| Primrose Hill - Loch Katrine | |
| Parking | Loch Katrine has a large car park but it charges a fair amount of coin for the privilege. And, they enforce the charges all year round, not just in the peak season. |
| Distance | 7 miles supposedly |
| Height / Ascent | Approximately 125m climb from the banks of Loch Katrine |
| Bogginess | 3 / 5 |
| Strenuosity | 2 / 5 |
| Other Info | Good paths and dirt tracks throughout |
Introduction
Another typical, piss-awful day in Scotland. The winter of 2015 has been surprisingly bad, not for snow and freezing temperatures, but for continuous rain and dull, dreary days. Must be the fabled global warming or climate change or whatever it's called now. Man's heinous practices of spewing out CO2 catching up with him and it will leave us all burning in a sea of fire. Of course, it could actually just be the natural warming and cooling cycle experienced for billions of years on this planet but that scientific argument wouldn't allow governments to stick their noses in and control out lives further. Anyhow, that's a debate for another day, back to the walk at Loch Katrine.
Because of the short days of winter, we needed somewhere we could get up and down quick. Loch Katrine had a couple of options. Either go up Ben Venue, the big hulking mountain to the south the Loch or, if the conditions weren't suitable, head up the smaller Primrose Hill on the north bank of the Loch. So off we went.
Getting There and Parking Up
Loch Katrine is straightforward to get to. You access the car park from the A821 which runs off the A84 Stirling to Lochearnhead road. The turnoff from the A84 is signposted as is the junction on the A821 which takes you to the car park. There is a spacious car park there but it is pricey to park and they charge all year round too, the bandits! Ben Venue can be accessed from a couple of different routes but the popular route has a car park situated just around the corner from the one at Loch Katrine, and yes, it charges!
Climbing on top of Primrose Hill
As we approached Loch Katrine we saw the weather was looking really stormy and the peaks of the higher hills were covered in fog so we decided to just go up Primrose Hill instead of chancing Ben Venue. So we get parked in the car park, bemoan the eye-watering parking charge and get ready to go. Bang! Hail storm. Already before we even get going we are being belted by hail stones. So we wrap up and walk on towards the Loch.
The Loch has the usual array of tourist trappings you expect around the Loch Lomond area..A cheap Scottish crap shop, eatery etc. It also has two boats for pleasure cruisers, the Lady of the Lake and the Sir Walter Scott. Although they looked ready to go, I doubt they would have gone out that day as there were only a few visitors to the Loch.
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| The boats and shops on Loch Katrine |
We continued around the path along the north side of the loch. It's actually not just a path but a road that services houses further along so you have to watch out for cars. The hail had stopped thankfully but views across the loch were still dull and misty. As we went round we happened across this small waterfall. It was really nothing spectacular but it was something to photo. Just a pity there were so many branches obscuring it. Will have to remember to pack a saw the next time I go out.
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| The unspectacular waterfall |
After the first waterfall we come to another one, this time man-made. Again it wasn't overly spectacular but interesting nonetheless.
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| Waterfall No 2 - The man-made one |
After the waterfalls we continued along the path looking for the turn off to Primrose Hill we noticed an info board telling us all about the lady of the lake. Her name was Ellen Douglas and she was holed up on Ellen's Isle in the Loch as a fugitive. She was the basis for Walter Scott's poem the Lady of the Lake. Schubert made seven songs from the poem's verses and verse 3 was the basis of a song you might have heard of called Ave Maria.
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| I think this is Ellen's Isle. There aren't that many in the Loch so i'm sure this must be it. |
It was quite amazing that one of the most well known and recited songs was based on events here. Anyway after absorbing that little piece of history we continued on and soon found the path leading up. The path was moderately steep but nothing too severe and it soon levelled out and continued parallel to the Loch. Although the elevated views over the Loch were nice, they were often obscured by trees.
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| Views from Primrose Hill during a brief period where it wasn't raining or snowing. Ben Venue is the walloper of a hill in the background |
As we headed on the snow started belting down. In the snowstorm we started to question if we were on the right path or not as it didn't seem to lead up any of the surrounding hills. After looking at the map I concluded we had taken the wrong path and we should have turned right, not left, at the top of the climb. So we headed back and headed straight into a dead end. Oops! Don't trust me for good directions in the future. As the weather was still awful we just decided to head back to the car and go somewhere else. We had seen most of what Loch Katrine had to offer and we still had time to go visit somewhere else.
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| The path / road around the loch taking us back to the car |
We trudged back down and along the path to the car. The precipitation which had been falling as snow higher up was just rain down on the path. We were only about 100m higher but that was enough to make it fall as snow. How bizarre. As we got back to the car we checked the information board at the car park to see where the Primrose Hill walk actually was. Turns out we were on the right path initially and if we had followed it a bit further it would have just turned back to the loch. It seems a bit misleading calling it a walk up Primrose Hill when it is actually just an elevated path on the side of a larger hill, However, we were also glad we hadn't missed out on climbing to the summit and we had managed to see pretty much everything Primrose Hill had to offer.
Onwards to Loch Awe
We thought about looking around the area we were currently in to fill up the rest of the day but we doubted it would offer anything new or interesting. I then remembered reading some article about the most amazing places to visit in Scotland and in it was Kilchurn Castle at Loch Awe near Tyndrum. It was about an hour or so drive from where we were so we decided to just go for it eventhough we would be cutting it fine for daylight.
| Kilchurn Castle - Loch Awe | |
| Parking | Small, rough ground car park off the A85 which isn't signposted. No parking charges. |
| Distance | Less than 1 mile there and back |
| Height / Ascent | Flat ground - No ascent |
| Bogginess | 2 / 5 |
| Strenuosity | 1 / 5 |
| Other Info | Good path but can be a bit boggy and wet if it has been raining |
Getting There and Parking Up
The car park is just off the main A85 which runs from Tyndrum to Oban. The turnoff is quite obscure and it isn't signposted. If you are coming from the east it is before you get to the settlement of Lochawe between the turnoff south for the A819 and the bridge running over the river. It is easy to miss (as we did) so keep your eyes peeled. The car park is just rough ground and not very big so it could get quite cramped during tourist season. There are no parking charges.
Awesome to the Max
We eventually found the small car park at Loch Awe after driving through the village of Lochawe and back again in the torrential rain. Slightly unsure if we had found the right place (as the car park isn't signposted on the main road), we got out and had a nosey around but thankfully there was a sign directing us to the Loch. The sun was already starting to set so we had to get a leg on down to the castle. At least the rain had stopped though. You used to be able to cross the railway line to get down to the castle but since walking across the railway line is now a criminal act of trespass (FFS!), a new path has been created going under the railway bridge.
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| The path going under the railway bridge |
Once under the bridge, the castle soon comes into view and it is a short walk down the path to reach it. We were both pretty awe-struck (gettit) when we caught sight of it as the ruinous structure looks spectacular surrounded by the loch and towering hills.
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| The eerie ruin of Kilchurn Castle |
It can be tricky to get decent photos because the castle is quite hemmed in by the Loch limiting the photo opportunities, especially if you want the hill to the north in the background, but we still managed to get some good shots. The money shot seems to be from the south-east bank of the loch as this allows you to get the castle with the mountainous hills in the background. Unfortunately, the sun had almost set so we didn't have time to go around there. So after getting our fill of snaps around the castle, we headed home.
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| Mike sizing up the castle for a snap |
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| The decaying ruins |
Heading Home - Reflection
We didn't have much time to play with because of the short, winter day but we still managed a twofer which was good. Loch Katrine is stunning, as are all the large Scottish lochs, but it doesn't really offer anything more than what you would expect. It is geared up for tourists and it would be a great place for a family outing in summer. Apart from the Loch itself and the surrounding hills there isn't really that much to photograph. Primrose Hill is not really a hill walk in the traditional sense, i.e. reaching a summit, but more just an elevated viewing platform over the loch and hills. The crap weather also didn't help endear it to us.
Kilchurn Castle is a walk which gives a good 'bang for your buck'. Short walk - Big Reward! We were only there about an hour and managed to grab a stash of great photos
Worth a visit?
Loch Katrine would be good for family outings but doesn't offer much more than any of the other Scottish lochs. It would also be pretty annoying in the summer months overrun with tourists, Ben Venue, next to the loch, looks like a good hill climb though and that would be the only reason we would return here.
Kilchurn Castle is a must visit place if you are in the area. Its easy and quick to get to and is a spectacular sight. We will definitely return when we are back in the area
