Glen Lyon – An Ancient Yew and the Longest Glen by Car
A few hours.
The route
Glen Lyon runs west from Fortingall deep into the hills to Loch Lyon, and Sir Walter Scott is said to have called it the longest, loneliest and loveliest glen in Scotland.
This is the glen by car, starting with the ancient yew in Fortingall's churchyard. Then the single-track road climbs through the river's rocky gorge into the open glen, past an old packhorse bridge, a ruined castle and a leaning cross, to lunch at the tearoom at Bridge of Balgie.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The day
Glen Lyon
A tree thousands of years old, then a slow drive up a long, quiet glen, and soup by the river at Bridge of Balgie.
About two and a half hours
Fortingall Yew Tree
An attraction
Fortingall is a village of thatched cottages at the mouth of Glen Lyon, eight miles west of Aberfeldy. Park by the church: the yew stands in a walled enclosure in the churchyard beside it, free to see at any time. It's thought to be somewhere between two and five thousand years old, its trunk split and gnarled into several, and the story goes that Pontius Pilate was born in Fortingall. Allow twenty minutes or so. Then drive west into the glen. The road is single track all the way, and the first two miles twist through the tight, rocky gorge of the River Lyon, so take it slowly. As it opens out, watch for the arch of the old packhorse bridge locals call the Roman Bridge, below a waterfall on the south bank, then the ruins of Carnbane Castle on a spur above the road. St Adamnan's Cross, a leaning stone carved with a cross, stands on a bank by the road just before Camusvrachan.
23 min by car
Glenlyon Tea Room
Lunch
Lunch is 23 minutes' drive up the glen at the Glenlyon Post Office, Shop and Tea Room at Bridge of Balgie, a stone cottage with a timber porch and picnic tables looking over the River Lyon. In summer it usually opens 10am to 5pm (4pm on Mondays) and shuts on Wednesdays. From mid-October it keeps winter days, usually Friday to Monday from 10am to 4pm, so check before setting out; on other days bring a picnic. Dogs are welcome. From here the glen runs on west past Meggernie Castle to the dam at Loch Lyon, and a hill road climbs over the shoulder of Ben Lawers to Loch Tay, though it isn't kept open in winter conditions.
If it rains
Most of this is seen from the car, and the tearoom has a roof; the yew's enclosure is open to the sky, so take a coat for those twenty minutes.
Photograph by Sheena Anderson via Google