The tarmac cycle path following the river Tweed from Glentress makes Innerleithen super accessible which in turn provides you with free range to pedal the ‘old’ XC & DH trails, it also provides easy access to the current ‘trendy’ gravity orientated hot spot of Golfie, named so, as it’s situated above the golf course.
First off the Old XC, (starts from the carpark over the bridge by the river) it was very sad to see the current trashed & sorry state of what appears to be the forgotten XC Trail, after having ridden it many times since the early eighties! The long climb at the start is currently cut short & diverted with no access up to the top from what I could see? The remainder of the trails are just trashed with the mighty Caddon Bank DH a shadow of its former self.
Golfie is an easy pedal across the village with some great coffee stop opportunities enroute. One in particular Findra on the high st deserves a Big shout out, it’s stylish, MTB rider (muddy bum) friendly, sells fantastic coffee & food has uber cool curated music. Oh it also sells very cool artisan made clothing. There are others in the village which all look fab but Findra was the one we stopped at. The Findra staff ride mountain bikes, are super friendly & great for local riding knowledge 😉👍
Golfie is a short pedal through the village towards the Golf club & then a longish pedal up a Forest road with ‘natural’ trails spilling off the side of the hill in varying degrees of difficulty. Be prepared for full on gnar, chunder, roots, very steep drop offs & lots n lots of muddy gloop if the weather has not been kind. No manicured trails here! If you keep pedalling you’ll eventually reach the old reservoir where the views are magnificent & several trail go off in several directions. My advice, if it’s your first time riding Golfie try & take someone who’s ridden it before as some of the trails start off very benign but then transform like Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde! Wear body armour that allows you to pedal, but all the same wear body armour😜👍