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Perthshire

Loch Tay

A Highland loch fourteen and a half miles long between Kenmore and Killin, more than 150 metres deep, with Ben Lawers rising above its north shore.

Welcome

There's something about a long Highland loch on a still morning, and Loch Tay is one of the loveliest in Scotland.

It runs for fourteen and a half miles through the hills of Breadalbane, from Killin at its head, where the River Dochart pours in, to Kenmore, where the River Tay flows out. It's deep, too, at more than 150 metres in places. Ben Lawers, the highest mountain in Perthshire, rises above the north shore, and a road runs along each side, so you can drive right round it in an afternoon. Start at Kenmore, with its white village and the view straight up the loch to the hills, then head west along the north shore to the Scottish Crannog Centre, a living museum of the Iron Age on the water's edge. On the quieter south side, a short walk climbs to the Falls of Acharn. Finish at Killin, where the river rushes white under the old bridge at the Falls of Dochart.

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The Daily for 10 November, from Scotland with love. Aerial view of a concrete road bridge with angled supports spanning a sea loch, twin cloud-wrapped mountain peaks rising behind autumn-coloured hills.
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Before you go

Open at all times and free, with roads along both shores between Kenmore and Killin.

Where
In Highland Perthshire, between Kenmore at the east end and Killin at the west.
Open
At any time; free.
The roads
A road runs along each shore from end to end, so you can drive round the loch.
On the shore
The Scottish Crannog Centre on the north shore at Dalerb, and the Falls of Acharn above the south shore.
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Where it is

In Highland Perthshire, fourteen and a half miles from Kenmore in the east to Killin in the west.

Close byLoch Tay, Kenmore and Killin.
  1. Ben LawersA Munro of 1,214 metres above the north shore of Loch Tay, climbed over Beinn Ghlas from the National Trust for Scotland's car park on the Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve.4 miles as the crow flies
  2. Falls of AcharnFalls of AcharnTwo waterfalls in a wooded gorge above Loch Tay at Acharn, seen from an eighteenth-century folly, the Hermit's Cave, at the end of a dark stone tunnel.5 miles as the crow flies
  3. Canvas marquee on wooden poles beside a log cabin among autumn treesThe Scottish Crannog CentreA living museum of the Iron Age on the north shore of Loch Tay at Dalerb, with a rebuilt crannog, roundhouses and ancient crafts shown by hand.6 miles as the crow flies
  4. Fortingall Yew TreeFortingall Yew TreeAn ancient yew in the churchyard at Fortingall, at the mouth of Glen Lyon, thought to be between two and five thousand years old.6 miles as the crow flies
  5. The summit of Meall nan Tarmachan rising green out of a sea of cloud.Meall nan TarmachanA Munro of 1,044 metres above Loch Tay, climbed from the hill road between Loch Tay and Glen Lyon by its south-east ridge.6 miles as the crow flies
  6. KenmoreKenmoreA white-harled planned village where the Tay leaves Loch Tay, built by the Earl of Breadalbane after 1755, with an inn dated 1572 and a bridge of 1774.7 miles as the crow flies
  7. The ivy-covered ruin of Finlarig Castle among trees.Finlarig CastleThe overgrown ruin of Black Duncan Campbell's castle of the 1620s by Killin, with a stone pit that folklore calls a beheading pit.8 miles as the crow flies
  8. The Falls of Dochart tumbling over rocks through Killin.Falls of DochartRapids pouring under the old bridge at Killin, with the MacNab chiefs' burial island in the river.8 miles as the crow flies
Directions
AttractionsMeall Greigh3.1 miles
Beinn Ghlas, its grassy flanks gold and brown under a grey sky, the path curving up across its shoulder.AttractionsBeinn Ghlas3.9 miles
The summit of Meall Corranaich, old iron fence posts beside the path, with Meall a' Choire Lèith along the ridge.AttractionsMeall Corranaich4.6 miles
The rounded top of Meall a' Choire Lèith with a shadowed corrie on its near side, hills ranged beyond.AttractionsMeall a' Choire Leith5.5 miles
AttractionsGlen Lyon5.9 miles
Sauna on a boat, PerthshireActivityHotBoat Sauna, Taymouth Marina6.3 miles
Split standing stone overlooks a glen as sunset breaks through cloudsAttractionsPraying Hands of Mary6.7 miles
Looking from Meall na Aighean to Ben Lawers, Meall Greigh and Meall Garbh, snow on the highest tops.AttractionsMeall na Aighean6.7 miles
Timber-clad Courtyard Lounge Bar with picnic tables set against autumn woodlandRestaurantsThe Courtyard Brasserie & Bar6.7 miles

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the loch, and when each is next free.

A stone steading with a slated roof and an arched green door stands beside a gravel courtyard, daffodils growing at its base.West Tempar Bothy
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Perthshire
  • 12 miles from Loch Tay
Free 16–19 NovA sign reading "Garden Cottage" hangs on a white gate before a gravel drive, the white cottage and hills visible beyond.Garden Cottage
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Perthshire
  • 12 miles from Loch Tay
Free 11–14 DecA small stone bothy joined to a stone steading, seen across long grass under a Scots pine bough, a corrugated shed to the right.Lassintullich Bothy
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Perthshire
  • 12 miles from Loch Tay
Check datesA white harled house with a slated roof sits among woodland below a hill, a track winding up to it through fields.Lassintullich House
  • Sleeps 16
  • In Perthshire
  • 12 miles from Loch Tay
Free 16–19 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in PerthshireAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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