The Trossachs and Loch Lomond National Park is pretty much the heart of Scotland and we were headed to the far east and the town of Callander. The area contains a huge network of tracks, trails and forest roads and in atumn it’s an amazzing blend of colours, the weather normally adds drama too. Ed rode with Orrin in his trailer to explore a few more gravel tracks with a ride from Callander to Aberfoyle. I should add that the route is a lot of fun without a trailer, and particularly if you’re a fan of multiple cafes on a route (without a baby as an excuse) this will suit you!
From the comfort of a warm cafe in Callander we headed out along the south shore of Loch venacher on a trailer friendly cycle path that underlatuate along the shore. Then instead of headding up the Three Loch Forest drive we headed along to Loch Achray which was pretty dramatic in the early mist;
From here we had stopped for some puddle splashing and headed up along the tarmac closed road along Loch Katrine, you can get the steam boat to the far end but it takes 2hrs and I wasn’t convinced Orrin would tolerate so much boat time! We headed most of the way along the east shore of the Loch before heading back to the cafe at the dock.
From Loch Katrine we headed across a narrow bridge to link a loop to the west of the main road, this section saves some tarmac riding. It was tehn across onto the Three Loch Forest Drive up to the top. It turns out this is Dukes Pass the place which I assumes gives the Dukes Weekender gravel route it’s name. A bit of research gives the route in the second map below.
It was the a down to Aberfoyle for another cafe stop. Then back up the same way to avoid the road and a direct route back to Callander when you get back up. With more time and less trailer you can add a detour up to Glen Finglas reservoir too. Altogether a great little area for just exploring and getting lost on the gravel bike. For those who don’t like getting lost the GPX can be downloaded via Komoot below;
Then the full Dukes gravel route is below, It covers more areas than where I netthan my route, but explores a flater and slightly less interesting forest to the south of Aberfoyle with less baby friendly cafe options!
