7 Stanes Ae

The latest 7stanes centre to open is at Ae, a large forest beside a tiny village north of Dumfries. The Forest of Ae has been a popular venue for many years for mountain bikers and 2005 has seen the construction of a new red-graded cross-country course which is very different to what is on offer elsewhere. The new red trail is known as The Ae-Line – Scottish Power Renewables Trail and it’s 19.6km – there are, currently, no green or blue trails at Ae. However, there is a well-established downhill scene and an ‘Ae Up’ uplift service for those who fancy tackling a competition downhill course which is 1.6km long, with a 22ft ‘Coffin Jump’ and which finishes with a 20ft drop – all of which takes the top riders around three minutes. There is some serious climbing, too, using a mixture of singletrack and forest roads, and some high, exposed, if bizarrely named, singletrack – Granny Green Luv, Bran Burn Bash. The Edge makes more sense, a stretch of singletrack that takes riders over a high ridge, dropping steeply down to the river on one side, before plunging into the dark forest, for a trail that swoops down thanks to some fast bermed corners and with the impression of speed enhanced by the proximity of the trees. But it all builds nicely to the climactic final sections of downhill singletrack - Nil Desperandum and the Omega Man, both long, spectacular trails that drop back to the car park via numerous bermed corners, tabletops, jumps, double jumps and some serious drop-offs that might not be best approached at top speed. And right at the end – as if there hasn’t been enough – there is the option to try ‘north shore’ beam bars and other obstacles before the ride is over.