Laggan Wolftrax

Laggan Wolftrax is a purpose-built mountain-bike trail centre in Laggan Forest, beside the A86 west of Laggan. Its network covers more than 20 miles, from green routes for beginners and children through blue and red trails to technical black runs. If you ride, the appeal is the choice of grades in one forest centre; start with the green if you're new, and treat the blacks as serious riding rather than a casual step up.

The centre is beside the paid Wolftrax car park, reached from the signposted A86 site. The cafe, toilets, coin-operated showers, small bike shop and bike hire are all here, so you can sort out a ride and clean up without heading back into Laggan. Parking meters take card and coins; the current charge can change.

The cafe serves coffee and other hot drinks, homemade soup, sandwiches, breakfast rolls, vegetarian chilli nachos, baking and ice cream. Opening varies by season, so check current times if you're counting on a meal.

You don't have to tackle singletrack to spend time here. Wolf Cub Green is aimed at children and new riders, and a low-level surfaced gravel walking path runs 2 km one way to Gorstean car park, or 4 km out and back. That gives non-riders a straightforward forest walk while the riders take the graded network.

The 3.9 km Wolf of Badenoch is the expert black: steep, tight and technical, with drop-offs, stone staircases, boulder fields and slabs. The route card warns there are no easy escapes, so choose it only if that kind of trail is already within your comfort zone.

For a view between descents, Give & Take is a blue climb that reaches The Lair viewpoint, looking across the forest toward the Monadhliath hills. It's a nice reason to take the climb at a steady pace instead of treating it only as a way back up.

Forest Enterprise began building the trails here in 2004. The Laggan Forest Trust's permanent centre followed in 2015 with support from a Cairngorms National Park Authority grant, part of a local effort to widen the area's economic base. Trail names such as Blaeberry Flapjack, Slaba-Dabba-Doo and Howlin' Wolf give the network a bit of its own character.

The network is open year-round, but forestry work and adverse weather can restrict access to parts of the forest. Check conditions before travelling, especially if you're making the black routes the point of the day. The cafe's hours vary seasonally.