Ardlui Village on the Shores of Loch Lomond

Ardlui -Lomond and Trossachs National Park (West) (North, South, East)

Ardlui is a small hamlet on the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond in the top North Western corner. This is an excellent small place to stay as there is plenty of walking and even a ferry to take you to other places on the loch including over to the West Highland Way. The ferry operates from April to October and provides a regular service during those months.

Loch Lomond is narrow at this point, just being about 6 tenths of a mile wide, and boating is a popular pastime. There is a local marina and plenty of accommodation choices.

On the island of Isle I Vow is the remains of a castle of the McFarlane clan. This castle was occupied up to the early 1800's. Previously on this site there was likely to have been other defensive buildings dating back as far as pictish times.

Getting to and from here is easy even for those who do not have their own transport. Although only a small hamlet, this community has a railway station, trains from Glasgow to Fort William and Mallaig, and Trains from Glasgow to Oban stop here. This is also on the main bus route for both Fort William and Oban.

Ardlui is a great place to stay for a couple of nights if you love hill walking. There are numerous mountains and hills to choose from which are accessible from here. In truth you could happily climb every day for a fortnight and never go over the same ground twice. Even if you prefer low level walking there are numerous walks to explore including part of the West Highland Way which is easily accessible from here. Needless to say the scenery is stunning, even on dreich days there is a magical element to the damp misty views.

Photographs Courtesy of Photographscotland.com

If you have a hankering to seek out engineering structures, the nearby railway viaducts are of interest. They were hewn out of local stone and like many of our railway structures built in Victorian times, are quite beautiful.  Nearby to the south at Inveruglas is also an interesting engineering structure but definitely could not be described as beautiful, and that is the hydro electric scheme. There are roads put in by the water board here which are great for walkers to get into the many mountains and glens in this area.

To find accommodation in this village or nearby just click on the Accommodation link at the top of the page or click on the appropriate link on this line for

Bed and Breakfast,  Hotels or Self-catering

Ardlui on Loch Lomond in the West of the National Park