Cardrona & Gypsy Glen - Peebles
An off the beaten track mountain biking route with a variety of trails
Distance – 21.3 km/13.25 miles
Elevation Gain – 514m
Grade – difficult in parts, some very steep ascents and single track descents
Time – 2 – 3 hours.
Terrain – open hill, forest tracks, paths, road
Apps & info
In the heart of the wonderful Tweed Valley near to Peebles. Cardrona & Gypsy Glen mountain biking takes in a variety of terrain.
An easy start down the Tweed Valley Railway Path to Cardrona and Nashy’s cafe. Cross the River Tweed and climb up through Cardrona Forest and onto the open moorland. This is truly off the beaten track. There is a superb, mainly single track, ride back into Peebles.
This route can be extended by continuing along the Tweed Valley Railway Path to Innerleithen, then heading passed Traquair on the B709 and accessing the trail just before Kirkbryde.
We were a group of mixed ability and we were certainly not in a rush.
On entering Cardrona Forest, we were faced with our first big (probably the biggest) climb. Fortunately this was along a wide forest track with a steady and not too severe gradient.
It is really just after Wallace Hill Road that the serious climbing begins, here the gradient increases rapidly and the name of the game is to pedal for as long as possible before the inevitable bike push. None of our group lasted too long at all, and we arrived at the top in our ones and twos. This was certainly the toughest climb, but at the top we were rewarded with several km’s of glorious single track.
The last major climb is to the top of Kirkhope Law, from where is is mostly descent all the way back to Peebles – Enjoy!
