Fortunately though, it was not to be. I was being overdramatic. I got the bugger lit after three hours of fruitless match-striking (and swearing), and eventually the kata warmed up nicely. I popped the wild venison stew with dumplings into the adjoining oven on the burner and cracked open a tin of craft beer, picked up in the supermarket on the drive from Perth station. Bliss. And I hadn’t even ridden a bike yet.

Trail time

Comrie Croft won newcomer trail centre of the year in 2017, and best trail in 2016. Trail designer Richie Allsop is the man responsible, but to imagine that the trails at Comrie sprang up fully-formed at his say-so is to overlook the fervent DIY MTB scene in this part of Scotland. In the last couple of years the trails at Comrie have taken off, going from undiscovered backyard brilliance to a cherished gem for those in the know.

Scottish Cycling have used the Croft a fair bit in recent years, with the cream of the youth pool coming here fairly regularly for their cluster training camps. The 2014 Scottish Commonwealth Games team came here to do their pre-Games build up too.

Probably most notable though is “local rocket” (as he’s described by the guys in the Croft’s bike shop) Charlie Aldridge. He has been a member of the local group Strathearn Mountain Biking Club since it began when he was a mere nine years old. As a prodigiously talented XC rider he has progressed through the ranks and has been Scottish Series Winner, Scottish Champion, British Series Winner and most recently European Champion at under 17 level. He has since been brought into the British Cycling programme and has very real aspirations of making it to the Olympics, either Tokyo 2020 or Paris in 2024.

In the afternoon it’s time to break free of the confines of the trail centre and explore some of the fire roads around Comrie and Crieff, the two nearest towns to the croft, which sit themselves within the Breadalbane tourism region. Breadalbane marks the beginning of the ‘proper’ Highlands in Scotland and comprises a couple of mountain ranges as well as a wealth of outdoorsy goodness.

“As we get a bit closer I see this bloke is stood among the corpses of five or six ducks, in varying states of disembowelment”

The scale of what’s on offer for a bike rider around Comrie is overwhelming, with mysterious and inviting gravel paths calling out in every direction. Luckily, I have a local guide called Tom to take me round – an enthusiastic mountain biker who works in the Croft’s bike shop. After a quick smash along the main road, we’re soon onto empty B roads, then off the road entirely and climbing steadily into the pine forests on the other side of the valley.

We climb gravelly fire roads before dropping into a fast and straight run down through dense pine forests. As we catapult along the forest floor on an access path cut through the trees, we flash past a bunch of confused looking walkers clustered round a map. It’s way too steep and I’m concentrating too hard on dodging ruts and tree roots to stop. As far as I know, they might still be there.

Next up is a cut across open farmland, frequently used for grazing. As such, the ‘path’ through moves about a bit, frequently disappearing entirely. As we’re ploughing on through the boggy fields, we reach the edge of some scrappy woodlands – then over to our left a man’s voice calls out. It’s a bloke in dark, woodlandy-coloured clothing stood in front of a large tarpaulin hung from five or six of the trees around it. It’s clear that Tom the guide knows the fella, so we go over.

As we get a bit closer I see that this bloke is stood among the corpses of five or six ducks, in varying states of disembowelment.

“It’s duck day today.” he says, jovially. It is the only explanation he offers, so it’ll have to do.

From the Monument, it’s a pretty technical run back to the road, which starts off super-twisty with a couple of switchbacks and a sheer slope the reward if you stuff things up. After that it opens out and becomes a straight downhill blast over rough forest floor – it’s still super steep and sometimes used by dog walkers, so you need your wits about you.

From there we bushwhack it over some more heather-covered moorland, before rolling along beside the river Lednock to get back to the road to Comrie Croft. All-in, the ride takes about three hours and is a pretty stern technical test for me as a ‘crap-intermediate’ MTBer. As you can imagine though, I only get the chance to glimpse a small part of what’s on offer in the area in that short time. There are trails, mountains and mystery in every direction from the Croft – as well as plenty to keep you amused in the trail centre itself for at least a couple of sessions.

In fact, heading back to my kata for the second and final night at the Croft, I feel pretty gutted to be leaving in the morning. This time the fire lights first time.

Click here to read the rest of our February ‘Olympic issue’

Do It Yourself

We went to Comrie Croft and stayed in a Nordic Kata. Comrie Croft is a one hour 45 minute drive from Edinburgh and just over an hour from Glasgow. One night in a kata in Comrie costs £99 from Sunday-Thursday or it’s £229 for the kata for the weekend.

You May Also Like

Mountain Biking Sierra Leone & Liberia | A West African Cycle Adventure for Street Child

Digging Deep | A New Kind of Mountain Bike Adventure in Scotland