Among the most remote of the 7stanes, Kirroughtree is close to Stranraer in Scotland's south-east corner and up to an hour's drive from Dumfries - but you mustn't let that put you off visiting.

Definitely the highlight of our holiday, this underrated gem offers mile after mile of tight, twisty natural-feeling trails - almost all of which are singletrack.

In contrast to most other purpose built trail centres, Kirroughtree gives the impression that the trails have been there for years (perhaps they have) and that the only human input is the stone surfacing - which has already blended in nicely with the surroundings.

There are blue and green routes, but we decide to tackle the 31km combined red and black Twister and Black Craigs route.

The pain of the inevitable initial climb is dulled by the fact that it actually isn't that steep and is all on singletrack.

Once up in the trees though, Kirroughtree reveals it's true character, with tight, twitchy singletrack gently rising and falling through the trees - punctuated by the odd rocky step to negotiate either up or down.

Things go up a notch in difficulty as we leave the red route and start up the "stairway to heaven", a tricky switchbacking climb that demands concentration and good bike skills. Things stay technical as we head back downhill to McMoab - the best-known section at Kirroughtree.

Named after the Moab bare-rock bike routes in the US, it's composed of a series of large granite outcrops with blue arrows painted on showing where to ride. The rock is surprisingly grippy, but it's hard to keep the momentum going over the lumpy terrain and there's a lot of feet going down and lifting of bikes.

Although it would take pro-level skills to clear without stopping, it's still surprisingly good fun to have a go at McMoab - and we find we're more willing to have a go at rocky obstacles on the trail afterwards.

This is followed by "heartbreak hill", a punishingly steep and long climb to the summit of Black Craig - and from here on it's pretty much all downhill.

"Talnotry hill" is a mind-blowing 2.5km stretch of lumpy, swoopy singletrack that actually feels even longer. A couple of sizeable drop-offs remind us that this is a black-graded trail, but otherwise it's just really, really good riding.

And the beauty of Kirroughtree is that it seems like the brilliant singletrack is never going to end as we fly down "hansel and gretel", "hissing sid" and "jabberwocky" before rejoining the red route and following "the twister" to the start.

By the time we arrive back at the visitor centre our wrists are locked from covering our brake levers, our legs are dead and it's too late to get any food from the shop - but we don't care because we've just had one of the best rides of our lives.

Related: Mountain biking glossary
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