Yet another Scottish mountain bike trail is opened

A £400,000 mountain bike trail which it is anticipated will bring thousands of visitors a year to the Golspie area, has just opened to the public. The developers, a company called Highland Wildcat, are optimistic that the trail to the top of Ben Bhraggie will have its official opening by September. It is the first in what is hoped will become an exciting and challenging network of paths called the Highland Wildcat Trails. Sutherland Estates factor Chris Whealing has taken an active role in the trail because it goes across estate land. He said this week: "The main construction phase is now finished and we are presently carrying out a risk assessment as well as sorting out all the little problems that inevitably occur. We have yet to put up signposts and produce maps of the trail. When all of that is done, we will be ready to open. "Everything has worked out really well and we are pleased with the way construction work has gone. The weather has been favourable, which has really helped." The 14km purpose-built trail takes cyclists through Ben Bhraggie Woods and up to behind the monument at the top of the 394-metre Ben Bhraggie before descending to Rhives Farm. Designed with every standard of cyclist in mind, the trail goes from paths through mixed woodland suitable for families and novices to the increasingly difficult climb through the forest on to the open hill. Mr Whealing said: "The trail gets more difficult to cycle as one goes up the hill. It is not just the gradient but also the amount of technical features there. There are some rocky sections, including steps you have to climb up and 'berms' which are banked corners similar to those you would see on race tracks." A unique feature of the trail, and thought to be the first of its kind in the UK, is a flyover which takes cyclists high over a fence on Ben Bhraggie at a point where the long-established footpath crosses a deer fence. Underneath the flyover a bench has been built to provide a dry place for walkers and mountain bikers to rest and admire the view of Golspie, Dunrobin and the Dornoch Firth. Pete Laing, who designed the Highland Wildcat Trails along with many other projects across the UK, said: "Whenever mountain bikers cross paths with walkers, there is always a cause for concern, so building a flyover was the perfect solution." Work on the trails continued on Sunday with 15 members of local club the Monumental Mountain Bike Club volunteering their time to remove obstacles and construction materials from the path, clear drainage pipes and construct a stone floor underneath the flyover. The Monumental Bike Club is enjoying a surge in membership, currently standing at 70. Members are being invited to test the trail but cyclists who do not belong to the club are asked not to try it out until after the official opening. Developers are pleased at the amount of help and support given to the project by local businesses, with the flyover built by Brora joiners G & R Sutherland; milling provided by Golspie Sawmill; photography by Clive Grew**** and management services by Scottish Woodlands. Inverness-based PDG Helicopters flew construction materials to the top of Ben Bhraggie and the UK Atomic Energy Authority donated £500. It is anticipated that the new development could entice as many as 50,000 extra visitors a year to the area. The Scottish Downhill Mountain Biking Association is considering holding a race event over the new trails in 2007. Highland Wildcat is now seeking funding to carry out further phases of the project, which include building a skills development area at Backies and linking Brora and Golspie by a coastal track. The last and most ambitious phase will be a trail round Dunrobin Glen. Brora and Helmsdale councillor Rita Finlayson this week said the trails would benefit not only Golspie but the entire east Sutherland area. Speaking at a meeting of Sutherland County Committee in Brora on Monday, she said the local authority should now be looking into providing the extra facilities required for the expected influx of visitors. "I am told these trails are going to be amongst the best in the whole of Scotland. I think this project is of huge significance to Sutherland and we should be looking at the infrastructure required to go with it, " she said. www.highlandwildcat.com