Moyle Hill Trail

Moyle Hill Trail Stats

Grade: Blue - Moderate
Distance: 14Km
Singletrack: 40%
Estimated Time To Ride The Route: 2 - 3 hrs

The blue-graded Moyle Hill route is a good introduction to riding 7stanes singletrack - and to the granite rock that gives Dalbeattie a character all of its own offering some cracking views and fun riding.

Crushed Rock and Timber Trail

The trail starts out through the skills area and you'll find your tyres are immediately crunching on the local crushed rock. Take the easy line through the harder red & black grade options before joining up with the red route for the long, straightforward sections of raised timber trail that take you across the bogs of Richorn Plantation.

The Moyle Hill climb

Exiting onto a forest road you now climb steadily around the side of the Moyle Hill to a welcome rest at the high point. A bench seat provides the perfect excuse to have a breather and soak up the view of the Urr estuary and the hills beyond.

Back on the bike and a short fast road descent leads to a section of fast-flowing singletrack that eventually spits you back out on to the road again near the bottom of the hill at Barnbarroch. Another steady climb takes you around the fringe of the forest before easing off to take you on a loop into the middle of the forest and the open marshland of the 'Dry Loch'.

Cloak Hill

A very sweet section of trail now follows with a few small rocky and rooty sections thrown in, before more easy forest road and singletrack take you around Cloak Hill to meet the outward route at the start of the first climb. Heading back down the road leads to the final flowing section of trail around Volunteer Ridge and back to the trail head - a fitting end to this fun-filled ride.

Visitor Comments

PETER

11/06/13

yeah skills area and start of route well good,but must agree with comments below about stones used for the new surfacing on the forest road,its totally unsuitable for use as a cycle path and out of our group of twelve,5 puctured on this section and said they would not visit again,shame as its a nice route.

craig hardie

04/06/13

first visit today good skills area blue routes not bad shame about the diversion half way round the alternative route was more like a black climb than a blue however got their in end

Gavin Matier

28/05/13

Completely agree with Simon's comments. We entered at the Colvend section into the redressed tracks. The diversion is ridiculous and the stone used on the tracks ruins the ride. Overall though we as a group of four (two adults & two teenagers enjoyed the ride, especially the single track bits, of which there needs to be more!

Simon Crookes

22/05/13

This used to be an excellent route, but the section from post 43 up to the Hyper Link has recently been completely ruined by very poor quality resurfacing. The surfacing stone is not fit for purpose and is all but unrideable. This section needs a topdressing of more suitable material. The current diversion from post 38 is just ridiculous! I wouldn't bother with this route until all the above has been addressed.

Dave L

02/11/12

Completed blue route last weekend, enjoyable, but not enough singletrack for me

Liam & Gemma

20/09/12

Ended up doing the taster loop 3 times. Highly recommended!! Signs for the Moyle hill loop weren't the easiest to follow though :(

James Miodonski

26/08/12

This is exactly what a Blue route should be, really nice way to spend an hour or so without having to be 'on it' all the time like a Red. Great little run, probably the best of the Stanes Blues.

Alice, Billy and Mum

06/08/12

Loved the taster loop so much that we did it twice. The singletrack bits are brilliant, especially the end!!!! Overall: AWESOME!!!!!!

Jamie Stogden

26/06/12

Yeh, it's definitely 90 minutes max. Long climbs aren't very interesting but some nice singletrack sections that are shared with Red break them up nicely. Taster trail is awesome though, just do laps of that :)

Rebecca may

08/06/12

Awesome ride. Needs more signs to show u the way though.

Rhona

05/06/12

Really nice trail. It's true you don't need 2 hours though. If you're reasonably fit you'll manage it in about an hour.

Jim Stevenson

01/08/11

Introduced my father-in-law to MTB with this route. We had a blast. Great route, great weather, great day all-round. Dalbeattie matches Kirry for riding in my opinion but let down by lack on-site facilities. Needs a cafe and toliets.

N.Ireland nigel

25/07/11

Our family was over last week on hols. The tracks are class.

nigel

25/07/11

Absolutely brill

Jammy

13/05/11

Really great trail with a good mix of smoother and rocky singletrack. Did it with my partner and 3 kids who all enjoyed it. With some careful map reading we managed to cut out a section of fire road and shorten it by about 3k to make it easier on the kids.

simmy

04/02/11

Brilliant, a really interesting trail. You don't need 2hrs though.

Gav

12/10/10

A great trail, this was my first mountain biking trail and i must say i thouroughly enjoyed it. There is one backbreaking, killer hill at the start but once conquered it is all pretty much downhill and obstacles! Great fun greatly recomended!!!

Jim

15/05/10

Not done much of this up until now ... great fun and can be completed with a hybrid bike

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Facilities

Catering

Nearby Dalbeattie has a range of facilities to help you make the most of your visit.

Parking

Car parking is available in the Richorn car park, where the trail head is located and costs £3 per day

Toilets

There are no toilets on site – the nearest facilities are in Dalbeattie next to the Town Hall.

Bike Hire

A bike wash is on site close to the trail head.

Bike hire - MPG cycles in Dalbeattie. Open Monday- Saturday. Telephone 01556 610659.

Bike hire - Gorsebank (400 metres from trailhead) and is open 7 days. Call 01556 611634Accommodation and Services or visit www.gorsebank.com

Trail Conditions

Current at 18th June 2013.

Trails: Open.

Conditions: Normal.

Diversions:

The Red Route - follow the diversion signs which take you past the exit of the Slab/Slab Bypass and further on is signed up a short push. This bypasses the Hyper Link and Rock Don't Roll. Follow the diversion signs and rejoin the trail at post 25. Total single track reduction of 2km.

More info: call the FC ranger service on 01387 860247.

The Blue Route Moyle Hill Trail is diverted at post 38 and then follows the same diversion as the Red Route.

The Green graded MTB trail is currently diverted at waymarker post 71, and misses out the loop around the Dry Loch area. This is to avoid road repairs and tree felling operations.

Please follow the diversions and obey the signage.

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