Forestry and Land Scotland is advising visitors to Glentress that the café and bike shop will not now re-open until 28 June.

The postponement follows the discovery of a number of groundwork issues that only came to light after the old decking was removed and the framework lifted.

The boardwalk replacement is part of FLS’ £6 million investment in the Masterplan development programme.

We are now working hard to deliver a revised construction timetable and hope to re-open both premises with a limited offering from 28 June and are expect them to fully re-open on 14 July.

Martin Page, Regional Visitor Services Manager said;

“The boardwalk replacement will be one of the finishing touches that will further improve and enhance the Glentress experience for all visitors.

“However, removing the old structure revealed some additional work required to improve the drainage system and reroute existing services to accommodate the new surfacing being installed."  

“We’re now having to add to the plans measures to make these elements safe and that is going to result in a short delay to opening. However, this also means that we can bring forward plans for the new bike wash facilities and secure area for the bike shop and have them in place earlier than anticipated.

“We’ve spoken to operators of the café and the bike shop who understand the problem and support our efforts to rectify the issues we’ve uncovered.

“This is wholly unexpected and unwelcome but I would like to reassure all our visitors that we are doing our utmost to minimise the delay and get both these businesses open.”

FLS has been working closely with its partners to minimise disruption to the wider Glentress trail network as preparations for the UCI Cycling World Championships event have been underway.  

Handover to the event organisers will be in mid-July as they begin their final preparations for the mountain bike marathon and cross country events taking place from 6-12 August.

Notes to editors

1. Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) manages forests and land owned by Scottish Ministers in a way that supports and enables economically sustainable forestry; conserves and enhances the environment; delivers benefits for people and nature; and supports Scottish Ministers in their stewardship of Scotland's national forests and land.

2. forestryandland.gov.scot | twitter.com/ForestryLS

3. Media enquiries to Paul Munro, Media Manager, Forestry and Land Scotland Media Office 07785 527590 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.