With all of the high-profile, big-budget trail development being carried out by FC Scotland and teams of paid contractors it’s easy to forget that there’s still plenty of activity at a volunteer level. Latest grass-roots trail project to get off the ground is the development of a trail network in Blairadam Forest, Fife.

There are already trails in the forest, but it’s the usual combination of forest roads and unofficial singletrack built on the quiet. But negotiations between local riders and FC officials have resulted in an agreement to improve, rebuild and reroute the existing trails and add new ones to produce a network catering for all styles of riding at all skill levels. As usual with unofficial trails, some bits are better than others – trails built on good lines may just need some tidying and drainage work, others might be fundamentally flawed and will have to be re-routed.

The nearest purpose-built trail developments to Fife are at Carron Valley to the west in Stirlingshire, and Glentress to the south in the Borders, so there’s an obvious trail gap to be filled. The Blairadam MTB Development Group is currently being formed to work with FC Scotland, with the first step being a site visit in September to inspect the existing trails and determine what needs to be done.

Colin Peacock, Community and Environment Ranger for FC Scotland says he’s
looking forward to working with mountain bikers to explore the
possibilities: “Blairadam is already a very busy forest with a range of
visitors using it for biking, walking and horseriding. Over the next few
years we plan to develop the forest to boost recreation facilities so that
more people can enjoy what the forest has to offer.

“The Commission has worked very successfully with volunteers before – one
good example being the creation of the Kelty Heritage trails. It’s this kind
of team working and hard graft that produces results. It’s great that
already we’ve got an open dialogue going with the biking group at Blairadam
and I’m keen to continue working with them, and other user groups, to make
more of the mountain biking and other recreational facilities found in the
forest.”

Once the scope of the work is done, it’s just a matter of formalizing the group with insurance and such like and then getting on with it. Needless to say (but we’ll say it anyway) it’s going to take a lot of willing volunteers to get the trail finished. Driving force behind the negotiations Grant Doig says, “The most important help required is volunteers for the trailbuilding work itself. The trail won’t build itself, so if you want an improved high-standard trail in Fife, you have to help out!”

Updates will be posted at www.blairadam.com, and you can get in touch with the development group on [email protected].