The Jeddart Justice Trail is a 40km mountain bikers dream.
The trail is largely natural using ancient drovers’ roads, winding singletrack
with lung bursting climbs and long swooping descents. We have taken the best of
the natural trails and linked them up using new purpose built singletrack to form a
loop resulting in the perfect blend of trail with superb views of the Jed
Valley and Oxnam
Valley with the Cheviots beyond.
We
wind our way through several strips of forestry and open ancient woodland but
you will not be faced with a view of the same trees for km after km, no siree
not on the Justice Trail, its views are stunning all the way from start to
finish.
To
complete the Justice trail will be a great achievement but with 10 or more
escape routes back in to Jedburgh, the Justice trail can also be cut short
making it possible to tailor your ride to your needs with options of 5km, 10km,
15km, 20 km, 30 km right up to the full challenge of 40km.
The
main town car park is the starting point of the Justice Trail, located next to
the visitor information centre where maps and information can be picked up.
The Justice trail meanders
its way down beside the Jed Water to the Auld Brig where you cross the Jed and
start climbing gently up Hartrige Drive past the site where Hartrige House
once stood, continuing from here to Mount Ulston. It's on to singletrack now all the
way to the Roman road named Dere Street. Now, as you descend quickly to
Jedfoot "choose your line carefully", the trail at this point
steepens with ruts, loose rocks and cobbles. At the bottom it’s left upstream following the Jed to
the "Jooglie Brig".
Cross the A68 and enjoy the
hard technical climb up to Lanton Woods following an ancient drover’s road past
Willies Crook to Lanton Road.
At this point you can ride
the two family loops and skills area in Lanton Woods or even visit Timpendean
castle before rejoining the Drovers road and towards the golf course where you
have a short sharp descent followed by a climb to the Dunion Road - where you follow
the road for a few hundred metres before you join a singletrack climb along the
face of the Dunion Hill all the way to Black Law mast, passing an old rifle
range and the original home of Jedburgh Border Games.
Approaching Black Law you
will be greeted with a spectacular 360 degree viewpoint and a view of
Ruberslaw; the perfect place for a well earned break (remember the camera!!)
Now a very fast downhill
singletrack with three route choices and a few features to keep you
entertained! Wide grins all the way down till you meet the Green road (old
drovers toll road ) now a grassy track. The trail follows the green road past
Swinnie Toll (it’s ok you don’t need to pay the toll
anymore, honest!)
Back to singletrack heaven
all the way round Swinnie Forest with berms, jumps, classic woodsy trails, be
careful though there may be some timber lurking on the trail ready to surprise
you.
Then steady away as you
climb from Swinnie back up to the top of Merlin Dean, remember there's 3 routes
to choose from so select a different one from the first time around.
After Merlin Dean we take a
left and head for a short distance on the Green Road and then follow a double
track which descends down through a farm steading and then onto a steep descent
after which you lead up to Galahill and the Castle Jail, the final stopping
point before Jeddart Justice was administered.
The Verdict: we never said
it'd be easy, but we did say it'd be fun!
