Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park

Stay in Stirling and here, on your doorstep, are the breathtaking landscapes around Loch Lomond and The Trossachs. Long celebrated in literature and by generations of visitors, this beautiful outdoor playground is now protected as Scotland’s first National Park.

Standing high on the battlements of Stirling Castle, the spectacular vista is framed by these famous peaks where, quite literally, the Highlands meet the Lowlands. Among the hills lie rich forests, picturesque villages and a string of shimmering lochs.

Centuries ago these lands were home to proud clans and to the colourful folk hero, Rob Roy Macgregor. A sort of Scottish Robin Hood, Rob Roy was no myth and you can still visit his birthplace by Loch Katrine, his home on Loch Lomondside and his grave in Balquidder.

Today, the area is a magical outdoor playground, with endless opportunities to enjoy activities and feel closer to nature.

The Trossachs

From the Gaelic meaning ‘bristly country’, the rugged landscape of the Trossachs was first made famous by the pens of Daniel Defoe, William Wordsworth and Sir Walter Scott. Through the 18th and 19th centuries the first ‘tourists’ followed in their footsteps and today visitors still flock to the main tourist gateways of Callander and Aberfoyle, just half an hour’s drive from Stirling. Best of all the many lochs vie with each other as they reflect the natural beauty of the surrounding hills.

Loch Lomond

Celebrated in the famous song, ‘By yon Bonnie Banks’, Loch Lomond really is Scotland in miniature. Here you can see at first hand the wonderful contrast in ladscapes as the Highlands meet the Lowlands.  From the green fields, shallow waters and quiet bays at its southern end to the steep-sided, plunging depths of its fjord-like north, the scenery is ever changing.

There quite a contrast between the quieter, eastern shore, accessed from the villages of Drymen and Balmaha and, to the west, busier centres like Balloch and Luss. The myriad of islands speckled across the loch adds further enchantment to this most captivating of landscapes.

Activities

Even by car or coach, a trip along Loch Lomondside or around The Trossachs Trail will bring you closer to nature. Pause at a spectacular viewpoint or take a short stroll on a woodland path in the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park. Here you can discover several birds of prey, fish on loch or river or take a memorable cruise aboard a vintage steamship, on Loch Katrine.

The more active can walk or cycle through twisting forest tracks, try your hand at canoeing or enjoy a variety of hill walks, from a short climb to a serious expedition.

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Ben A'an, overlooking Loch Katrine

SS Sir Walter Scott

View across Loch Lomond

Canoeing