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Craigvinean Forest circuit Distance 12 miles Time - 1.5 hours Difficulty - easy terrain (all wide open fire track) but requires a reasonable level of fitness because of the climb
Area Located just a few miles from Dunkeld and 15 minutes from Perth this huge forest lies on the imposing hills surrounding Dunkeld. As you drive up the A9 (or down it) to get to the Forest at the hermitage car park the rocky hills above you give you some idea of the route to come (its not rocky on the trails before you do a sharp U turn) The British University
Mountain Bike championships were held here in 2007 and the forestry
commission are also looking into the possibility of building some mountain bike
specific tracks in the forest (see forestry
commission website) Car park Enter the hermitage car park (see map), you will see the main walkers hermitage car park directly in front of you and a bus park in from of you and slightly to the right. I would suggest not parking in these and following the track in your car that heads up the hill to your right parallel to the A9 up "Hermitage brae". At the top of this is a small car park where you don't need to pay for parking and which gets you away from the tourists Route From the car park above go through the gate (usually closed but not always) and carry straight on until you come to a clearing. Turn route (the fire track straight on is your return route as this route is circular) From here is is fairly well signposted - You do mostly climbing for the first few miles - its quite arduous although technically quite easy (note in the winter it can be quite warm in Perth but still icy up here) Follow the signposts as they lead you up the hill. Once you plateau ( you don't go to the very top) you then undulate across the hill for several miles - stay on the same fire track and keep following the signs- eventually this path heads down the hill and will take you back to where you turned of it and straight back to the car park Craigvinean Downhill Route (alternative Route) Starting from the same car park go to the junction about 200 metres along the road - a route marker for cyclists directs you right - ignore this and carry straight on. Keep to the main track and climb for about 20 minutes until you come across the signs warning you of mountain bikers crossing. On your left is the rocky craggy summit - if you want to start at the top push your bike up the track. Alternatively just turn right and head down the track Warning - this (the downhill trail) is a very difficult trail - it is muddy, rocky, has lots of nasty slippery roots and with lots of steep sections (vertical) and requires more skill/guts than I possess. At the end of the the trail turning right will take you back to where you went up the hill other routes near here |
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