7 Stanes 'Glentress'

Over the weekend myself & a couple of friends visited the Glentress mountain bike centre part of 7Stanes network for a days adrenalin fuelled mountain biking.

The 7stanes are seven Mountain biking centres, Glentress, Glentrool, Kirroughtree, Dalbeattie, Mabie, Ae, & Newcastleton all spanning the south of Scotland, from the Scottish Borders to Dumfries & Galloway. 'Stane' is the Scots word for stone, and at each of the & stanes locations you'll find a stone sculpture reflecting a local myth or legend. 

Glentess: 'The Meteorite Stane'

This 6 ton Ledmore marble stane contains text carved in Klingon with the obvious implication it may not be of this world !

Glentrool: 'The Giant Axe Head'

The Glentrool area of Scotland is known for it's stone age past & legends of Scottish & Irish giants throwing objects at each other. The Giant Axe Head- a 1.5 ton sculpture which overlooks Loch Dee - closely resembles actual neolithic stone axes & has runic text inscribed onto it's top surface.

Kirroughtree: 'The Gem Stane'

Kirroughtree's trails are known as the 7stanes hidden gem, & the sculpture here takes it's inspiration from the trails reputation & their close proximity to the Creetown Gem Rock Museum. This 1.75 ton stone is made from Scottish pink quartz.

Dalbeattie: 'The Heart Cleft Stane'

A mammoth piece of Dalbeattie granite has been donated by Tarmac Ltd from their local quarry to make  the Dalbeattie stane. It symbolises the fact that Kirkcudbridgeshire town was once the heart of the granite industry in the south of Scotland & exported stone all over the world. The inscription on the giant heart gives  an indication of where the granite has been exported to over the years.

Mabie: 'The Ghost Stane'

Situated in the 'misty glade'- a beech wooded area with a small stream- this stane is made from white marble. The 2.25 ton sculpture is engraved with a local lace pattern.

Ae: 'The Talking Head Stane'

The head stane is made from a glacial granite boulder. It's 1.5 tons & looks south towards the Ae village & the Solway. The stane has a carved mouth, ears & eyes and is inscribed with the translation of a Norwegian poem.

Newcastleton: 'The Border Stane'

The sculpture resembles the tail fin of an aircraft & faces north/south, on the north side representing Scotland, Auld Lang Syne is inscribed & on the south side representing England, the words of Jerusalem. TThe stane stands close to the Scottish/English border which runs along the nearby Kershope Burn. The hole in the middle of the stane allows people to stand on either side of the border & shake hands through the sculpture.

So there you are an introduction to the 7stanes mountain bike network here in the south of Scotland & now back to the days riding at Glentress, unfortunately there are not too many photos as my camera took a knock on one of the rocky downhill sections & is now not working !

Some information panels at the Buzzards Nest.

Myself, Ivan & Jared, bottom photo Ivan having a joke at a friends expensise when our friend crashed at this spot the last time that we were here when he came off & had a serious case of road rash ! Was hard not to laugh.

Stunning views around here in the Scottish Borders.

A wee video of some of the sections on the Red Route music by the Chemical Brothers.
Anyway time to go to work & hope you enjoyed the post sorry there is not more photos that was down to the camera getting knocked on the trail !
Thanks for looking bye for now.