This past weekend, we headed down to the Galloway Forest Park to check out the Dark Sky Observatory  and get in some mountain biking.

The Dark Sky Observatory is a special place – we actually saw the rings of Saturn, witnessed stars in all their glory, and was enamoured by the Andromeda galaxy (which is due to hit us in 3.75 billion years).  I continue to question my existence since that moment.

With our tent on our back, we set out for 90km on our bikes and after a few extra adventures, we ended up doing quite a bit more. We went through 7 Stanes’ Kirroughtree and Glentrool trails and I was really impressed by their infrastructure (cafes included!) for mountain biking, even those just passing through.

We found a lovely spot by a small loch and camped there for the night, with the sound of the rain (and slugs slugging up our tent) throughout the night.

I also discovered the term off-piste – which apparently means cycling in overgrown fire burn areas, in the rain, just heading North and wishing for the best, and losing your shoe in a sea of mud. There is nothing more refreshing than using a map and a compass to sort yourselves out, OK, so I’ll admit that it was a bit tense.

Get yourself to Galloway – check out the stars, get on your bike, and fall off countless times like me.