★    Personally visited. Our own photography.
Specially chosen accommodation in Scotland.

Show/hide MenuMenu

Between Crianlarich and Glasgow: Loch Lomond

Driving and Detours:

Approximate distance: 52 miles or 83 km

Lots of ideas for travelling around Argyll and the Cowal Peninsula from Pamela MacKinnon, who wrote from her home near Strachur on Loch Fyne. See: Letters from Argyll

The A82 descends steadily through Glen Falloch until the head of Loch Lomond. Then the road skirts around the western shore, sometimes becoming quite narrow, and hence traffic can be slow especially in August.

From Tarbet to Balloch in the south there are places you can stop off on the shore and look across the loch to wooded slopes on the eastern side.

Toward the southern end the hills around the loch become more gentle...this is the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, a National Park. The loch itself is 23 miles long, the largest freshwater loch in Scotland. It's about 650 feet deep in the middle.

It has numerous islands, many of them covered in woodlands. One of the largest, Inchmurrin, is believed to have been the site of a monastery founded by St Murrin in the 6th century at a time when many of Loch Lomond's islands were colonised by Irish missionaries.

You can take trips on the Loch in summer on pleasure boats out of Balloch.

After Balloch the road becomes faster as it heads into Glasgow.

An excellent detour is from Tarbet along the A83 westwards to Inveraray on Loch Fyne (famous for excellent kippers (smoked herrings).

Inveraray was planned by the Duke of Argyll in the late 1700's and survives intact as one of Scotlands few "Planned Towns" (another being the Duke of Buccleuch's Newcastleton in Roxburghshire). Inverary Castle, the seat of the Argylls is on the edge of the town set in parkland. It is open to the public and well worth a visit.

Accommodation en route or round about:

Bed & Breakfast accommodation:

Sheildaig Farm. Secluded in gardens and trees yet 2 mins drive from Loch Lomond. Also available for short rental periods of 3 nights.
Newton Hall Bed and Breakfast on the shore of Loch Fyne on the edge of Inveraray.

Hotels:

Self-catering houses and cottages:

Auchenheglish Lodges. 2 superb rentals or bed and breakfasts - Cundy Lodge sleeping 2-4 and Jetty Lodge sleeping 4-6. Right on the shores of Loch Lomond.
The Gardeners' Cottages. Rural seclusion by the shore of Loch Lomond. Walled garden. Sleeping 4, 4 and 2.
Thorntree. Spacious wing converted from a barn, lovely gardens, self catering sleeps 6 or 7. Midway between Loch Lomond and Stirling.
The Strachur Estate: Garden Cottage, Glen Cottage, Laurel Bank and Gate Lodge. Loch Fyne - rural seclusion on a Highland Estate. Sleeping 4 to 5, 4 to 5, 8 + 1, and 3.
Right on the coast between Oban and Lochgilphead looking out to the mysterious whirlpool of Corryvreckan these two self catering cottages sleeps up to 6 and 2Aird House
and Aird Steading cottage
Craigdhu has a garden only yards from Loch Craignish, and sleeps up to 9.
5 self-catering cottages on 2 large estates, Mull, sleeping between 4 and 12.

Return to the top ˆ

About Scotland photography design john boyd-brent - contact - about this site - exit & links