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TRAVEL '
the Bordon couptryfldo .‘
With more horses per head than anywhere else in the UK, it’s no wonder the Borders is a great place to go riding. And equestrian pursuits are just one aspect of the area’s undiscovered pleasures, as Rachael Street discovers.
f by looking at a landscape you
could tell exactly what a place
was like. you‘d probably imagine the Borders to be a rather sedate place. it‘s beautiful. certainly. btit not particularly exciting: there are no dramatic peaks or crags. just gently rolling hills and pine forests. punctuated by country towns. But it‘s exactly this gentleness of landscape that makes it so accessible and appealing for adventure sports like mountain biking and horse riding. And. while not eyerybody wants adrenaline pumping action on a weekend break away. the Borders offers
something for everyone. whether
you prefer to spend a day peddling
hard. relaxing in the saddle or simply standing in the crowd. your
mouth gaping in awe.
Hardcore bikers will already be familiar with Glentress. the top class mountain bike trail just outside Peebles. For such folks. the black run proyides an exhilarating three to four hours of twisting. turning. mud-spraying fun to keep
the adrenaline pumping. while noyices. such as myself. may find that men the skills loop poses a challenge.
Still. being ambitious girls. my companion and I decided to take the adyice of our friendly guide and pltunped for the intermediate red route. I mean. how hard could it be'.’ Things started easily enough with some wide. flat trails that took its deeper into the w'hispery pine forests. It wasn‘t until a sign pointed us down a steep drop on to a narrow and extremely bumpy path that my heart started pounding. Surely it was a mistake. But after half walking. half riding down our first slope. we emerged. rather more mud-spattered. but armed with a little tnore confidence. Being late March. the trails were still relatiyely' empty. We felt like explorers striking out alone across the estate ~ winding up steep and rocky tracks towards the snow line. far from human ciy‘ilisation. Yet in reality we were ney'er far from help and felt safe in the knowledge that the
“libs expert trail builders were always keeping its on the right track. By the end of it all. I was rocketing down rough hendy tracks with glee. sailing oyer bumps that would haye had me uuiyering with
WE FELT LIKE EXPLORERS STRIKING OUT ALONE ACROSS THE ESTATE, FAR FROM HUMAN CIVILISATION
fright at the beginning of the day. But if two and a half hours on the trails at (ilenlt'ess did wonders for my waistline. then a quick glance at the enormous cakes in the Hub cafe threatened to send it ballooning back to its usual si/e. Homemade beasts all of them. any one of these sweettneats would floor exert the greediest person if it wasn't for the
fact that they 'd spent their morning pedalling like a maniac. As the website puts it: 'we like our food and in order to justify eating lots of cakes. we ride our bikes‘ so now you know which came first. and it certainly wasn‘t the chicken or the egg. But if that‘s the Hub's philosophy. mine probably runs along the lines of ‘I like to |a/.e around most of the time. and in order to do so and not become cotnpletely unhealthy. l punctuate my life with spuns ofexercise'. .\nd lounge around was exactly what I intended to do. under the watchful eye of the experts at the l’eebles Hotel Hydro. Being a lady of leisure. l'y'e been lucky enough to experience just about eyery beauty therapy under the sun. but neyer haye I felt so deserying of a massage as I did on returning from (ilentress. l'nder the hands of my therapist. the knots in my muscles. from hunching oyer the handlebars all morning. simply melted away and left me unable to do anything for the rest of the afternoon other
27/, THE LIST 99