TERRAIN: Good gravel footpaths and surfaced single track road. Undulating – nothing steep. Several gates.
Dog-friendly route
GETTING THERE: The walk starts and ends at Loch Trool trail car park. Closest bus stop Glentrool Village, approx 3 miles away. If cycling, the start point is located just off NCN route 7.
The closest toilets to this route are at Glentrool Visitor Centre, which is a 5 minute drive from the car park. Seasonal opening – check FLS website for more info.
View full route description
Exit the Loch Trool trail car park from the same entrance you drove in, turning left to cross the bridge over the Water of Trool.
Almost immediately after crossing turn left onto a woodland trail, following way markers for the Loch Trool circular walk.
The trail takes you uphill, following the course of the Pullharrow Burn for some time. After approx 1 mile it comes away from the burn and begins to head downhill, views of Loch Trool opening up before you.
Follow the path on high ground along the loch’s edge for approx 1 mile.
You will reach the eastern end of the loch where the path continues a bit further east to a footbridge over the Glenhead Burn. Cross the bridge then turn left along a wider track.
Just beyond Buchan Farm there is a bridge over the Buchan Burn, then the road takes a sharp bend to the right. Just at the bend, look out for an uneven narrow trail on the left – this is a shortcut to Bruce’s Stone (you can continue on the wide track if you don’t fancy this trail, it is quite steep).
From Bruce’s Stone follow the path behind the stone (N) to join a single track road at a car park. Turn left and walk along the road for approx 1 mile, to a tall metal signpost for “Loch Trool Circular” and “Access to Southern Upland Way” – turn left.
Follow this gravel footpath towards then around edge of the loch – it will lead you back to the Loch Trool trail car park where the walk ends.
WALK REPORT – 25th September 2024
It’s my birthday! I chose to spend it walking the Loch Trool Circular which had been on my list for a looonnnnng time. It turned into a girlie affair with my mum and sister joining me – my sister making a 6 hour round trip for the occasion (thank you!). The start point of this walk is a 90 minute drive from my home on some twisty turny roads and I think this is part of the reason I hadn’t ticked the route off before today.
What a fantastic day we got for it: calm, blue sky, fairly mild for the time of year. Since coming back I’ve heard that this route is often quite midge-y in the summer so I was pleased that we had waited until the end of September and weren’t bothered by them at all.
If I could make one request for the route it would be the addition of a couple of benches…. We only came across one which was at the eastern end of the walk, and there weren’t really any options for our packed lunch before that. As we approached said bench we could see a couple coming towards us walking in the opposite direction… They’d better not sit on the bench!! we fretted. What would we do then?!
As benches go, this one has a beautiful view: perfectly positioned. Although we did remark at it being slightly slanted forward so that your lunch box and water bottle slid off it! Mum actually opted to sit on a large boulder behind the bench in case she herself slid off :-D.
I had treated myself to a Brownings macaroni pie for my birthday lunch and we sat there, smugly, enjoying the walk’s only bench and imagining that everyone walking past was cursing us for getting there first….
I was surprised at how high the path is above the loch. Having a quick glimpse at the map beforehand it looked as though we’d be walking right by the water’s edge but that wasn’t the case. I remember looking across to the other side and seeing a group of people resting where there was a gap in the trees by a large rock: Bruce’s Stone? It couldn’t be, I thought: it was high up on the hillside, much higher than we’d be walking…. Another check of the map…. yep Bruce’s stone, and part of our return route! Mum gave us a look of ‘if you think I’m going up there you can think again’, when we told her. But we were there before we knew it, thanks to the whole route being so high above the loch.
The perfect spot for some birthday cupcakes, I’m sure you’ll agree! Thanks sis…. 🙂
This is an area steeped in history and a great job has been done with interpretation along the route, telling the story of Robert the Bruce’s victory at the Battle of Glentrool. Standing at Bruce’s stone looking over to the steep southern slopes of the lochside, it is easy to imagine the surprise ambush playing out over 700 years ago. A far cry from the tranquillity we were experiencing today.
A funny story, before I go…. one which still makes me chuckle out loud when I think about it. There were many Rowan trees along this route, some of them jam packed with berries. Beautiful. One tree close to our lunch stop was particularly full of berries, so much so that it was a bit lop-sided. Probably a combination of the weight of the berries and the prevailing wind direction, I thought to myself. According to my dear mum though, it was ‘bent double!‘…. Hmm, not quite mother! My sister and I laughed for a good 10 minutes after that comment. Maybe you had to be there…! I wish I had a photo of the tree to show you, then maybe you too would laugh out loud.
So pack your bag, a pie and your midge repellent and plan a date for this walk! Perhaps you too will make it your birthday treat 😉
