A family fun day is being held in Ae on
Friday 25th July 2008 around the café and trailhead. The forest will be very busy with limited parking available. The bike trails will remain open but we would advise you to ride at another 7stanes centre on the day. We apologise for the inconvenience - for more infomation please contact Ae Forest District office
01387 860247.
Ae is only 20 minutes from the M74 motorway, but ride its trails and you’ll think you’re in another world.
The trails
Ae's green- and blue-graded trails are ideal for entry level riders and families, while its red-graded and downhill routes are for the more experienced rider.
An entry level mountain bike trail, the Green Route is aimed mainly at families with young children. It’s a 9km loop which runs up the Ae valley to a lovely viewpoint overlooking the Water of Ae. A beautiful place to stop and picnic with lots of rocks around the river.
The Blue Route shares much of its route with the Green trail - the difference is a 4.5km section on forest road, giving a trail length of 13.5km in all. It's suitable for those families looking to take in a little bit more of the forest than just the short green-graded valley route.
The red-graded Ae Line – Scottish Power Renewables Trail is a challenging, high quality ride through quiet coniferous forest. This route has an aggressive freeride style to it with some large and sometimes intimidating trail features in addition to very steep climbs and descents.
Ridden at speed, things get very exciting, but if you are more cautious you can keep your wheels on the ground all the way round. For many, the highlight of the route is the final descent of Omega Man, with its multiplicity of jumps.
The 1.6km Ae Downhill route provides a bigger challenge. Graded ‘Bike Park/ Extreme’, its seriously gnarly rocky sections, slippery roots and huge drops will satisfy the most demanding of riders. An uplift service is sometimes available (pre-booking required) See facilities details, below.
Facilities
Parking
Car parking is available at the trail head and at the café. See details of how to get to Ae by car.
Toilets and showers
Toilet and shower facilities are available at the café.
Ae Bike Shop and Café
The café is open from 10.00am to 4.00pm, Monday to Friday and from 8am to 5pm on Saturdays and Sundays . See www.Ae7.co.uk for details. Nearby Dumfries also has plenty of options.
Uplift service
For details of the uplift service, contact Tally on 07709 144 299, via email at: tally@uplift.scotland.com or see www.upliftscotland.com. Pre-booking is essential.
Bike hire
The bike hire facilities at the Ae cafe and Bike shop are now operational. See www.Ae7.co.uk for further details.
G&G cycles in Dumfries also provides mountain bike hire. Contact www.cycle-centre.com or phone 01387 270275 for details.
Other facilities
The town of Dumfries is around 15 minutes drive away, and has a great range of facilities available.
The Ae stane
See what are the 7stanes? for details of the Ae sculpted stane.