Easier rider: segways take strain out of Scots estate

PULLING on a pair of walking boots or riding a mountain bike have been the traditional ways to experience the great outdoors in Scotland.

However, technology fans can now try a completely different way to enjoy the Scottish landscape – on a Segway.

For the first time in Scotland, an activity centre is offering off-road Segways as an alternative way to discover the countryside.

Guests at Crieff Hydro hotel in Perthshire can opt to explore a two-mile track within the hotel's 900-acre estate on the two-wheeled machines.

Invented by American, Dean Kamen, the machine stays upright despite having only two wheels and uses the rider's body movement.

To move forward or backward, the rider leans slightly forward or backward and to turn left or right, the rider moves the handlebars left or right.

Operated by battery, the machines can travel up to 24 miles on a single charge, depending on terrain, payload and riding style.

However, Scottish Ramblers, the walking association, said it wouldn't provide the same experience as walking or biking.

Helen Todd, development officer for the group, said: "If it has an engine, you have to go on paths so you wouldn't have the same access to the countryside under access legislation as by foot.

"If you were staying at Crieff Hydro, wouldn't you want to go out and see a bit more of the local area? Walking will take you a lot further and get you fit."

Jade Taylor, assistant manager of the outdoor centre at Crieff Hydro, said the activity was proving popular with families and firms for team-building.

She said it was useful for older people to enjoy the countryside who were less mobile.

Ms Taylor said: "It is something a bit different and we like to add a new activity every year. But you do use your body to steer it, so it's still active."

Eric Fleming, a spokesman for Segway, said: "It is a great way for people to try the product and have an adventure at the same time and once they try it, people will realise it is not just a toy but a powerful machine."

He said using the machines for off-road terrain had been growing around the world, adding: "It is a definite market for us.

"We know of 450 different types of experience across the planet, using Segways from guided tours around a major city to something more themed like a historical tour or on a golf course."

Mr Fleming added that a specially adapted model for tough terrain would cope with the Scottish countryside.

He said: "The X2 model is fitted with more rugged tyres and is able to travel through more rugged terrain."

The firm was earlier this year bought by British millionaire Jimi Heselden, who was already an investor in the company's UK dealership.

Mr Heselden is the chairman of Hesco Bastion, a company that makes units for flood and blast protection, used by the military and humanitarian agencies.