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29 JUNE 2011
NEWS RELEASE No: 14740
Glentress Peel now open
Forestry Commission Scotland's new visitor centre in Glentress Forest, nr Peebles, is fully open for business.
The new state-of-the-art development, known as Glentress Peel, will cater for the 300,000 plus visitors that flock to the forest every year, making it the top tourist attraction in the Borders.
All built on fully sustainable principles and using timber from the forest, the new centre offers modern facilities including a large café, bike shop, bike hire and an orientation building with changing rooms, showers and toilets.
Hugh McKay, Forestry Commission Scotland's recreation and tourism manager for Dumfries and the Borders said:
"Glentress Peel is quite a stunning site with four iconic buildings and we're sure that visitors will be really interested to see inside for themselves.
"We'll be working hard with our business partners Alpine Bikes and GT Restaurants to keep Glentress Forest a very welcoming place to go."
The Glentress Peel development is set in 12 acres of landscaped greenspace, connected by paths and a road. New car parking for 150 vehicles has been created and new interpretation panels will help visitors learn more about the forest.
More details on Glentress Peel can be found at http://www.forestry.gov.uk/glentress.
Notes to News editors
1. Forestry Commission Scotland works as the Scottish Government's forestry directorate http://www.forestry.gov.uk/scotland.
2. Bike Shop: Alpine Bikes: Alpine Bikes Ltd is Scotland's leading independent cycle retailer, founded twenty-two years ago in Aberdeen and now based in Edinburgh. It has nine shops, including three within Tiso Outdoor Experience stores. Its business has developed around mountain biking, dealing with brands such as Trek, Genesis, Santa Cruz and Orange. It now also incorporates road and urban bikes along with an extensive range of clothing and accessories. http://www.alpinebikes.com.
3. Café: GT Restaurants Ltd: This is a new Peebles based company which has been set up by Claire and Olivier Bony, the owners of the Glentress Hotel. They already run a number of businesses including the Hotel's popular restaurant and self catering units in Peebles. Their local presence, coupled with the Hotel being situated at the entrance to the forest, has given them valuable experience of catering for the mountain bike and visitor market for a number of years. http://www.glentress.org.uk
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