Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs is Scotland's first National Park, and the twelfth in the United Kingdom. Designated in July, 2002, its 1,865 square kilometres (720 square miles) includes some of the most dramatic scenery of central Scotland, mountains, forest, steep valleys and gloriously beautiful lochs. The National Park divides naturally into four main areas - the 970 metre (3,195 feet) mountain of Ben Lomond which is the most southerly of Scotland famous "Munro" peaks overlooking Britain's largest freshwater lake Loch Lomond itself, the dramatic peaks and lakes of the Trossachs to the east, close to the little towns of Callander and Aberfoyle, Breadalbane, the wild and desolate country to the north dominated by the peaks of Ben Lui, Ben Vorlich and Ben More, and finally the dense Argyll Forest of the Cowal Peninsula with the dramatic Arrochar Alps bordered by deep sea lochs.

Getting there

It is astonishingly easy to get to the National Park by public transport direct from Glasgow, either by frequent (every 30 minutes,) suburban ScotRail train from Glasgow's Queen Street station through to Balloch, from where a shuttle bus service goes to the Maid of the Loch jetty on the shores of Loch Lomond, or by very frequent bus (every 15 minutes) First Glasgow services 204 or 205 from Buchanan Street Bus Station through to Balloch. The bus service is now extended to the impressive new Lomond Shore Centre in Balloch at the extreme south of the Loch. As well as shops and restaurants, you'll find a major new National Park Visitor Centre with interactive exhibitions and details of interpretive walks, trails, boat trips, excursions, and Park Rangers. Close by is Balloch Country Park with lake side walks, viewpoints and picnic areas.

For visitors waiting to get deeper into wilder parts of the National Park, the West Highland Line rail service, also operating from Glasgow Queen Street to Oban or Fort William/Mallaig operates via Dumbarton to a number of key, if isolated, railway stations that provide access for walkers and cyclists to the west and north of the National Park - Helensburgh, Garelochhead , Arrochar & Tarbet, Ardui and Crianlarich, and either Tyndrum Lower or Upper Stations depending on whether the train is heading for Oban or Fort William. Sunday services are extremely limited on both lines.

Scottish City Link bus services 926 and 976 from Glasgow to Oban and Campbeltown also provide two or three key services along the main A82 alongside Loch Lomond serving all the villages and settlements, with a more limited service on certain days from Edinburgh via Stirling.

All these services provide excellent access to the West Highland Way, the 152 kilometre (95 mile) popular long distance trail from Milngarvie, on the outskirts of Glasgow, to Fort William, through the heart of the National Park. There is also a mainly off-road Glasgow-Loch Lomond cycle way between central Glasgow and Balloch.

To the east, the key gateway into the Trossachs is the historic town of Stirling, which has frequent rail and bus links from both Edinburgh and Glasgow. From Stirling there is an hourly bus service to the picturesque village of Callander (some services continuing through the Trossachs to Killin and Tyndrum) on the edge of the Trossachs, two hourly on Sundays. There are regular services every two or three hours on Mondays to Saturdays from Stirling direct to Aberfoyle, in the heart of the Trossachs, from where there are limited weekday post bus services Inversnaid and Kinlochard.

Best places to stay without a car:

There is a good choice of hotel, Bed and Breakfast and Youth Hostel accommodation along the shores of Loch Lomond, which is also a main transport corridor, most the notably Loch Lomond Hostel at Arden, and hostels at Rowardennan and Crianlarich.

The Trossachs: Both Callander and Aberfoyle have a choice of accommodation and are excellent centres for walking and cycling. During the summer months the Trossach Trundler, a wheelchair accessible bus with the capacity to carry 2 cycles, connects both Callander and Aberfoyle with Loch Katrine and the vintage lake steamer SS Walter Scott, before operating to Port of Monteith.