Hard graft at Glentress

Have you heard of the Glentress Trailfairies volunteer program? Learn all about it in this guest blog from our mountain-biking intranet manager, Colin. Join him as he swaps his laptop for sturdy boots and heads out for a morning of mountain bike trail maintenance with the Trailfairies at Scotland’s premier mountain biking destination, Glentress.

Did you know that Forestry and Land Scotland manages almost 500km of mountain biking trails across Scotland? All free to access and open to the elements 365 days a year. With thousands of tyres railing berms and barrelling over roots, these trails need care and attention to keep them in good condition. With so many to manage, it’s a never-ending job for the rangers looking after them.

As a regular mountain biker, I’ve spent countless hours exploring our trails throughout the country. So, when I heard the team at Glentress were restarting the Trailfairies volunteer program, I knew I had to lend a hand and get stuck in.

What is Trailfairies? 

Trailfairies is a long-standing team of volunteers who give up regular Saturday mornings to help repair and improve mountain biking trails in Glentress and Innerleithen. In the last 20 years, they’ve been responsible for countless improvements to well-loved trails and created several favourites from scratch. Sadly, Covid put many volunteering opportunities on ice and the Trailfairies have had their tools down for almost three years. But some re-organising has meant the local team are starting up the project again, committing one Saturday morning a month to lead some hardy volunteers in improving and enhancing classic trails. Time for me to put the bike to one side and pick up a shovel.

Hard work and a whole-body workout

Turning up at the first session this August I was met with the beaming faces of our leaders for the day: Andy, Mark and Fergus. Between them, they have over 30 years combined experience working on trails in the Tweed Valley. They know every inch of the forest and are the perfect people to direct a team of volunteers made up of seasoned pros and first-timers alike.

After completing the necessary paperwork, our convoy headed up into the forest to our worksite for the day, the red-grade Hit Squad Hill trail. This is one of the original trails at Glentress and is over 20 years old. Regular wear has left it needing some TLC to clear out the drainage channels, reinforce some dips and corners, and fill holes. After a comprehensive explanation of the tools we’d be using - and getting kitted out in hi-vis, gloves and glasses - we set to work. 

The first thing I noticed was, well, digging trails is hard work. Carefully swinging mattocks and shovels to chip away at the hardened surface soon had my muscles burning. It seemed that any fitness I had from cycling didn’t translate to manual labour. But digging is the first step to repairing. So, I continued to clear out the old broken surface and clogged drains before refilling with fresh aggregate. After several trips with a heavy wheelbarrow bouncing over the trail, I can confirm this too was hard work. As a whole-body workout, I can thoroughly recommend trail building. It certainly gave me a deeper appreciation for the work our rangers and trail builders do maintaining walking and biking trails across Scotland. 

Despite the toil, the team were in good spirits. We shrugged off a couple of rain showers, and the thanks from passing mountain bikers was a nice reminder that our work was appreciated. A welcome break, with an abundance of cakes, revived tired limbs. With a mix of locals and some from further afield, there was plenty of chat throughout the session. And with a few volunteers having been around when Trailfairies first started, there was plenty of guidance and help for novices like me. 

After filling the holes, it was up to the professionals to craft the final finish. Andy has an eye for the lay of the land and had the new surface contouring perfectly before Mark came along with the aptly named ‘wacker plate’ to compress it all. By the time we were done around lunchtime, our dozen volunteers had completed improvements on 300m of trail. A small section in the grand scheme of things, but noticeable improvements that will help riders to enjoy a classic trail - not to mention help keep it in good condition ready for the winter ahead.

 As we decamped back down the hill we reflected on a job well done. The team on site at Glentress have responsibility for far more than just maintaining trails, and a scope well beyond Glentress too. Having extra bodies to help out, even once a month, goes a long way to making quick improvements to the trail network. With the popularity of Glentress ever increasing, and the recent addition of over 10km of new trails last year, maintaining the network here is a bit like painting the Forth Rail Bridge: the work is never done. But with just a little volunteer help, it really shows what can be accomplished in a short space of time. After four hours of hard graft, I was tired but satisfied. I’ll enjoy the next time I ride Hit Squad Hill knowing I helped keep it running sweet.

Thanks to Andy, Mark and Fergus for showing me the ropes and supplying epic cakes for breaktime.

How to get involved

If you’re interested in joining the Trailfairies for a session, keep an eye on their Facebook page for upcoming dates. You don’t need anything other than some old clothes, sturdy shoes or boots, and the will to get stuck in.