Luss Heritage Trail

1. Start from the main car park in Luss, where there is a charge except in winter. Luss was orginally known as Clachan Dhu, the dark village, due to its position in the shadow of the hills. However approximately 1,500 years ago St Kessog brought Christianity to the area, he was martyred and his body embalmed in sweet herbs. Local legend suggests that the herbs grew and covered his grave and gave the village its new name derived from the Gaelic word lus meaning herb. Head away from the lochside to pass the shop at the opposite end of the car park to the toilets and National Park information centre. Turn left onto the main road through the village but almost immediately turn right towards the primary school, following the pathway straight up the slope. Climb the steps and head across the footbridge over the A82. The pathway emerges next to a large house, keep straight on along a short section of path and then head left following a wooden signpost for the Quarry Walk.

2. Cross the minor road and go through the gate to follow a path through the woodland. Keep on the main path when smaller paths head off to the right and soon you start descending steps to a wooden bridge. Here the spoil heaps from the slate quarry can be seen. Many of the villagers worked in the slate quarry and would have been too poor to clad their turf-thatched cottages in slate, much of which was sold for the roofs of the Glasgow tenements. However in 1850 the laird who was also the local clan chief replaced the hovels with the new model village that can be seen today. Cross the bridge and turn left to walk downstream passing the small weir. Keep following the path which passes under the busy A82 and then alongside grazing land before crossing a small wooden bridge and heading up to the village road.

3. Climb the steps up to the road and cross over. Turn left and follow the pavement for a very short time before turning right down steps and onto a path signed River Path. Turn right on the path and follow it as it keeps next to the river, eventually reaching some benches at a sharp bend in the water. The path passes a water treatment works before it reaches the first houses of Luss. Here there is the option to turn right over the wooden bridge to visit the Glebe where there is a celtic-cross sculpture and a circular path.

4. If not exploring the Glebe keep straight on to pass the church which was built in 1875. The graveyard is much older with some of the earliest stones dating from the 7th and 8th century. It is worth exploring the graveyard to find the 11th century Viking hogback grave. Bear round to the left to follow a path along the banks of Loch Lomond. This emerges at Luss pier where boat trips run on the Loch in the summer months.

5. From the pier head straight up the main street, where the neat cottages of the model village can be admired. The laird built the village to provide housing for the workers who worked in his slate quarry and mills which included a cotton mill, saw mill and corn mill. At the top end of the main street turn right to return to the shop and the car park at the start of the walk.

Have you found an error or is any information wrong or missing?

Please let us know by using the error report form.