Forest of Ae

One of the UK's largest forests, with something for everyone

Ae Forest is the perfect place to visit, whether you want to relax with a picnic beside the river, watch woodland wildlife, stroll through the trees or burn off some serious energy on horseback or on the superb mountain bike trails.

The waymarked routes include gentle rambles beside the sparkling Water of Ae as well as longer hikes into the hills with wonderful views. Ae Forest covers an area about the size of 10,000 football pitches. Huge numbers of trees are harvested each year for timber, which is used for everything from paper to house building, and thousands of new trees are planted too. There’s a long history of forestry here: Ae village was built by the Forestry Commission in 1947 to house forest workers.

Time for a bite to eat?

You’ll find delicious refreshments at the Ae café on site. 

Opening hours

• The cafe is open Thursday to Tuesday, 10am to 4.30pm, closed Wednesday. 
• The bike shop is open Thursday to Tuesday, 9am to 5pm, closed Wednesday.   

Ae Forest Bike Shop & Cafe

Dogs

Assistance dogs are welcome in the café. For our other canine visitors, there’s water available outside. The café has outdoor seating as well.

Car parking information

The charges to park at Forest of Ae are:

• £2 for up to 1 hour
• £3 for up to 3 hours
• £4 for all day
• £14 for minibus or coach all day

Blue Badge holders park free. Please display your Blue Badge clearly.

Payment can be made using coins, card or RingGo.

Annual parking passes are available for this site, visit our parking page for more information.

Please park with care and consideration. In particular please park in designated parking areas only and do not block entrances or gates. Nearby car parks with free parking can be found in our Forest Search.

More about parking

Stay the Night

Our Stay the Night scheme now runs right through the year. This means self-contained motorhomes and campervans will be able to park overnight at the Naze car park.

There is a £10 charge to Stay the Night at this car park. Payment can be made through RingGo with details of how to do this at the car park.

To help plan your stay, please see the details below:

• Height barrier – No
• Motorhome capacity of car park – 8
• Suitable for large vehicles/caravans – No
• Access notes - Stay the night is only available at the Naze car park, not the car park by the bike shop and cafe. Follow the forest road for around 1/2 mile.
• Parking notes – Car park on slight slope - levelling blocks recommended. Please leave a 4m gap between other motorhomes.

Please visit our Stay the Night page for full details, participating locations, best practice, and terms and conditions of use .

Stay the night

Turn off the A701 at Ae Bridgend, following signs to Forest of Ae. You’ll reach Ae village after about 2 miles (3km). Turn right at the Forest of Ae sign at the crossroads just beyond the village, then follow signs to the car park.

The mountain bike trails start at the Naze car park. To get there, go past the entrance to the main car park and continue along the road for about ½ mile (1km). Take the next left, signposted for 'Ae Valley car park'. There’s also parking for horse boxes here.

Using SatNav?

DG1 1QB is the nearest postcode.

Public transport

The nearest station is at Dumfries. There are regular buses between Dumfries and Moffat, stopping at Ae Bridgend and Parkgate, both about 2 miles (3 km) from Ae village. Check Traveline Scotland for details.

Get directions

Turn off the A701 at Ae Bridgend, following signs to Forest of Ae. You’ll reach Ae village after about 2 miles (3km). Turn right at the Forest of Ae sign at the crossroads just beyond the village, then follow signs to the car park.

The mountain bike trails start at the Naze car park. To get there, go past the entrance to the main car park and continue along the road for about ½ mile (1km). Take the next left, signposted for 'Ae Valley car park'. There’s also parking for horse boxes here.

Using SatNav?

DG1 1QB is the nearest postcode.

Public transport

The nearest station is at Dumfries. There are regular buses between Dumfries and Moffat, stopping at Ae Bridgend and Parkgate, both about 2 miles (3 km) from Ae village. Check Traveline Scotland for details.

Get directions

Horse riding

The trails at Ae are ideal for horse riding. There’s plenty of room for horse boxes at the Naze car park, and you can start the British Horse Society Countryside Trail from here.