📌 Cycle route in The Trossachs, Stirling
★★★★
The nearly car-free road following the northern shore of Loch Katrine is a beautiful ride, and the perfect partner to an outward journey by boat. With gorgeous scenery especially for the first and last few miles, you could rush this in little more than an hour, or actually enjoy it over a few. As you pass the northwestern tip of the loch, the old road across Glengyle is visible as an avenue of trees, the actual track now submerged by water. Later on, the burial ground for the MacGregors (made famous by Rob Roy) juts out into the loch on the right. A few surprisingly brutal little hills follow: although this is essentially a lochside route, it doesn’t religiously follow the shore. An off-road alternative misses out one of the climbs about two-thirds of the way along.
📷 Chronological photo guide
Cruinn Bheinn from near Stronachlachar 
Track along the west bank 
House at Glengyle & its old access road, now submerged 
MacGregor Burial Ground 
MacGregor Burial Ground 
View west over the loch towards Glen Arklet & the Arrochar Alps 
Waterfalls by the north bank track 
The track runs close to the shore for the last section 
SS Sir Walter Scott 
View from near the finish 
Take a boat across the loch to the start
🌍 Location
📌 Start at Stronachlachar Pier, B829 12 mi west of Aberfoyle
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NN 404102
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 56.257717,-4.577113
🏁 Finish at Trossachs Pier, A821 3 mi west of Brig o’ Turk
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NN 495072
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 56.233554,-4.428645
❌ No public transport within 1 mi (except the ferry between the start & finish, which doesn’t connect with onward transport)
🚗 Car park (charge) at walk finish, then take the ferry across Loch Katrine to the start (book tickets in advance to ensure bike space)
📝 Key info
► 21 km / 13 mi | ▲ 180 m | ⌛ 2 hr | ⚠️ Linear route
Features: 💧 Loch Katrine ★★★★
Terrain: Private tarmac road, generally smooth and with few cars; gravel singletrack as an off-road alternative for a 1 mi section. Mainly gently undulating but with a couple of short, steep climbs.
🚲 Hire bikes at 🔗 Katrine Wheelz, Trossachs Pier
Download file for GPS➡️ Eastbound linear ride: start – Glengyle – MacGregor burial ground – Strone – Edra – finish. (Looking for a challenge? Try a 31 mi circular ride from Trossachs Pier: over Duke’s Pass to Aberfoyle, along the B829 to Stronachlachar, then back along Loch Katrine by the route described above.)
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: Small birds.
Weather: Often sunny with little wind, temperatures in the low teens.
October 2015
