I’m a firm believer that there’s no minimum length for a nice walk (although maybe if it’s less than 10 minutes, it’s more of a ‘stop off’ than a walk). Quite often on a longer drive we’ll stop off for a quick leg stretch, but I don’t like to stop for too long when we’ve still got a long way to go. A few years ago we stopped off in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs for a short stroll on our way north to Wester Ross, and despite only walking for about 30 minutes we enjoyed ourselves so much that we’ve decided that we need to book a trip here to explore more thoroughly.
We had an absolutely stunning late summer day for the drive up: blue skies, warm (but not too hot) and no wind. How often do you get weather like that in Scotland! (Sadly it didn’t last for our week away, but it was nice to have at least one summery walk). I was so glad we’d planned a stop off to enjoy at least some of the sunshine, and Loch Lomond was looking very bonnie indeed. We’d picked out a short route from the Walkhighlands website starting from the popular destination of Balmaha, where there’s a large pay and display car park at the start of the walk.
We arrived late on the Saturday morning but managed to get parked with no issues. The trail picks up straight from the car park, skirting a leafy green wood before crossing the road to pick up a path running along the shore of Loch Lomond. The view here was lovely with the boats gently bobbing in the water – it looked more like the Mediterranean than Scotland!
The route soon leaves the shore path to pick up a section of the West Highland Way, climbing relatively steeply to the small summit of Craigie Fort. There’s a fantastic view over Loch Lomond from the top, more than worth the effort of the short climb. After descending back down the hill the walk turns left when the West Highland Way turns right – but this small taster was definitely enough to make me want to walk the whole thing one day.
The final section of the walk follows the edge of the loch, right on the water. It’s uneven underfoot in places but it’s so lovely that it’s really not a chore. The dogs enjoyed being able to have a splash about in the shallows here, and before we knew it we were back at the car – all in all this walk took us just under half an hour.
Dog friendly rating – 5/5. This was a great short dog walk. The route is stile free and has no livestock, and both of our dogs enjoyed having a splash about in the loch at the end. There’s a few very short road sections (more crossings than sections really) to be aware of if you’re planning to let your dog off lead.
If you’ve enjoyed reading this blog today, subscribe below so that you never miss a post:
