Over the last 10 years, Scotland has brought the trails to the towns - increasing the accessibility into our amazing sport and introducing so many new people to its joys. Our urban trails, and pump tracks, are a perfect way to get into the sport or to grab an hour (or two) riding, when time is short.
Scotland already has the second-highest number of pump tracks of any country in Europe. And this is before the Cycling Facilities Fund which promises to deliver so many more - look out Switzerland we are coming!
For those not aware, a pump track is a continuous circuit of banked turns interspaced by rollers that can be ridden on a mountain bike, BMX, dirt bike, or with our 4 wheeled friends on skateboards and inline-skates.
They are amazing for developing core techniques of bike handling. The name comes from the way you ride them largely without pedalling but rather you gain speed by rhythmic, up and down body/bike movements known as 'pumping'.
The scene around the tracks is friendly, welcoming, and encouraging. They are a true asset to the riding scene in Scotland.
As promised, we have now (summer 2025) developed an interactive map of all the pump tracks across Scotland - interactive pump track map.
Enjoy!
Cathkin Braes, Glasgow
Taking the 'Trails to the Towns' - is something we have been advocating, supporting, and spreading good practice since 2010. We now have trails close to, or in, all of our major cities and there will be more trails being developed over the next few years.
The urban trail network tends to be shorter and more compact than our trail centres or the experiences you will get in our key mountain bike destinations.
That said, they are a fantastic way to make mountain biking more accessible, provide a base for our growing club network, get a blast during the week (or pushed for time at weekend), and bring so many more people, especially young people, into our sport.
Thanks to our amazing access rights we have the right to explore our parks and urban forests under our right to responsible access.
Most of our parks, urban forests, and local places will have short sections of fun, playful, and rooty sections of trails for you to explore responsibly.
Obviously, these places are often busier with walkers, dogs, families, and other riders - it is important that we consider when and where to ride and make sure we take extra care in busy places. For more information on responsible riding close to home - see our Do The Ride Thing guidance.
As we prepare for the Scottish Mountain Bike Gathering 2023 at Comrie Croft, we can reflect back on the amazing conference we held in Aberdeen in 2022. This year was our first in person conference since 2018 and the vibe was pretty awesome. Such a positive…
We represent riders at the National Access Forum (NAF), to Government agencies and other organisations that have a vested interest in the access laws and rights in Scotland.
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