Watch – Luke Cockburn Rides Dunkeld Raw

Scotland has no shortage of terrain to intimidate us when we ride, and of these many places, Dunkeld has a history of note. Not only does it feature prominently in that most famous of plays, Macbeth, but it also the point where the mighty Roman Empire ceded that this really was far enough to venture from home.

While the land around Dunkeld may be stunningly beautiful and the Tay a fishing river of some renown, the Roman’s understood that from this point North, the terrain of Scotland changes from the deciduous trees and rolling valleys into a much harsher type of terrain. And so it remains – first established as a downhill track in 2002, Dunkeld has since forged a reputation that gives a nod to its history – it is a wonderful destination to ride amongst the loam, rocks and roots but it is also unforgiving – a mistake here can have big consequences.

With a thriving scene and fantastic trail building (and maintenance) community spirit, the Big D has seen many riders come a cropper but there’s a sense that you simply have to keep coming back for more. While the tourists flock to the stunning Hermitage and Britain’s tallest tree, we had other business to attend to. We all know that the Mettle is a capable bike, with James Shirley putting it through many a European mountain pass over summer, but we wanted to know how it would fare on the type of terrain that British riders just can’t enough of. The steep, rocky, rooty type of terrain that has bred multiple downhill world cup champions….

With that in mind, we sent rider Luke Cockburn, a man known for having no fear of reputations, on a late October mission to see how this wild child from the North East of England would handle the terrain over the border…