Inverness secondary school land is being transformed into mountain bike trail with help from sportscotland
Pupils at Inverness Royal Academy will soon get their own mountain bike skills course built on the school grounds.
Heavy machinery arrived on site earlier this month and has been converting an existing path and grass banking area for cycling and walking into a coaching area for off-road biking.
The land is beside the fenced-off all-weather pitches and next to the school car park, where some bays are now temporarily off-limits.
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It was among the first nine projects to receive investment from the £8 million Cycling Facilities Fund distributed by the Scottish Government and sportscotland.
The Mountain Bike Skills Loop project received £40,000 towards the work, with Highland Council also funding it, however the local authority has been reluctant to reveal how much it is paying despite being asked several days ago.
A spokesman for the local authority said: “The Highland Council is installing a mountain bike track area in the grounds at Inverness Royal Academy and sportscotland is part funding the project along with the council.
“There will be three trails/tracks and the works are proposed to take nine weeks with an estimated completion around November.
“The track surface will, however, require to settle for several weeks before use - so the area will remain closed off till December.”
Three years ago PE teacher Jane Chisholm, who has been a key player in the project, told The Inverness Courier the idea is to use the trail for pupils during the school day and then outside coaches or members of the community could use the facility in the evenings and at weekends.
The school's Cycle Hub was founded in 2018 and aims to widen access to all forms of cycling to pupils, their families and the wider community.