The great outdoors: Getting into saddle to enjoy the challenging heights of Golspie Wildcat trailhead

I can’t imagine many people come to ride the Golspie Wildcat trailhead just in passing. Bringing a bike to this side of the Highlands requires you to carry on past a number of tempting left turns into mighty mountains.

But Golspie’s unique selling points are far more than being the northernmost UK trail centre. When it opened, it sported the longest trail centre descent in the UK at 7km (4.3 miles). I’m not aware of anyone topping this, despite the building since of big downhill bike parks in Wales.

It also has one of the longest technical sections of climbing in the UK, the Lactic Ladder. It’s oh-so-possible by eye, but the repeated digs needed to clear the rocky steps soon tell on the legs.

Golspie’s design stacks trails – everyone starts on the blue, the red goes on beyond, then the black, all the way to the top of the hill. At the first split, a couple of folks in our group had decided the blue would be enough, while a couple more were happy to peel off to stay on the red at the next junction.

Things got a little competitive on Lactic Ladder. You can spend time discussing lines, but really you just need to smack up it with a bit of conviction and plenty of puff, putting power down when you can and spinning pedals to keep them clear of rocks. Use the smooth, flat corners to slow right down and let the burn die back in your quads, then hammer on. Good fun.

Biscuit break, then it’s technically easy climbing all the way to the top. The Duke of Sutherland, a big player in the Highland Clearances, stands in stone form at the top of Ben Bhraggie. The views are fine, and a wooden shelter helps extend the time you can spend enjoying them this time of year.

Then it’s time to ride the fated descent. If you ride wild or enduro, it’s easy to forget the pleasure of these built-up bomber runs. Open, long sight lines; fast surfaces; bermed corners, airy drops with straight run-ins and long run-outs. It’s a rollercoaster for grown-ups.

It’s in moments like this that our technical, often expensive, gear-obsessed sport makes sense. On the right trail, all thoughts of expense, maintenance and ever-changing standards slip away and it becomes about the movement, not the machine.

Location: Golspie

Distance: 13.5km (8.3 miles)

Ascent: 430m (1,410ft)

Maps: Fully waymarked routes of blue, red and black grades.

Parking: Large car park at the trailhead, just up Fountain Road. Contribute to trail maintenance through the donation box. Or large public car park near the Coffee Bothy.

Top tip: You can pretty much fly blind into all drops and turns on the upper black, but once over the bridge it’s a good idea to slow down and check features out before riding them.