Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond

Made famous in the old song "The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond", Scotland's largest loch in terms of area stretches 24 miles long and lies on the Highland boundary fault dividing Lowland and Highland Scotland. The area north of the loch is mountainous and to the south is wooded islands and shores. One popular way to see the loch is a boat cruise leaving from the Balloch pier.

The National Park

Loch Lomond is the centrepiece of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. There are park visitor centres at Firkin Point, Inchcalloch, Inveruglas, Millarrochy Bay, and Luss (and many more eastward into the Trossachs). On the north eastern shore is Ben Lomond, rising some 3195 feet above the loch.

Most visitors travel along the A82, which runs along the western shore of the loch. My preferred approach is the minor road from Aberfoyle, past Loch Chon, to Inversnaid. Just outside Inversnaid is Roby Roy's View, a wonderful scenic viewpoint named for the notorious outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor, who hid from the authorities in a cave by the shore. Near the viewpoint is the small church where Roby Roy married. At Inversnaid is a lochside hotel, and a short path leading to a pretty waterfall.

At the north west corner of the loch is another easily accessible waterfall at Falls of Falloch, sometimes known as 'Rob Roy's Bathtub'. The water tumbles 30 feet and the Falls are set in a lovely wooded glen, with picnic facilities.

Luss

The ancestral home of Clan Colquhoun, this popular conservation village is set on the western shore of the loch, easily accessible of the A82. Luss acted as Glendarrch in the television series Take the High Road. Boat trips around the loch start from Luss pier.

The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond

This popular song first appeared in publication in 1841, though the original author is unknown. It tells the tragic tale of a Scottish soldier, destined to die far from home. There are several versions of the song's origin.

One that has a ring of plausibility about it suggests that the soldier was a Jacobite supporter in Bonnie Prince Charlie's army, incarcerated and awaiting execution in Carlisle gaol after the rebellion failed. The 'low road' refers to the Celtic belief that if someone died far from their homeland the faeries would take them home.