Spectacular mountain biking in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

The Trossachs occupy a special place in Scotland's generous pantheon of mountains - they are rich with the country's history, they are unutterably gorgeous at pretty much any time of year (although variously the weather or midges may do their best to disabuse of you this) and they're surprisingly close to Glasgow. This last means that for the majority of the UK, they're the easiest Scottish mountains to get to.

The riding in the Trossachs spans the gamut from wide open forest tracks, with expansive views, all the way to tight, nadgery singletrack, with everything in between. These Tours reflect that diversity. There are a couple which head up mountains – Ben Lomond is – well – less of a ride, and more of a carry up, and a light-speed thrutchfest down, whereas the Ben Ledi loop is arguably rideable much of the way up the back of the mountain, although the descent certainly shouldn't be underestimated. There are rides which, although they're not technically terrifying, offer extremely stiff climbs and staggering views, and there's even a low-level ride with some scintillating sculptures and a soupçon of singletrack around Loch Ard.

There are a couple of things to note, of course. Firstly, some of these Tours are properly, genuinely remote, so prepare accordingly. Take a map and a compass and know how to use them (phone signal won't necessarily exist so download your Tour offline before setting off). Let someone know your route, even if it’s just the landlord at the pub you were in last night, take a small first aid kit, emergency snacks, waterproof clothing, safety blanket and anything else you may need. And choose your time to visit carefully. Summer is a great time for the weather in Scotland for the most part (or at least it's less rainy), but you're probably better off heading there in late spring to avoid the midges.

Access is pretty straightforward – Callander and Aberfoyle are relatively easy to get to from Glasgow, and are probably your best bets as fast as bases go (although of course there aren’t any train lines there any more), but if you want to get out of the urban environment there are campsites and little villages scattered all over this startlingly beautiful part of the world.

One of the best things about Scotland is that the access laws are different from the rest of the UK. Any track or trail is fair game on a mountain bike unless it’s expressly forbidden – although that doesn’t mean that everything is rideable, of course – and so the scope is much greater for summits and singletrack. That said, most of the trails in the Trossachs are firmly old school, wide open paths with amazing views, but there’s always something new and tempting just around the corner, and of course, you’re allowed to ride it! It’s well worth just getting out and exploring.