is confussion with the name. I`m guessing the above posts refer to Balblair trails that are up in Sutherland about 20 miles from Golspie. IMO make sure you go to Golspie it really is very good, Balblair is also good fun with some nice bare rock sections similar to McMoab in Kirroghtree. There are some good helmet cam vids on you tube of the Golspie decent its a total blast. The climb is god too nice technical rocky steps. Quite rewarding to clear the lactic lader!

aye sorry meant balblair.
blairadam was somewhere i was recently talking about!

if your heading up in the evening, then its fine to just drive up on friday.
but laggan really is short. and could easily fit something else in too that day. or do lots of laps. and you really should ride balblair with golspie, its great!

Last week I did:
Friday leave work (Edinburgh) and drive to Kirroughtree.
Saturday – 10@ Kirro (only managed 3 laps before dying)
Sunday – drove to Ft William and messed about on skills area for a bit getting used to riding in full facer and goggles for the first time in ages (camped in witches trail carpark – shhhh! )
Monday – bought pass and rode red DH – actually according to signs etc its the uks only gondola accessed red xc – either way it's great craic. Smashed back wheel on 3rd run when I decided to cut into teh DH course and wasn't particularly smooth on the last drop into the arena. Joe Barnes @ Nevis bikes did a stirling job of making it pretty straight – great lads can't thank them enough! The guy on teh Offbeat hire shop was really helpful too. Rode world cup xc that eve.
Tuesday – Rode 10under red and drove to Golspie. Rode Golspie – it's ace, although I want to go back with a wheel I don't feel the need to nurse down teh drops. Camped on flat bit of grass at top of carpark – luxury after the gravel of teh previous 2 nights! 🙂
Wednesday – should have done another lap but decideed to make tracks. Got coffee and cake from teh coffee bothy before leaving – mmmmm. Drove to balblair and rode black (well most of it I got a little lost on the climb so missed out teh lower bit). Drove to black isle and rode Learnie Red Rocks Black (totally undecided about that one, It's not a bad trail but there were a few things I've reservations about. The 'freeride trail at teh bottom has some lovely shaped table tops you just float over effortlesly, went back up to do it again with the saddle a bit lower!).
Then drove to Moray for a few non-biking days camping with the GF.

Ace Week. Golspie and Balblair are both short and you could easily manage them both in a day even with an second lap of each. They are both great though, as is the Fort red. I'm already planning another trip[ for when my Hemlock turns up!

Ooh, sorry, that turned into a bit of an epic post!

I was up that way a couple of weeks back. I did 2 laps of the Golspie black and looped back up to ride from VTOL back down again then had a spot of lunch and whipped across to Blablair which is short but perfectly formed in a rocky fun kind of way. Both really excellent places, i found Golspie quite interesting but enjoyed the up more than the down (but then i am an xc whippet) ! Balblair was really enjoyable technically. I also rode at Strathpeffer on the way back down the road, then Laggan 🙂

Ok then, hints taken about Balblair –

Friday drive up to Laggan

Saturday – Laggan

Sunday – Golspie and Balblair

Monday – Natural trail around Aviemore

Tuesday – Fort William

Wednesday – Love the sound of Devil's Staircase

Thursday – Glentress

Friday – Innerleithen then home.

Anyone know when the gondola at Fort William runs until?

1545 iirc

Golspie is a fairly short trail, but really good riding – I would seriously consider 2 laps of Golspie. Balblair is fun too though.don't get hung up doing on glentress and innerleithen on separate days, yes they re both good but other places are as good if not better….

In June we did

1st day drive to Glospie
2nd day 2 laps of Golspie
3rd day Balblair and Learnie (new jumps there are fun !)
4th day Laggan
5th day Innerleithen
6th day Ae

Then we were knackered – Best of everything there apart from any natural riding 🙂