7 stanes
About three hours from Leeds, Barnbarroch is the perfect location for a long weekend or a quiet retreat. We stayed at Kippford Holiday Park about two miles down the road from 7 Stanes.
Having just got into mountain biking, I was pretty excited to have a blast on a proper mountain bike trail. Me and Anna rented some bikes from a rental place 200 yards down the road. The bikes weren’t fancy but they held up to the job and given we were only doing the blue route there wasn’t a great deal of need for full suspension or huge front suspension.
We’d walked along some of the route the day before so we already had an idea of the scenery, terrain, twists and turns.
There were three different routes to follow, blue (easy), red (difficult) and black (extremely difficult). All of the routes include rocky cliff sides, super rough terrain, north board planks and the rest! At the end of the blue course there’s the opportunity to have a taste of the extreme red/black route. The first thing I attempted was a steep rock cliff immediately as you started all the routes.
If I’m being honest it took me a while to pluck up the courage to do it. I hesitated for a few minutes before taking the drop as there was no turning back!
Even if your not particularly into mountain biking this is a great course and ideal for any ability. Although Anna was nervous at times she took her time and managed without any problems / injures and still enjoyed herself!
The red red route will have to be saved for another day as I’m under the impression the blue route is manageable and the red route is extremely technical!
