Coast to coast mountain biking vacation in Scotland
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travelers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are traveling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travelers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places.
How this vacation makes a difference
Environment
We have a 'leave no trace' policy on our mountain biking vacations to ensure that our impact in these beautiful regions will not have a negative effect on this fragile environment. During our trips our guides will pass on their knowledge and explain the reasons behind our environmental policy and the ‘leave no trace’ ethos.
We are also on hand to advise and educate customers on how they should be handling themselves as we travel through the remote wilderness of Scotland. Guests in the past have thrown away banana, orange and apple skins, saying ‘it will degrade’ which is true, but it will take a long time to do so, is not a natural waste product of Scotland and if every member of my groups did it every trip, of every year, how would this unspoilt landscape look?
All of our mountain biking vacations start at Inverness railway station to encourage travel by rail. In our joining instructions we encourage clients to arrive by public transport, and also have a section on our website which includes links to train timetables and booking services to make it easier for clients to choose to travel by rail.
Damage to the environment: Our guides will explain to our guests how fragile the environment is that they are passing through, how best to preserve it and that all their waste should be taken out and disposed of in the correct manner when we return to civilisation.
Community
Although the Highlands and Islands of Scotland is one of the most stunning parts of the country, it is also one of the least affluent regions. This is because of the remoteness of the rural communities and the low levels of employment, so during our Scottish mountain biking vacations we benefit the local communities by bringing tourism to their areas and using local services, guides and driver; by doing so we help to support local businesses, create employment and contribute to the overall sustainable development of the region.
Our local guide, who lives in a small village on the west coast, has taken his mountain biking experience and put it to good use, by building local mountain bike trails with the local kids, teaching mountain biking skills and working with the local schools to encourage mountain biking amongst the children and young adults.
Such schemes have a ’knock-on’ effect on the local communities and not just the one or two people directly linked to our company.