The last few weeks has seen bikers in the North and North East of Scotland welcome the official openings of mountain bike trails on the Black Isle and at Fochabers.
On the 25th of March the Learnie Red Rock Trails were officially opened. The trails were brought about through discussions started around 2000 between the Highland Mountain Biking Association and the Forestry Commission. Some £200,000 of investment from Ross & Cromarty Enterprise, Scottish National Hertitage, The Highland Council and Highlands & Islands Partnership Programme (Europe) together with the efforts of association members has culminated in this challenging network of trails for riders of all abilities.
Alan Stevenson, Recreation & Tourism Manager, Forestry Commission Scotland, said "Mountain biking in the national forest estate throughout Scotland is growing in stature and we recently were given global recognition by the International Mountain Biking Association as the place to ride outside North America. Such recognition can only enhance our reputation and attract even more people to Scotland's forests and trails. I'm thrilled by what's been achieved here on the Black Isle and am very optimistic that with the establishment of these trails, mountain bikers along with many other users of the forest will be able to enjoy them for many years to come."
Only two weeks later on the 8th and 9th of April, the Moray Monster Trails were opened just outside Fochabers. The genesis of the trails was around five years ago when local mountain bikers and members of Moray Mountain Bike Club (MMBC) joined forces with Forestry Commission Scotland to design and build some recreation tracks in the woods. There are three main access points for the Moray Monster Trails; Whiteash (providing access to The Fochabers Ring, and Fochabers Freeride trails), Ordiequish (providing access to The Soup Dragon, Gordzilla, The Haggis and The Gully Monster trails) and Ben Aigan (providing access to The Ben Aigan Hammer, The Mast Blast and The Bunny trails).
The Moray Monster Bike Trails have been supported by the Big Lottery Fund, Highlands & Islands Enterprise (Moray), Baxters of Speyside, Moray Council, Moray Action for Communities (LEADER+), and Outfit Moray.
