Scotland - The Ultimate Mountain Bike Trip!

Scotland’s busiest airport has direct flights to the USA and Canada. It is more likely that you will take a short transfer to a main European hub (eg London Heathrow or Amsterdam Schipol) then get a direct flight to most large USA and Canada airports. From Edinburgh Airport it is a short 45 minute transfer to the Tweed Valley to hit the trails.

You can also fly to Scotland’s largest city - Glasgow. It has fewer US/Canada flights than Edinburgh, but plenty of options worth investigating - it can sometimes be cheaper too. Glasgow’s an excellent base for riding in Scotland, and particularly for access to the West Coast and the Highlands.

If you are thinking of hitting the amazing Aberdeenshire trails straight away then this could be your airport of choice. It is a touch more limited than Edinburgh or Glasgow but worth investigating.

Scotland is improving its sustainable transport with some routes having bikes on buses (Borders Buses) and trains (Highland Explorer) however we aren’t quite there yet to fully enjoy our best trails without a car/van/pick up to enjoy our best destinations.

These destinations all have multiple days of riding within them. Whilst Alex and Brian spent 3 days in both Tweed Valley and Aberdeenshire and a day at Comrie Croft. All of the destinations have many more days of riding in them and we highly recommend spending as long as possible within each destination.

Car and van hire is readily available from the usual brands at airports (or nearby) across Scotland.

The Tweed Valley is a world-class MTB destination, renowned for the quality, design, and sheer variety of trails. There’s a passion for riding that can be found in the cafes, pubs, shops and every other aspect of daily life - if you ride a bike, you’re going to feel welcome here.

For further information on riding in the Tweed Valley including trail maps and apps – see our Tweed Valley Ride Guide.

Running from the eastern Cairngorms to the sea via amazing valleys and ancient forest offering trail centre thrills, skills parks and big mountain adventure, race worthy enduro trails and leg burning cross country routes, mellow little loops and bike packing epics – in short, something to suit every rider!

For further information on riding in Aberdeenshire including trail maps and apps – see our Aberdeenshire Ride Guide.

Glenlivet trail centre has a thrilling array of trails. Short blasts right from the cafe, longer cross country red and blue trails, and flow and jump lines. It also has Keiran’s Line - which might be the biggest set of official jumps in Scotland. There are awesome enduro trails too. All the trails are complimented by a fantastic café and bike hire shop right next to the trailheads.

The Cairngorms is made up of over 4,500sq km of unspoilt countryside - it’s the largest of the UK’s national parks. It boasts five of the UK’s six highest mountains, 43 munros, nine separate nature reserves and an abundance of majestic wildlife among its lochs, rivers, and ancient Caledonian Pine trees.

For further information on riding at Glenlivet and across the Cairngorms including trail maps and apps – see our Cairngorms Ride Guide.

Comrie Croft is one of Scotland's best trail centres which captures the spirit of mountain biking. The trail centre combines a feeling of free-living, unique accommodation options including nordic kata's, wild camping, eco-lodges and hostels, a range of activities, a fantastic cafe, a quality bike shop, and (of course) an amazing range of trails.

Perthshire is in the heart of Scotland and has (arguably) some of the best scenery, local produce, native forests, friendly towns ready to welcome riders, active local communities/scenes across the area, and a variety of riding for all different levels of riders.

For further information on riding in Perthshire including trail maps and apps – see our Perthshire Ride Guide.

After checking out Aberdeenshire and the Cairngorms, why not get yourself into Scotland’s wild country? The North Highlands has the wildest biking experience available in the UK – it is not all for the more adventurous though, there is a great range of trail centres and places to ride in God’s own country – check out our North Highlands Ride Guide.

Or you could go monster hunting? We think you might be better sticking to the trails and you may be surprised at the amount, and quality, of trails near Inverness and along Loch Ness - here is our Inverness & Loch Ness Ride Guide.

Fort William is famous the world over for the world cup and world champs course – there is of course the gondola and world cup trail at Nevis Range but there is so much more riding to be had both off the beaten track on a responsible adventure and at the other uplift facility at Glencoe – get yourself west coast with our Fort William & Lochaber Ride Guide.

The South of Scotland has so much more than just the Tweed Valley, Dumfries & Galloway is home to five of the 7stanes with trails for all abilities with some of the most iconic features of any trails across Scotland. The area also has the stunning Solway Coast and a thriving arts scene – find out more in our Dumfries & Galloway Ride Guide.

Create your own adventure! One of the most amazing things about Scottish mountain biking is our fabulous access rights. This means that we are allowed to ride pretty much anywhere providing we are responsible. So, get some maps, do some research, plan your trails (& a plan B if it all goes wrong) and get yourself on a wild adventure. For more information on your rights and responsibilities then see our Do The Ride Thing Guidance.

We at Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland would like to thank so many people (so much so we may have forgotten some - sorry) for making this amazing trip happen.

First of all the trip wouldn't have happened without a journalist, Tim Wild. Tim has been the driving force behind the trip and we are pleased that he has such persistence to making good things happen. We are sure this wont be the last time we work together.

The trip was supported by Scotland's own mountain bike brand, Deviate Cycles. Both Brian and Alexander loved riding their bikes for their trip - we think you might love riding them too.

All of the people who gave up their time to come along, meet the guys, make them feel welcome and give them a taste of how awesome the Scottish mountain bike scene is - we salute you!

Thanks to everyone again - a special trip.

See more videos, images and stories from the trip here:

@bkxc

@singletracksampler

@timnwild