- On this page:
- Map
- Driving and detours
- Accommodation
|
|
Between Crianlarich and Glasgow: Loch Lomond
- On this page:
- Map
- Driving and detours
- Accommodation
Driving and Detours:
Approximate distance: 52 miles or 83 km
See: Letters from Argyll
Lots of ideas for travelling around Argyll and the Cowal Peninsula from Pamela MacKinnon, who writes quarterly from her home near Strachur on Loch Fyne.
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.
- On this page:
- Map
- Driving and detours
- Accommodation
Accommodation en route or round about:
Bed & Breakfast accommodation:
Achnadrish House, near Tobermory, Mull. Bed and breakfast in a fine secluded house in woodland gardens. Also 2 self-catering cottages mentioned below.
Ballochneck. Country house and estate near Loch Lomond. Bed and breakfast and optional dinner.
Sheildaig Farm. Secluded in gardens and trees yet 2 mins drive from Loch Lomond. Also available for short rental periods of 3 nights.
Wester Auchentroig. Farmhouse bed and breakfast in 300 acres, children welcome. East of Loch Lomond.
Collymoon Pendicle. In farmland by the River Forth, bed and breakfast with optional dinner. East of Loch Lomond.
Also, 2 B &Bs not directly on the route, but close to Glasgow and Glasgow Airport:
Glenshian. Small Georgian house in a country village.
South Branchal. Bed and Breakfast in peaceful rural seclusion.
Kirkton House. Olde Worlde Farmhouse bed and breakfast overlooking the Clyde. Licenced to sell alchohol, 6 bedrooms.
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.
Inchmurrin Island on Loch Lomond. 3 shoreside apartments and cottage, plus restaurant. Weddings.
Auchenheglish Lodges -superb rentals - Cundy Lodge sleeping 2-4 and Jetty Lodge sleeping 4-6. By the shore of Loch Lomond
The Gardeners' Cottages. Rural seclusion by the shore of Loch Lomond. Walled garden. Sleeping 4, 4 and 2.
The Lorn Farm, Loch Lomond. 3 excellent new self-catering apartments, sleeping 2-4, on the south side of Loch Lomond.
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.
Kennels Cottage, Craobh Haven. Overlooking the sea and islands, natural horse riding next door, sleeps 8.
5 self-catering cottages on 2 large estates, Mull, sleeping between 4 and 12.
Achnadrish House, Mull. 2 self-catering cottages sleeping 6 and 2. Also Bed and Breakfast as mentioned above.
|
|
Return to the larger Touring Routes Map |
|
- On this page:
- Map
- Driving and detours
- Accommodation
