Loch Katrine – The Lochside Road to Brenachoile Point
About 4.4 miles on foot.
Loch Katrine is the loch of Walter Scott's The Lady of the Lake, the poem that first brought visitors to the Trossachs.
From Trossachs Pier a quiet tarmac road follows the north shore under oak and birch to Brenachoile Point, a grassy headland where the loch opens out. It's an easy walk for almost anyone who can manage a few miles, with lunch at the pier when you're back.
- Time
- About two and a half hours: 7.1 km (4.4 miles) there and back from Trossachs Pier to Brenachoile Point on the north shore road. A walk.
- The path
- Tarmac all the way to the end, with a gate and an opening both 1.1 m wide, then a short grassy slope to the viewpoint.
- Where to start
- The paid car park at Trossachs Pier, signposted off the A821.
- Set off
- From November to February, set off by 12.30pm to be back in daylight.
- When to go
- All year in daylight. From November to February, set off by 12.30pm. The road can close after very heavy rain.
- Dogs
- Keep them close: bikes use the road.
- Children
- An easy road walk; a pushchair manages the tarmac but not the last grassy slope.
- Toilets
- Toilets at Trossachs Pier, 9am to 5pm, with an accessible toilet; none along the road.
- Before you set out
- Wide, smooth tarmac with moderate slopes; a short, fairly steep grassy path to the viewpoint at the end. The road can close after very heavy rain for landslips.
The walk
Park at Trossachs Pier at the east end of Loch Katrine, signposted off the A821. It's a paid car park, and the pier has toilets open from 9am to 5pm. Forestry and Land Scotland's Brenachoile Trail follows the road along the north shore, a private tarmac road with very little traffic and only moderate slopes.
It's 7.1 km there and back, about two and a half hours, under oak and birch with the water beside you. At the far end a short, fairly steep grassy path climbs onto Brenachoile Point, where the loch opens out towards the hills. Walter Scott set The Lady of the Lake here in 1810, and the loch has been Glasgow's water supply since 1859.
Watch for bikes on the road and keep dogs close. After very heavy rain the road can close for landslips. From November to February, set off by 12.30pm to be back in daylight.
If it rains
The road is tarmac and sheltered by trees, so it is a fair walk in light rain; in heavy rain it can close for landslips, and then the café at the pier is the place to be.
Afterwards
About 4 min on foot
Steamship Café
Lunch
Lunch is back at the pier in the Steamship Café, open every day from 9am to 5pm, with tables inside and on the terrace looking over the water. Dogs are welcome on the patio. If there's time afterwards, Loch Katrine Cruises sails short trips from the same pier; the times are on its website.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Monachyle Mhor, 8 miles away.
Then Suie Hunting Lodge, 13 miles away.
Where to eat
Steamship Café, a café in Callander.
For further reading, before you go.