Ride - Scotland, Blairadam Woods, Perth and Kinross

Where

“Three enticing trails wind through Blairadam Wood, an attractive mix of mighty spruces and colourful beech woodland. William Adam, the noted Scottish architect, built Blairadam House here in the 1730s and landscaped the surrounding estate. He also built pits to extract coal. Follow the trails to spot red squirrels, lofty trees, elegant bridges and old mine workings. On dark evenings you might even glimpse a ghostly miner, or the fabled beast of Blairadam.”

This area is about an hour drive from Boarhills just north of Dunfermline. On Trailforks it looks quite interesting. There is a mixture of access (gravel) roads and woodland trails. I stuck to the perimeter gravel on this first ride to check out the lay of the land. Next time I’ll explore more of the woodland singletrack. My impression of the place is that of a typical “urban” park with lots of walkers and dogs close to the car parks. Time will tell if I can find enough wooded singletrack to make it worth regular visits.

“The Roman General Agricola held winter quarters in A.D.83 on the edge of Loch Ore, soon after his invasion of Britain and before proceeding to meet Galgacus at the battle of Mons Graupius.[2] The original loch was drained in the 1790s when the landowner, Captain Park, attempted to improve the estate and extend cultivation. The project was not a success and the land formerly occupied by the loch remained boggy and difficult to exploit commercially. The loch gradually returned in the mid 20th century, during the period when Lochore Meadows was a coal mine, and the mineral railway serving the pithead became an embankment surrounded by water. The return of the loch was due to subsidence caused by mining, and the 'new' loch occupies a different site from the original one. The loch is now stabilised but its depth still fluctuates. The islands in the loch are the remains of the former railway embankment.”