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Glentress has been one of the undisputed success stories for mountain biking in the past ten years. So when we heard the Forestry Commission had another £8.4million earmarked for development in the Borders, naturally, we were excited.
The plans are for another café, outdoor and bike hire shop, plus an extra business still to be confirmed – all of which have been put out for tender.
But where does this leave The Hub, the café and bike shop that helped make Glentress such as success for the likes of us?
Not out in the cold as such, but certainly unsure. They'll have to apply for the tender like everyone else – and then face the possibility of a hike in rates to help the investment pay off.
“We were only told by Forestry by email,” says Emma Guy, who runs the Hub with fellow ex-racer Tracy Brunger. “We've built this business up and employ 10 staff, but we still have to apply for the tender.”
Understandably, Emma's worried about her future, but she's equally concerned the development may rob Glentress of what made it so special in the first place.
Complaining about investment that may benefit us before we've even seen the results may seem churlish, so we have to take the Forestry at their word and assume the development will work to our advantage. But to our eyes it looks as though Glentress is going to be repositioned for a wider audience – that means families, walkers and whoever else wants to enjoy the great outdoors. Can we all get along? We'll soon find out.

MH

Look out for the September issue of MBR, on sale August 25. Highlights include:

Just get out and ride…an Enduro
Mick Kirkman raced the Kona Mash Up and the Ae Forest Trophy. Tough? Yes, but it's within your reach. We show you how.

Hot Gossip and First Rides
12 pages of the latest bikes and technology from Lapierre, KTM, Sunn and Shimano

New Series! Britain's best trail centres
We ride the latest routes at Cragg Quarry, Llandegla and Cannock Chase

Longtermers
Full fleet round up – see how our workhorses are getting on: BMC, Cannondale, Ghost, Lapierre, Orange and Specialized under the microscope

All Mountain extravaganza
Five 150mm trail bikes ridden and rated: Giant, GT, Kona, Marin and Trek
Grouptest
Double or nothing – what 2x10 crankset to ride.

Skills
Turn like a pro: skills guru Chris Ball introduces the first in a three-part series on cornering

Plus:
• Four pull-out ride guides with Ordnance Survey mapping
• 10 pages of advice on maintenance, health and fitness, navigation and more. 

• Tons of new product ridden and rated.