The West Loch Lomond Cycle Path is a cycle path that runs from Arrochar and Tarbet railway station

Arrochar and Tarbet railway station

Arrochar and Tarbet railway station is a railway station on the West Highland Line in Scotland. It stands between the villages of Arrochar and Tarbet.- History :...

, at the upper end of Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond is a freshwater Scottish loch, lying on the Highland Boundary Fault. It is the largest lake in Great Britain by surface area. The lake contains many islands, including Inchmurrin, the largest fresh-water island in the British Isles, although the lake itself is smaller than many Irish...

 in Scotland, to Balloch railway station

Balloch railway station

Balloch railway station is a railway station serving the town of Balloch in Scotland. The station is a terminus on the North Clyde Line, 31 km north west of Glasgow Queen Street railway station...

, at the bottom of the loch. It was officially opened on 2006-06-20 by Tavish Scott

Tavish Scott

Tavish Hamilton Scott MSP is a Scottish politician and MSP for Shetland. He was Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2008 to 2011...

.

The path is about 28 kilometres (17.4 mi) long and runs along the west bank of Loch Lomond, between the west bank of the loch and the busy A82 road. It is mainly flat or downhill if ridden from south to north.

The route

From Arrochar & Tarbet Station the path runs left and down a hill to a tourist information office by the loch. The path then continues on the pavement of the A82 for several miles. For the remainder of its length the path runs either alongside the road, or between the road and the loch.

Much of the path runs directly alongside the A82, and the rest is not very far away. The golf courses and commercial developments along the side of the loch further push parts of the path away from the banks of Loch Lomond.

The path ends at Balloch Railway Station for trains to Glasgow The 34 kilometer long Loch Lomond to Glasgow Cycleway starts close to the station and runs to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre

Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre

The Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre , located on the north bank of the River Clyde, in Glasgow, is Scotland's largest exhibition centre....

 by the Clyde

River Clyde

The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....

 in central Glasgow.

Access to the path

There are railway stations at each end of the West Loch Lomond Cycle Path, but none along its length. The Oban

Oban

Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...

/Mallaig

Mallaig

Mallaig ; is a port in Lochaber, on the west coast of the Highlands of Scotland. The local railway station, Mallaig, is the terminus of the West Highland railway line , completed in 1901, and the town is linked to Fort William by the A830 road – the "Road to the Isles".The village of Mallaig...

 railway service runs from Glasgow Queen Street station

Glasgow Queen Street railway station

Glasgow Queen Street is a railway station in Glasgow, Scotland, the smaller of the city's two main line railway termini and the third-busiest station in Scotland. It is between George Street to the south and Cathedral Street Bridge to the north, at the northern end of Queen Street adjacent to...

 to Arrochar & Tarbet station

Arrochar and Tarbet railway station

Arrochar and Tarbet railway station is a railway station on the West Highland Line in Scotland. It stands between the villages of Arrochar and Tarbet.- History :...

. The train goes up the shores of Gare Loch

Gare Loch

The Gare Loch or Gareloch is a sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.-Geography:A sea loch aligned north-south, Gare Loch is 10 kilometres long with an average width of 1.5 kilometres. At its southern end it opens into the Firth of Clyde through the Rhu narrows...

; passing Faslane Naval Base (aka HMS Neptune

HMS Neptune

Nine ships and a naval base of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Neptune after the Roman god of the ocean: was a 90-gun second rate launched in 1683. She was rebuilt in 1710 and 1730 before being renamed HMS Torbay in her new incarnation as a third rate in 1750. She was sold in 1784. was a...

), the home of the United Kingdom's fleet of Trident nuclear submarines. Trains from Balloch connect to Glasgow's Central and Queen Street stations.

External links

• Downloadable PDF leaflet from Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park
• Annotated map of the West Loch Lomond Cycle Path and the Loch Lomond to Glasgow Cycleway.