After the success of the inaugural event last year, Cream o’ the Croft, “Scotland’s Mountain Bike Festival”, is set to make a much-anticipated return to Comrie Croft in Perthshire this weekend, with organisers promising a fun-packed weekend for mountain bikers and non-mountain bikers of all ages.
From a top-class mountain bike Enduro and round three of the Scottish Bike Trials Championships, to a pedal-powered film night, live music and a huge range of family activities, races and coaching sessions both on and off the bike; together with locally-sourced food and drink, Cream o’ the Croft aims to cater for everyone.
Thanks to the generosity of local activity providers, a huge range of activities and entertainment is included in the entry fee. The fantastic line-up of entertainment tomorrow, Friday, June 17, includes live bands, a giant waterslide, segways, quad pods, circus skills workshops, a petting zoo, slack line, giant inflatables, a magical fairy hunt, a rodeo bull, light chaser and gyroball.
Aaron Gray, festival promoter at Muckmedden Events, said: “We were blown away by how well received the festival was last year, both by mountain bikers and those with very little interest in cycling. As well as being a mountain bike festival, Cream o’ the Croft is also a music and beer festival in its own right, so even if mountain biking isn’t your thing, it’s a great event to hang out with friends and family in a laid-back festival atmosphere.”
Despite the huge range of activities, events and entertainment off the bike, mountain bikers will be extremely happy as bikes and bike racing are still at the heart of the festival throughout the weekend.
In a bid to find the true all-rounder, Saturday’s main event is a fun-focused mountain bike Enduro featuring nine timed stages, including pumptrack “Jump and Pump” stage, blue, red and black-graded descents, dual slalom, cross-country and hill climb stages. The fastest male and female across all stages will be crowned the “Cream o’ the Croft”. On Sunday, there will be a Mini-Enduro for riders aged six to 13, together with super-fun Toddler Balance Bike and Pedal Bike racing.
For those who would rather watch other people ride bikes, this year’s festival has the inclusion of Round 3 of the Scottish Bike Trials Championships while other biking action includes toddler coaching, women’s only coaching, a bunny-hop competition, a pumptrack challenge and bike drag racing. The kids can even have a laugh at the grown-ups’ expense during the adult balance bike racing.
Other highlights include the Scottish premiere of Anthill Films’ hotly-anticipated new mountain biking film Not2Bad, which will be screened in a pedal-powered cinema on Friday night, while Saturday’s live music line-up is headlined by the seven-piece Jenova Collective from Leeds. Sunday’s live music selection includes Glasgow band The Daddy Naggins – “the sound of high-energy bluegrass with a Glaswegian twist” – and Fife’s The Coaltown Daisies, who are Best Folk Performance winners.
Summing up the festival, Andrew Donaldson, venue manager at Comrie Croft, said: “If anyone is wondering what is so special about Cream o’ the Croft, I couldn’t put it any better than this feedback from one of last year’s festival goers: ‘The atmosphere was great – we really liked the home-spun feel to it all. It was good that we didn’t feel we were getting fleeced at every turn: everything seemed to be included in the weekend pass cost and there was no further cash needed for things such as the bucking bronco, pedal-powered Scalextric/smoothie maker, etc. The kids in our party had a great time and it felt safe just letting them run around the whole site without supervision.’”
Cream o’ the Croft takes place from tomorrow, Friday, June 17, until Sunday, June 19, at Comrie Croft, Braincroft, Crieff, in Perthshire. www.creamothecroft.co.uk
