The Trossachs loch that supplies Glasgow's water and inspired Walter Scott's poetry, still cruised by a Victorian steamship
Loch Katrine is the centrepiece of the Trossachs, a long, narrow stretch of water about eight miles from end to end, wooded hills coming down to both shores. Walter Scott set his 1810 poem “The Lady of the Lake” here, and it drew so many sightseers to the area that it helped launch Scottish tourism. This was also Rob Roy MacGregor country; the outlaw was born near the head of the loch.
Since 1859 the loch has been Glasgow’s main water supply, piped more than twenty miles to the city, which is why the water is kept so clean and the shore so undeveloped. The steamship Sir Walter Scott has carried passengers up and down since 1900 and still sails in season from Trossachs Pier at the eastern end. The road along the north shore is closed to traffic, so it makes a fine there-and-back walk or bike ride, level and easy, out towards Stronachlachar at the far end.
Trossachs Pier is the place to start, signposted from Callander and Aberfoyle, with a car park, a café and cycle hire. Ben Venue rises to the south, and the whole area sits inside the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. It gets busy on summer weekends, so an early start helps if you want the quiet version.
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