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The Duke's Pass winding through autumn hills, the road curving away below.
Loch Lomond

The Duke's Pass

The winding road over the hills from Aberfoyle to Loch Achray, built by the Duke of Montrose, one of Scotland's best drives.

Welcome

The Duke's Pass is the stretch of the A821 that winds up from Aberfoyle over the hills and down to Loch Achray and the heart of the Trossachs, and it is one of the finest drives in Scotland.

It climbs steeply out of the village in tight bends, past The Lodge Forest Visitor Centre, onto open hillside, then runs through forest and moor before dropping towards Loch Achray, Ben Venue and Ben A'an.

The road was built by the Duke of Montrose in the 19th century, opening in 1886, to give better access across his estate, and it was improved for the stream of Victorian visitors drawn to the Trossachs by Sir Walter Scott's The Lady of the Lake. Take it slowly: there are laybys and viewpoints along the way, the Three Lochs Forest Drive leaves from the top, and in autumn, when the birches turn gold and the bracken rusts, it is at its most beautiful.

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The Daily for 3 November, from Scotland with love. Black cattle graze a fort mound above a river valley, a farmhouse and white cottages scattered among green fields and autumn woodland.
A short drive awayLoch AchrayA small, still loch in the middle of the Trossachs below Ben Venue, with a Victorian hotel on its shore.4 min by roadSee itLoch Achray
Before you go

The Duke's Pass is the A821 between Aberfoyle and Loch Achray, about seven miles; laybys and viewpoints along the way.

Road
A821, Aberfoyle to Loch Achray.
Length
About seven miles.

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Where it is

Between Aberfoyle and Loch Achray.

Close byIn the Trossachs.
  1. A loch winds through forested hills beneath a grey, cloudy skyThree Lochs DriveThis seven-mile drive along forest tracks winds through some outstanding scenery.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. The forest drive winding past a loch through the woods, from above.Three Lochs Forest DriveA seven-mile one-way forest road above Aberfoyle, past Lochan Reòidhte, Loch Drunkie and Loch Achray.1 mile 4 min by road
  3. A white cottage reflected in still water among dark trees near Aberfoyle.AberfoyleThe southern gateway to the Trossachs, a Victorian resort that grew from Scott's Lady of the Lake, with its slate quarries and fairy minister.2 miles 3 min by road
  4. Old gravestones in the kirkyard with the hills beyond.Aberfoyle Old Parish ChurchThe old kirkyard of Aberfoyle, with its iron mortsafes and the grave of Robert Kirk, the minister taken by the fairies.2 miles 4 min by road
  5. A wooden footbridge over a burn in the green forest.Queen Elizabeth Forest ParkThe great forest park of 1953, from Loch Lomond to the Trossachs, with its visitor centre at The Lodge above Aberfoyle.4 miles 7 min by road
Directions
Autumn woodland reflected in a calm loch, framed by bare branchesAttractionsLoch Achray3.3 miles
The steamship Sir Walter Scott at the pier on Loch Katrine.CafeSteamship Café4.9 miles
Ben Venue in low evening light above the forest and Loch Katrine.AttractionsBen Venue4.9 miles
A wood-fired pizza with pepperoni, mozzarella and fresh basil on a wooden table at Nick's at Port of Menteith.RestaurantsNick's at Port of Menteith5.0 miles
The tall roofless walls and arched windows of the priory church.AttractionsInchmahome Priory5.1 miles
The view from Ben Ledi's slopes over the hills of the Trossachs.AttractionsBen Ledi5.2 miles as the crow flies
Loch Ard still as glass, reflecting trees and hills.AttractionsLoch Ard5.5 miles
The view from the summit of Ben A'an along Loch Katrine.AttractionsBen A'an6.3 miles
The Lake of Menteith, its wooded islands and the hills beyond.AttractionsLake of Menteith6.4 miles

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Stay nearby

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

A Highland calf walks across a lawn before a pink harled house, a stone wall and outbuilding visible behind.Monachyle Mhor
  • To stay
  • In Balquhidder
  • 11 miles from the Duke's Pass
Check datesSuie Hunting Lodge, Loch LomondSuie Hunting Lodge
  • To stay
  • In Luib
  • 16 miles from the Duke's Pass
Check datesA grand stone mansion with multiple gables and chimneys stands behind a lawn set with wicker chairs, seen through overhanging leaves.Cromlix
  • To stay
  • In Kinbuck
  • 17 miles from the Duke's Pass
Check datesA stone cottage with a slated roof sits nestled among dense woodland, two paddleboards resting on the lawn in front.Red Squirrel Cottage
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Lochgoilhead
  • 20 miles from the Duke's Pass
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in Loch LomondAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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