ACTIVE OUTDOORS: Going green on Kelpies mountain bike trails
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Abriachan is home to the Kelpies Trails. John Davidson took his family to get a taste of free-flowing off-road riding in the hills above Loch Ness
Expect the unexpected. It’s not every day our family of five all agree on something, so I was somewhat taken aback as we finished a lap to hear everyone ask if we could do it again.
I was delighted – the green mountain bike trail at Abriachan is sweet but oh so short for grown-ups. But on this trip the blue or red were out of bounds for us, with Matthew still getting to grips with this more adventurous off-road riding.
It’s always better to keep the experience positive rather than trying to push the children’s endurance – something I am still very slowly learning!
The Kelpies Trails at Abriachan are the perfect introduction to trail centre-style mountain biking. Even the easy green route has enough free-flowing, twisty singletrack with bermed corners and bumps to keep things interesting, without being too intimidating for smaller riders.
The biggest “obstacles” can even be avoided – such as the hump-back bridge over the Allt Tarsuinn and a rather steep bump at the end of a superb section of downhill.
Many mountain bikers start further up the forest track where there’s parking for the blue and red trails, but the green trail – which is great for a warm-up ahead of those more difficult routes in any case – starts at the main Abriachan Forest Trust car park.
It also helps that there’s a play park there for some post-ride fun, just when the kids claim to have no energy left for the bike…
The start of the Kelpies Trails is marked by a colourful sign at the south end of the car park. The trail leads through a skills park where those with the ability can have a go at a number of tricky challenges, including a couple of seesaws and some narrow balance beams and drop-offs.
I managed to do the smaller seesaw a few times and one or two other bits before catching up with the rest of the crew who were by now heading left towards the round house. Matthew was keen to investigate the building so detoured left to take a look inside before returning to the main route.
There’s a bit of climbing in the early part of the loop here as you fork right at a junction with the main walkers’ path up to Carn na Leitire. It heads up around a couple of corners before a steep section on boardwalk.
This was hard going for little legs but Matthew was determined to do it himself, despite needing a rest on the steepest bit.
It eventually levels out before a nice big left-hand hairpin through the trees and some nice trail to reach a vehicle track. Cross here and go through a gate on the far side.
Things start to get fun here, as you take on a big corner followed by a series of little bumps – a precursor of what is to follow. There’s a slight rise as you come to the high point of the trail, overlooking a cleared area of forest.
From here, the trail sweeps down, one way then the other in some lovely flowing singletrack with one or two bumps thrown in just to keep things interesting. Matthew was a bit nervous at first, so took his time, while the girls flew off ahead.
There’s something about this kind of riding that just makes you smile, though, so once he’d gained the confidence to let his brakes loose for long enough, he was loving the experience.
After a rather dilapidated gate, you hit another track (watch out for cars at this one, as it’s on the way to the parking area for the other trails) where you go left for a hundred metres or so before turning right, back onto the singletrack.
A right-hand bend leads onto a long straight with one bump after another – I even managed to get some air along here on my last lap – before the trail wriggles round to the hump-back bridge. Clara managed to make it over here at her second attempt and, after having a go at it, Matthew backed off and decided (wisely) to take the alternative flat bridge instead.
It’s easy going back to the car park now, with one burn crossing on a short wooden boardwalk before another gate and the last little loop to cross the access road.
As we entered the car park, I held back and was surprised to hear Meg ask if anybody wanted to go round again, and even more surprised to hear Jennifer, Clara and Matthew all say yes! So we turned right and did it all again.
The second time round was better for everyone, as we all knew what to expect now. Matthew was keen to have a go at the bigger bumps and took the corners with a smile on his face while Meg and I stayed with him – and we didn’t see the girls until we were nearly at the end!
After two laps, Matthew and Jennifer were ready for the play park, so Meg stayed with them while Clara and I had a final blast round together – and I got to have a go at the course at a proper speed!
This easy trail is a great way to experience the fun and flow of mountain biking without any technical skills required – just do the course at your own pace then keep going until you’ve had enough.
Route details
Abriachan Kelpies Trails - Green
Distance 5 miles / 8 km (for three laps)
Terrain Easy singletrack trails with some bumps and boardwalk sections
Start/finish Abriachan Forest Trust car park (donations)
Map OS Landranger 26; Abriachan Trailmap (map board in car park)
A mountain bike adventure for all the family
Click here to see the route in OS Maps
