This linear walk along picturesque Loch Katrine can be combined with the steamer sailing from Trossachs Pier. It can also be walked in the other direction, catching the afternoon sailing from Stronachlachar. The route also makes a good, and popular, cycle, although bikes must be booked on the boat in advance.
Summary
Minor road closed to most vehicles, some short steep sections.
Terrain
Stronachlachar
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1. Start the walk from the pier at Stronachlachar. Here the classic steamship, the Sir Walter Scott, alights from Trossachs Pier at 11.15 am, leaving plenty of time for the return walk. For further information on times and prices see www.lochkatrine.com. From the pier walk up the road until you pass Hillview Cottage, with a thistle on the front wall. Turn right after the cottage, go past a white gate and follow the road slightly downhill. This road around Loch Katrine, is privately owned by Scottish Water, and dates back to the time when the Loch first supplied water to Glasgow in 1859. Opened by Queen Victoria, sale of soap reportedly fell by a half in parts of Glasgow as the soft clean water needed less help to get people clean.
2. Follow the road, which is only open to local traffic and cyclists, ignore a turning to the right and pass some houses and the road barrier. At the slipway you can see Factors Isle straight ahead. Here Rob Roy Macgregor imprisoned the rent collector of the Duke of Montrose in reprisal at the eviction of his family. The water level of the Loch has been raised several times and the island is now protected by an ornamental wall. Keep following the road as it winds through open countryside with good views of the Loch.
3. Eventually Glengyle House can be seen on the far side of the Loch and the now submerged bridge to it is passed. Here is the spot where Rob Roy Macgregor, famous outlaw and chief of the clan, was born. The road curves around on a new bridge to pass the head of the Loch and pass the house. Further along the road, a green boathouse is passed which can make a good stopping place if the midges are not biting! Keep following the road as it winds along the north side of the Loch passing through some pine trees and then later, woods of oak, birch and beech.
4. There are a number of tumbling waterfalls which can be viewed from the bridges with well maintained white railings - a legacy from the strict specifications the Water Corporation had to build the road to in order to appease local landowners when the Glasgow water scheme was first planned. Pass a house on the right at Portnellan and soon the burial ground of the Macgregors comes into view jutting out into the Loch. The gravestones date from 1699 to 1800 and are guarded by an impressive wall and gate - the graveyard can be visited by a short path from the road.
5. Keep on the road, which climbs steeply in places and winds around the side of the Loch, often in pretty woodlands. After passing the house at Coilachra, there is a dip in the road at a stream and some pine trees which is the site of an old schoolhouse, testament to times when the glen supported hundreds of families before the land was cleared to make way for sheep and deer grazing. After the tiny settlements of Strone, Edra and Letter, a pier and boathouse is reached.
6. The road now enters pretty woodland with occasional views over the Loch and towards the islands that guard the entrance to Trossachs Pier. The road is likely to be busier on this section as cyclists and electric buggy drivers make their way from the Pier. Follow the winding road, passing Ellen's Isle and two smaller islands. A memorial to the opening of the Glen Finglas water scheme is passed on the left where you can view the artificial falls. In a short distance the hustle and bustle of Trossachs Pier is reached where the steamer and other cruise boats set out and there are also toilets and refreshments available. The Trossachs were hugely popular as a tourist destination in the nineteenth century following the publication of The Lady of the Lake and Rob Roy by Walter Scott. Initially a rowing boat manned by a crew of eight ferried passengers across the Loch. However when a steamship was run in competition, the rowing boat spent a week racing with its new contender. At the end of the week, the new steamship was found sunk in its mooring. The crew of the rival boat were brought to court but refused to cooperate and spoke only Gaelic, stating that a mythical creature, a Water Horse, had submerged the vessel. Eventually they were let off because of a lack of evidence; later the current steamship, the Walter Scott took their place.
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