The Carron Valley. I would say it was a hidden gem…read more If you enjoy walking, cycling or fishing this will tick a fair few boxes. Tucked away in the middle of nowhere it might seem but there are many ways to get here. Some more scenic. You can go up through the campsie hills heading to Fintry. Or head to Kilsyth and take the Takmadoon road. I tend these days to hit the M80 and come through Stoneywood and a wee place called Fankerton. When you arrive at the car park you are now asked to pay. Just like in most forestry type places. To help with the upkeep. £1 for the hour, £2 for 2 hours and £3 for the day. Not much. Toilets on site. Not much phone signal and no shops. So buy stuff before you head over. Picnic tables are available. For fishing, you will have to get a permit. Use the link above which will give you directions and show you a tariff. MTB they have a couple of trails. They have a little skills area which is being constructed at the moment. You will be guided through this from the car park. Then follow the main 'road'. The reservoir dam will appear on your right hand side and the trails will start on the left. You can take the trails up or just follow the road. For an ideal warm up I would suggest the trails. Trail names are Pipedream, Eas Dubh, The Cannonball Run and the Runaway. All trails will have jumps here and there but you can miss them out as there is a path right next to them which cuts them out. All great fun. Something to try out. You can even cycle round the reservoir or walk it. Just follow the roads or take the paths marked just beyond the car park. Both trails or round the reservoir will give you a good workout. I don't know too much about this, but they have built a Medieval village. Which is open on some weekends. I really don't know what is going on with it but you can see it as you are cycling. Looks quite cool. Also heard Russell Crowe had helped out a little. Only 4 stars because I feel it could do with a little bit more. Extra trails or improvements. No phone signal is a bit of a worry too.

Carron valley is brilliant. For a novice like me it's just amazing. You could spend a few hours…read moreon the trails and its fast, flowing and good for whizzing about. Can't recommend it highly enough. Not sure if it would be better if it was extended and had a shop. Something for the cooncil tae think about. Could be a money spinner maybe. One thing to add, there is a meter in the car park which is about 2 quid for a few hours.

Great views over the city and the hills beyond from here. I don't know much about mountain biking,…read morebut they've put in a lot of new trails for the Commonwealth Games, so I imagine it's going to be pretty popular once the Games are over. My only other experience of Cathkin Braes was driving past it very late one night and noticing that there seemed to be rather a lot of cars in the car park... which might give you a clue about the other popular recreational sport that goes on there. ;-)

I had heard about Cathkin Braes getting a MTB trail for a while. Then heard that it was going to be…read morethe place for the 2014 commonwealth MTB race. A good couple of months ago when it was unofficially opened. I decided to go for a visit and see what the fuss was about, and maybe get a view as to how my skills would fare against a commonwealth rated trail. When you find the place and get in to the car park. It doesn't seem like much and I couldn't see such a big event being held here. Then again you hear all the rumours of what they are going to put in here and it clicks together. There is a big billboard that faces you as you are parked which advertises the place and gives you a little inclination as which was to go. So we begin. As you face the billboard head right. Follow the path and to your left you have the Green route, a little bit of a waste. Gives you no indication of what you are about to experience. If you miss that out and carry straight on you will come to the good stuff. You will also find yourself at the top of a big drop with a wind turbine just on the left. Pretty cool. I chickened out the big drop. After this you are in for more white knuckle stuff. Twists, turns, bearms, drops, rocks and steep climbs. Everything you would want. At this time I got there everything was still a little new. Needed time to bed in. Think there will still be work done on it. Signs need to be a little clearer. Got lost half way round but eventually found my way. If they get all the rumoured additions and maybe add a couple of finishing touches this place will be really good and close enough to Glasgow city centre. Distance wise not like a Glentress more akin to Carron Valley. Definitely will be back here, mostly to improve on my last visit. It was scary and left its mark on me but I will have the last laugh.

What a wonderful canoeing experience. Very nice staff and a reasonably priced activity. They…read moreprovide the life jackets with the boats. The views are great and the rowing is not too difficult. This was one of my favorite activities in Edinburgh.

Is it a Bike?  Is it a Raft?  Is it Boat?  No, it's Akwakat!…read more It's early on a Friday morning; we wake up and anxiously check the weather.  Our planned outing on the canal will be so much better if the weather holds out. But what are we up to? Akwakat!  When I spotted a deal online for a chance to cycle a floating bike ON the canal - how could I refuse? I found the website and facebook page a bit vague for booking and directions and had to rely on emails and texts for the full story on bookings, location etc.  We didn't have a full address but  set the GPS for Calder Crescent and hoped for the best.  The map did show that this was near the canal so we put our faith in Google Maps and headed out.  As we approached our 'Final Destination', we saw a group of guys digging away near a few shipping containers.  We drove around the bend to where we could see access to the canal.  A friendly dog walker pointed us back to the shipping containers - yep - that's Bridge 8!  We pulled in alongside the containers where there was parking for a few cars. One of the guys put down his spade and bounded over to great us. He looked surprised to see us, even though we had email confirmation from our date change (a weeks prior).  No worry - they said it would only take a few minutes to set up our Akwakats. Mark opened up a container - well it was more like a T.A.R.D.I.S. , holding dozens of Akwakats, Kayaks, canoes, paddleboards sea kayaks, lifejackets and bikes.  All these are available for the public to hire but the main goal of Bridge 8 hub, is to provide activities for schools and youth groups.  Bridge 8 is actually a social enterprise.  They use the hire business to fund the youth activities both at Bridge 8 (the bridges along the Union are numbered and the centre is located near Bridge 8 - clever!) and abroad.  In fact, the Akwakat proceeds are reinvested into their youth sea kayaking expedition to British Columbia next year.  So not only were we getting a fun day out at the canal, but we were also helping others - win, win!! Oh, but you still don't know what an Akwakat is? Akwakat is a bike.  No, it's a boat.  Or is it a Raft?  Actually it's all 3.  At the heart is a standard mountain bike, without wheels.  This is mounted to a frame using Velcro (yep - good ole Velcro) onto 2 inflated pontoons.  The pedals drive the underwater paddles/propeller that make you move and the handlebars steer you in the right direction (most of time).  Simple! Once the Akwakats were assembled we were suited up with lifejackets and given instructions.  I thought we would be on a led tour, but no, we had free use of the 'bikes' for 90 minutes!  We could go in any direction as long as we stayed clear of long reeds and made way for other canal users (or let them make way for us).  Before setting off, Mark gave us his mobile number in case we got stuck and needing rescuing. Getting on, with a little help, was tricky but I managed!  (no soggy trousers today :D) The Akwakats were pretty easy to manoeuvre and felt like riding a normal mountain bike. Although, the drag from the water created resistance equivalent to climbing a small hill - so we were really getting a great workout.  This also meant that we couldn't go very fast (in fact, we were warned that pushing the gears too hard could strip them as they were plastic - to be waterproof).  If we picked up some loose reeds in the paddles or rudder we could instantly feel the resistance increase and our speed decrease.  Pedalling backwards for a few rotations easily cleared the debris and we would be back on our way. We cruised along, enjoying the stares and surprised looks from passersby, feeling quite special cycling along above the water!  The scenery was amazing!  The Akwakats were really stable so my hubbyfelt safe bringing the good camera.  In fact, we were told in most places the canal was only waist deep.  We managed to get to bridge 13 before being stared down by a swan - a good point to turn around (Swan 1, Akwakat 0) This was a great day out and we will definitely do it again!  In fact, if I lived closer to the canal, I would buy one!!  It was such a cool way to travel, see great scenery and get a workout.  Oh and I can't forget - help out a social enterprise that does great work with the local community! You can even pack a picnic and chill out at the canal side tables after your ride. If you want to give Akwakats a try (do it! do it!) contact Bridge 8 to book.  Or find out more about their other activities; Bridge 8 have  are large fleet of canoes,  stand paddle boards and touring kayaking for rent from £7.50pp for a half day. I think Paddle Boarding is next on our list. Although communication was a bit shaky - it's definitely a 4+ organisation and actually well run when you consider is it a social enterprise manned mainly by volunteers - good work guys!

We stopped here during our summer tour of Scotland and rode the ski lift up the mountain. It was…read moreraining off and on the whole way up and back but the scenery was spectacular. Just be prepared and bring rainwear. We watched mountain bikers riding trails down the mountain. Afterwards we had soup and sandwiches at the cafe. Service was great all around and we had a great time, despite the rain.

Great bike repair!…read more Calum at the bike shop at the resort was quick and friendly - he replaced a frayed cable in ten minutes flat and checked a few other bits and bobs on the bike! He generously gave me some tips for bike maintenance in the future, too.The bike repair shop, located at the bike and ski rental, was a total lifesaver! If not for them, I'd have been waiting a few days longer, cycling with a badly frayed cable. Thanks so much!

Hi Guys, cycled…read morethrough Scottland from Glasgow to the northern boarder, to the ouder hebridies, to Edinburgh, back to Glasgow, twice. Took the boat from Inverness for return trip to Fort William - 30 years ag (1990/1991). Great experience - without any E-... . Today I am cycling an E-MTB:.. To take a rest we stopped in Fort William for 2 days - but did not rest... I a booklet we rent from university "Mountainbiking in the Scottish Highlands" a tour was described around Ben Nevis. (unfortunately at this time my English has had much room for improvements..... and I did not understand the rating "challening"...... Well, we started at 9 and arrived the West Highland was at 6pm, followed the West Highland way to Fort William and arrived in Fort William at 9pm. the B&B lady was so friendly (and afraid about her house.......) and offered us to wash and cleand our stuff - if we would leave it outside.......... It was really a very nice lady. we have had very good experience with Scottish. On the ouder hebridies we recognized that we needed a post office to collect some money - but unfortunately the only one was located north of the mountains on Lewis or Harris - dont remember which one is the northern one - and a postbus driver invited us to join him on his car and trip to Stokinish. It was such a nice experinece "bloody old English ...." 500times during the 2 hours trip. In the evenig he invited us to join us at legioneers Pub / Club. It was so nice. If I would find some power for the E I would do it again....... Great country, people, weather........(:...).

We did the WHW from 6th - 15th June this year and really enjoyed the hike over the 8 days, the trek…read moreis really good marked and we reached after 154 KM Fort William, I highly recommend to do this once in a life time :-)

We loved the convenience of beach-front rental and the thorough guidance they provided for…read morenavigating the loch. Luss is an adorable town and exploring Loch Lomond by kayak made the whole experience all the better. Reasonable prices too!

On our drive to Ben Nevis and the Isle of Skye, we stopped here for a few minutes to stretch our…read morelegs. I should have worn my jacket. It may be summer to the Scottish folks, but to this Florida girl, my teeth were chattering. That breeze off the loch was numbingly cold. We walked around for a good bit, reaching the waters edge, to touch the coolness and watch the bots on the waves. It was a peaceful time of day. Not too many folks out yet, but you could tell (it was a holiday weekend) that they'd be out in force soon. Kayaks and boats, water sports equipment is all for hire, this place is absolutely gorgeous.