Walking Loch Lomond and the Trossachs. Ronald Turnbull
from Aberfoyle up the A821 (Callander). Take steps up left past the Bowling Club to short-cut the road's big bend. At the top of the village, turn right up stone steps (not the bike path that turns up right 30 metres further along the road). In 50 metres, the green trail joins from the right: continue uphill, ahead. Cross the bike path and another one above, up to the David Marshall Lodge, 300 metres away on a hilltop. Pass to left of the lodge and head down to the small lake beyond. Bear right, around the foot of the lake, to its northeast corner.
A path turns away from the lake, southeast and slightly downhill. At the next junction, as one waymark indicates the fork up left, follow the other marker forking right over a small culvert bridge. The path drops to the foot of the Little Fawn Falls.
Cross the footbridge below the falls (signed as Bike Path 7) and turn left up a steep path (a gentler way takes the smooth track slanting up over on the right, then in 400 metres back left). It leads up to the splat point of the Go Ape death slide. The death slide (I bet they donu't call it that these days) could be a short-cut from the lodge to this point, saving 400 metres. Behind the crashdown point (the punters actually arrive at moderate walking pace) a path marked u'Site 2u' contours above the stream, with handrail, and up into more monkey stuff suspended in trees. Pass up through the dangle zone to a track above. Turn up left,to pass another small waterfall over on your left. In another 400 metres is a four-way track junction.
On Craig of Monievreckie, to Lake of Menteith
Turn sharp right, southwest and slightly downhill, with a red waymarker. The Forestry Commission's trail layouts and colours tend to change every decade or so – in 2008 this was a blue waymarker. The track levels for a while, then climbs to the top of the forest, where it ends. Immediately above is the former Lime Craig Quarry, cut into the very edge of the Lowlands. The back wall is reddish conglomerate, whose cobbles, where broken, show discoloured quartzite washed out of a now-non-existent mountain range. The lower rocks, to left and right, are quite different: reddish black where weathered, pale green when freshly broken. This is serpentinite, originally a fragment of ocean bed snatched up between the two moving continental blocks. See pictures of the quarry in Appendix A.
A steep path runs up to left of the quarry, then turns right, to a gateway gap above. A viewpoint overlooking the David Marshall Lodge is just ahead, but turn left alongside an old fence on a faint, wet, path northeast. The path soon edges up right to follow a small ridge just above. With a forest block visible ahead, turn right alongside two decayed fences side-by-side, towards the highest point of the hill. After 800 metres southeast, climb a heathery bank then turn left on a small path to the trig point (400m) on Craig of Monievreckie.
The decayed fence follows the ridgeline northeast. The path heads away to right of the fence to start with but soon rejoins it. Follow the ridgeline for 3km, with two sharp dips along the way. With plantations ahead, the fence ends at the top of low crags.
Slant down left, then back right along the foot of the crags, with an old wall hidden in bracken just below. Head downhill through patchy bracken, some of it unpleasantly thick, for 300 metres, to reach a well-used path. This runs back southwest, along the base of the ridgeline. After 1km it enters forest at a metal gate. In another 800 metres it reaches the beginning of a forest road and runs to its right, then joins it to go through a gate.
This track runs ahead to Braeval car park, but for better views in 100 metres turn off right on a small path. This heads up steeply to a higher forest road, and follows it left (southwest) with views of the Lake of Menteith. After 1km, take a track down left then to the right just below. In 200 metres, a path down left (with waymarker) would lead to Braeval car park but stay on the main track ahead.
The track runs along the top of Aberfoyle golf course. A smaller track forking down left is signed for Aberfoyle but bear right on the track that re-enters woodland. Watch out for a small path forking left and running in the woods just below the track. It crosses a turning spur of the track, then contours to a footbridge. (A wider, waymarked path comes straight to this bridge from the track just above.) Cross and go up a short rise to meet a wide earth path.
For David Marshall Lodge Turn right, up to right of the stream. Soon join a gravelled bike path, up to the arched footbridge below Little Fawn Falls. Don't cross, but turn left on the path of the outward walk to the lake and car parks at the lodge.
For Aberfoyle urn left, heading down to right of the stream. Green-top posts mark the path that rambles back right into the woods. After a short rise on steps, the waymarked path turns down left, through a gateway in a high fence. At the junction just below, turn down left, leaving the waymarked trail. The path runs down into the main street of Aberfoyle.
ROUTE 5
Aberfoyle Fairy Knowe
| Start/Finish | Aberfoyle Riverside car park NN 521 009 |
| Distance | 7km/4½ miles |
| Total Ascent | 100m/300ft |
| Time | 2hr |
| Terrain | Waymarked paths |
| Max Altitude | Doon Hill 77m |
| Maps | LR 57; Expl 365; Harvey Ben Venue |
This hill, so regularly formed, so richly verdant, and garlanded with such a beautiful variety of ancient trees and thriving copsewood, was held by the neighbourhood to contain, within its unseen caverns, the palaces of the fairies: a race of airy beings, who formed an intermediate class between men and demons, and who, if not positively malignant to humanity, were yet to be avoided and feared, on account of their capricious, vindictive, and irritable disposition.
‘They ca’ them,' said Mr Jarvie, in a whisper, ‘Daoine Schie, whilk signifies, as I understand, men of peace – meaning thereby to make their gude-will.’
Walter Scott in Rob Roy (1817) was describing Doon Hill, his information coming from The Secret Commonwealth, the detailed account of fairy lore published by the Aberfoyle minister Robert Kirk in 1691. The Revd Kirk has an official gravestone in Kirkton graveyard, but actually was snatched away in 1692 while walking on the Doon.
Don't believe in fairies? Neither do I. This is still a great little walk of riverside and woodland, particularly fine in bluebell time.
From Aberfoyle's Riverside car park, start along the tarred Riverside Walk downstream, with the River Forth on your right. In 300 metres you can either cross the small stream ahead, or else follow the tarred path left to a tarmac cycle way, turn right over the stream, and at once right again on a community path, to rejoin the River Forth.
The grass path continues downstream for 500 metres, then joins the tarred cycle way. As the river bends away again, take an empty gateway on the right to follow a fisherman's path, again rejoining the tarred cycleway. In another 400 metres, just after a small bridge, turn right on a gravel path with green waymark post. Here and elsewhere the Forestry Commission's trail layouts and colours tend to change every decade or so. This crosses the River Forth to a forest track.
Turn left, past a green-top waymarker post. Turn off left onto a riverside path that leads to a small car park called Lemahamish (NS 529 991). There's a path map here.
Double back right on a forest road past a barrier, then in 50 metres turn up left on a good path to cross Fairy Knowe. The path drops to join a forest road. Keep ahead, downhill, to another junction. Again keep ahead, across a bridge. The track rises past some open ground with view of wooded Doon Hill. Just past the track's high point, turn right on the path whose signboard has a fairy toadstool. The path runs up onto Doon Hill. The summit is decorated with votive offerings, some apparently left by adults. Most of them