Cycling
Two areas for off road cycling are available locally: at Balblair between Lairg and Bonar Bridge and from Golspie on the East coast.
Carbisdale & Balblair
The Kyle of Sutherland Mountain Bike Trails offer 17 km of trail for a range of skills from competent mountain bike riders to experienced cyclists. The trails are split with the Carbisdale trails on the West side of the Kyle of Sutherland and the Balblair trails on the east.
Carbisdale trails: With excellent views over the inner Dornoch Firth and Bonar Bridge a beautiful loch side picnic bench and secluded woodland scenery, the Carbisdale trails offer challenging cycling for competent mountain bike riders. With optional rock features, wonderful views and technical descents such as ‘Goldie Rocks’ and ‘Hissing Sid’, the blue grade route, is a great introduction to the trails. The red route has some technical features, such as ‘Little Red Riding Wood’ and ‘What Big Teeth’ along with forest road sections. The viewpoint overlooking the lochan is a perfect place to regain your energy for the descent ahead.
Balblair Trails: With stunning views over the Kyle of Sutherland and out to the West the trails at Balblair offer both a fun blue route for competent bikers and challenging black route for experienced riders. The blue route is a perfect trail if you want a quick spin. Enjoy the in forest feel of the ‘Whoopy do’ section and the smooth descent on the ‘Ceilidh Trail’. If you are an experienced mountain biker who is up for a challenge then have a go at the Balblair black route. There is plenty to test even the most experienced cyclist with rock slabs such as ‘Rock Hard’ and ‘Candy Mountain’, timber trails and lung-busting up hill sections. Not for the faint hearted but the view from the top of the hill at the mast is well worth the effort.
The most northern of Scotland's mountain bike centres, Highland Wildcat Trails are accessed directly from the centre of Golspie.
The trail, which climbs up the side of Ben Bhraggie before plunging back down to Golspie again,includes jumps and berms, as well as more technical rock sections and drop-offs. it begins climbing as soon as you leave the new car park (located under the railway bridge beyond the public car park in the village centre) and meanders all the way up the slope to the monument. However, this isn't just a grinding, exhausting climb. It zig-zags up and around the trees, with lots of interesting features and diversions, and it's so well made and nice to ride that you might eveb forget , in places, that you're climbing at all.
From sea level the trail takes you all the way to the top of the Ben, from where there are stunning views, especially of the beaches that dot the Moray Firth coastline. The monument provides a good place for a rest before the real fiun begins; the descent back to Golspie.
It starts with some tight and twisting berms, then takes you along single-track that clings precariously to the side of the hill. Further on there are berms, jumps, rock drops and fast single-track which swoops into the forest below, taking you all the way back to the village, for a total ride of 15kms.
This is likely to be a ride that appeals all year round, with local sandstone providing a great base for much of the trail and very high quality surfaces that make it resillient and good to ride on, with a nice natural feel.
The Highland Wildcats Trails includes 4kms of blue graded single-track from Ben Bhraggie northwards to Dunrobin Castle; connecting the purpose-built trails to attractive fireroads and natural trails into the wider countryside. The Ben trails are red and black graded single-track with red at the bottom and black at the top. It is also worth noting that at 7kms it claims to have Scotland's longest continual single-tack descent.
And at 7.5kms it also boasts the longest single-track climb of all the purpose built centres.
http://active.visitscotland.com/findroute/highlands/
http://www.forestry.gov.uk/website/Recreation.nsf/LUWebDocsByKey/ScotlandHighland
