Loch Lomond And Surrounding Areas

One of the real joys of the Love Loch Lomond area is just how easy it is to get here and to get around. Loch Lomond may be in the Highlands, but it is only a short drive of well under an hour from Glasgow and many parts of the central belt of Scotland.

Glasgow International Airport is only about 30 minutes drive away and a wide choice of regular train, coach and ferry services give a host of options for quick, easy and comfortable travel. You can even enjoy a seaplane flight from the centre of Glasgow, touching down on the waters of the loch after enjoying some of the most spectacular aerial views in the world.

Below are brief details of some of the options for traveling to and around the Loch Lomond area.

By Road

The south end of Loch Lomond is only 20 miles from the centre of Glasgow by road and even Ardlui at the north end of the loch is less than 50 miles from the city centre. The quickest and easiest route is to take the M8 west out of Glasgow to cross over the Erskine Bridge and follow the A82 dual carriageway to Balloch. After Balloch, the upgraded A82 runs along the west shore of Loch Lomond to Tarbet and continues along the (planned to be upgraded) A82 to its most northern point before continuing onwards to Oban, Fort William and beyond. Be prepared for the single carriage way, traffic light controlled, stretch!

The M8 and the Erskine Bridge link into Scotland's main motorway network giving short journeys from Edinburgh and the east coast (M8), and from the north of England via the M74 and the newly opened M74 extension road to the M8, now bypassing Glasgow city centre.

The 32 miles of the A811 - linking Stirling and Balloch offers an alternative trunk road route from the east. This route is ideal for visiting Drymen, Balmaha and the east side of the loch. It also links into the main A809 route north from Glasgow to Drymen via Bearsden and Milngavie.

Further west, Helensburgh is less than 30 miles from Glasgow city centre and links into the main A82 via the A818 (still shows as the B831/B832 on most satnavs), From Glasgow, this route is far quicker than taking the A814 from the A82 at the East of Dumbarton. The A814 (E & W Clyde Street in Helensburgh) continues north along the shores of the Gareloch - past the Royal Naval Base Clyde (where the UK’s Trident Submarines are based) and Loch Long to Arrochar. From here it is only a couple of miles across to Tarbet on Loch Lomond and the main A82. This is an ideal circular day trip route for seeing a large part of our area including some of its most colourful landscapes.

By Rail

The Love Loch Lomond area is served by regular and comfortable suburban rail services from Glasgow Queen Street to both Balloch and Helensburgh Lower. Many of these services run through to North Lanarkshire and West Lothian giving fast and easy access to our area from many parts of Scotland.

Both Balloch and Helensburgh Lower are less than an hour's train ride from Glasgow Queen Street and enjoy half hourly services for much of the day. The services also stop at local stations such as Alexandria, Cardross, Craigendoran and Dumbarton, enabling relaxed visits to the many indoor and outdoor attractions in these towns and villages.

The world famous West Highland Line runs through our area on its way from Glasgow Queen Street to Oban, Fort William and Mallaig. Recognised as one of the world's most scenic railways, it stops at Dumbarton, Helensburgh Upper, Garelochhead, Arrochar & Tarbet and Ardlui on its way north, providing good access to the western and northern parts of the Love Loch Lomond area. There are up to six trains a day in both directions and timetables are ideal for traveling north in the morning and enjoying a day in our great outdoors, before catching an early evening train back to Helensburgh.

Full details of all routes, timetables and ticket offers can be accessed here.

By Bus & Coach

Regular CityLink express coach services from Glasgow run along the full length of the west shore of Loch Lomond throughout the day. Services from Glasgow to Oban and Fort William & Skye travel the full length of the loch, while services to Campbeltown travel as far as Tarbet before crossing over to Arrochar at the head of Loch Long. Journey times are short with the popular loch-side village of Luss less than an hour from Glasgow and Arrochar around 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Full details of routes, timetables and tickets can be found here.

A wide range of local bus services also run throughout all parts of the Love Loch Lomond area. Full details of timetables etc. are easily accessed on the Strathclyde Passenger Transport website here.

Key routes include the 302 service from Helensburgh to Luss and Arrochar; the 305 from Alexandria and Balloch to Luss; the 306 from Alexandria to Helensburgh; the 309 from Alexandria and Balloch to Drymen and Balmaha; and the 316 from Helensburgh to Garelochhead and the Rosneath peninsula.

As examples, there are half hourly services from Helensburgh railway station to the Rosneath peninsula most days from 9am to 6pm with services running up to 11pm, and up to 10 buses a day between Balloch and Drymen and Balmaha making day visits easy, flexible and great value.

By Water

A large part of the Love Loch Lomond area comprises lochs and river estuaries and travel by water is a great way to visit us and explore our area.

Extensive Water Bus services operate on Loch Lomond well into Autumn, linking villages such as Balloch, Balmaha, Luss, Rowardennan and Tarbet as well as some of the loch's islands. Full details of services and timetables can be found on the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park website at here.

A fun way to travel to our area is on the passenger ferry service across the Clyde estuary that links Gourock, Kilcreggan and Helensburgh. It's a 15 minute crossing from Gourock to Kilcreggan and 25 minutes from Kilcreggan to Helensburgh. Services from Gourock link into trains from Glasgow Central Station and there are up to a dozen crossings a day, making the ferry a handy link for anyone planning to explore the Rosneath peninsula. Full details of timetables and fares can be found here.

By Air

Oh yes, you can fly to Loch Lomond and not just via Glasgow International Airport, which is only a 20 minute journey away.

Award winning Loch Lomond Seaplanes operate two bases on the loch at Luss and Cameron House and offer scenic flights over our area and beyond from their city centre base on the River Clyde next to Glasgow Science Centre. Loch Lomond Seaplanes have been voted Scotland's top attraction and you may have seen their planes featured on VisitScotland TV ads. Full details of their services can be found here!