Rob Roy Way – 7 Nights

Quick Facts

About & Details

Itinerary

• Day 1 - Arrive in Drymen

  Arrive at your overnight accommodation in Drymen.

• Day 2 – Drymen to Aberfoyle

  The trip starts by going north out of Drymen following the West Highland Way, along a minor road. Just as you reach Garadhban Forest, say goodbye to the West Highland Way and continue on heading along the forest tracks. Eventually you past the Corrie Aqueduct and the Loch Katrine water scheme. As Aberfolye comes into view for your overnight’s accommodation, look out for the roofless Kirkton Church.

  18km (11 miles), 210m (690ft) of ascent

• Day 3 – Aberfoyle to Callander

  This morning, your walk starts on the main road before venturing back onto forest paths, passing the Little Fawn waterfall. The Menteith Hills will guide you to the 3.7-mile-long Loch Venachar. Start looking for the hidden lochan, with its rich vegetation and waterfowl, as you come towards the end of the Hills. Towering above Loch Venachar is Ben Ledi, the highest peak in The Trossachs. Take a moment to admire the Gartchonzie Bridge, a two arch, rubble bridge over the Eas Gobhain and dated 1777. Continue following the Eas Gobhain into the town of Callander, the eastern gateway to the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, where you will stay for the night.

  16km (10 miles), 220m (720ft) of ascent

• Day 4 – Callander to Strathyre

  Today, you will be following by the side of Loch Lubnaig, snuggled in the valley of Ben Ledi and Ben Vorlich. The walk starts by following Garbh Uisge, a fast-flowing river running beside Bochastle Roman Fort. There is soon an opportunity to take a small detour to the Falls of Leny before continuing on to Loch Lubnaig. Loch Lubnaig is your companion before it becomes the River Balvag, which then guides you into Strathyre, a village hemmed in by steep hills and forest plantations, for your overnight stay.

  15km (9 miles), 220m (720ft) of ascent

• Day 5 – Strathyre to Killin

  The walking today takes you up a steep track before levelling out through the Strathyre Forest where you will get some lovely views of the River Balvag coursing its way through the valley below. A steep descent brings you into the town of Kingshouse. A gentle walk follows to Balquhidder, where Rob Roy lies at rest. The walk continues past Lochearnhead, through Glen Ogle and over the Glen Ogle viaduct. As you walk on, look out for the memorial to 2 RAF Tornado pilots killed in 1994. You will drop down into Killin for your overnight stay, by walking along the dismantled Callander and Oban Railway line. Enjoy a visit to the stunning Falls of Dochart as you enter Killin.

  22km (13.5 miles), 350m (1,145ft) of ascent

• Day 6 - Killin to Ardtalnaig

  Today’s walk starts with an uphill stretch through the forest. You soon meet up with the track that you left yesterday to drop down into Killin. You will pass Lochan Breaclaich with its standard gravity dam, which feeds Lednock power station at Invergeldie. You have reached the summit of the Way at 565m (1850ft). As you start to descend, you will come across one of the water pipes used to transport the water to the power station. Continue the descent into the hamlet of Ardeonaig on the southern shore of Loch Tay. For the rest of the walk into Ardtalnaig, you will enjoy the view of Loch Tay with Ben Lawers to the north.

  19Km (12 miles), 685m (2,240ft) of ascent

• Day 7 – Ardtalnaig to Aberfeldy

  Acharn is your first port of call today, which is reached by walking along the South Loch Tay Road. The path to Acharn Falls with Hermit’s cave leads you along Queen’s Drive, where Queen Victoria loved to witness the spectacular views over Loch Tay and beyond. The going is fairly easy along forest tracks and grassy paths high above the river Tay. As you reach Dunskaig, look out for the route taking you through the Birks of Aberfeldy; ‘The little birdies blythely sing, While o’er their heads the hazels hing, Or lightly flit on wanton wing, In the birks of Aberfeldy.’ Robert Burns 1787. If approached quietly, you may get to see some of the local wildlife: Roe Deer browsing, dippers and wagtails feeding in the pools and at the water’s edge, and finches, warblers and wood pigeons ‘flit on wanton wing’ amongst the trees. You will stay tonight in Aberfeldy before the final leg into Pitlochry tomorrow.

  24km (15 miles), 350m (1150ft) of ascent

• Day 8 - Aberfeldy to Pitlochry

  Today, you follow the river Tay and wander along a stretch of old dismantled railway line to reach Grantully. A climb up from here leads you back onto forest tracks and the remains of a stone circle on the summit of Carra Beag. Soon the town of Pitlochry comes into sight and with a steady descent, you’ve soon arrived – a quick detour takes you to see the fish ladder, recorded as being used by 250,000 salmon! Hopefully you’ve got time to celebrate your achievement with a well-deserved ‘wee dram’ at one of the distilleries.

  16km (10 miles), 350m (1150ft) of ascent

  Your arrival into Pitlochry is the end of your trip unless you have booked an extra night’s accommodation with us.

  Safe onward travel.

Notes:

This itinerary is a guide only. Timings and mileages are approximate.

We will always endeavour to accommodate you in the locations detailed in the above itinerary. Due to very high demand, some accommodation providers may occasionally have limited availability and so we may need to accommodate you in an alternative location, nearby. In this case, we will arrange a taxi transfer for you to take you from the trail to your accommodation and back again the following morning. An additional charge may be payable. We will notify you of this when confirming your booking.

The Route

Reviews

Find some of the reviews our wonderful customers have left for us below, or read them all here!

Heather Parr
3 months ago

Maximum Adventure exceeded expectations, planning a trip for me last minute and off season through the glorious Lake District. The hotels were top rate, as was the food and my daily gluten free sandwich. Nathalie got the route guide sent to me in a couple of days and the baggage service was impeccable. It was the only tour guide company that responded immediately to my last minute request. Looking forward to more adventures with your company!!!

Chris Evans
3 months ago

David and I walked the Speyside Way in September 2023 and very much enjoyed the adventure. Maximum Adventure Ltd organised our nightly accommodation and uplifting of our luggage in a seamless manner, which made the whole trip so easy with no stress. This is the second time that I have personally used Maximum Adventures Ltd and I would recommend them to others as they offer a friendly and efficient service.

Göte Fredriksson
4 months ago

We realy appreciated the tour we did on Hadrians Wall path in May.Beautiful scenery, decent weather, god arrangements including lodging, transport, bagagehandling etc. We came well prepared . In this preparation Maximum adventures gave us great support, as we are coming from abroad with no knowledge of conditions on the path. We had great BnBs and could concentrate on de daily walks that gave us great pleasure.Thank you England and Hadrians Wall path for your friendly reception and well mantained walking path.Thank you Maximum Adventures for your good service.We would love to come back in the future.

Jerry Kashinski
4 months ago

Maximum Adventure did a great job for us. With less than a month's notice, it set up an itinerary, lodging and luggage porterage for a walk from Carlisle to Newcastle, England along Hadrian's Wall. The lodging was fantastic, as was the itinerary and support during the walk. We'd definitely use Maximum Adventure again and would recommend them without reservation!

Fiona Reilly
5 months ago

I was part of a climb on 23/09, didn't think I would make ut, but I did. The descent was a different story.. I got jelly legs and lost my confidence. If it wasn't for James, my Sherpa would never have made it. Can't thank him enough, Will, met you briefly.Both of them were very knowledgeable, we had the most amazing views at the summit...the pain is still worth it and

Tom Graham
5 months ago

I walked the West Highland Way with my dad and brother. The organisation was excellent by Samantha. Itinerary and instructions were clear and all the bookings and luggage transfers went smoothly. As a result we were able to ensure the fantastic walk and not worry about anything. I would happily recommend Maximum Adventure to others.

Sarah Bracken
5 months ago

Absolutely brilliant guide - knowledgeable, interesting and humorous in addition to looking after our safety so well - making sure we ate and suggesting when to layer up! Would highly recommend!

Diana Straub
6 months ago

We just got home from our 8-days Hadrian's Wall hike and we just loved it!Everything was perfectly organized!We had great B&Bs and hotels with very friendly, welcoming and helpful staff. Our favorite was the Dacre House with Clare. But then again, all were great!The luggage was always at the day's destination, no matter how early we got to the accommodation.The description of how to get to the accommodations were clear and precise.The road map and the guide book were waiting for us as we got to the first B&B and were very helpful and interestingThanks, Maximum Adventure!

Kristin Hentschel
6 months ago

Praise for the West Highland Hike and the Maximum Adventure planners, esp. our planner Samantha. Great experience in every regard.

Simon Bradish
6 months ago

Booked for the 3 UK Peaks adventure, it was organised perfectly and everything when to plan. Accommodation was good, transport excellent, our guide (Patrick) brilliant, so cannot fault the trip and adventure. I personally expected too much from myself and was unable to fully summit as this adventure is not for beginners, I climbed Kilimanjaro in 2003 when I was 42 and twenty years later, although relatively fit, my endurance didn't last. So I did a half summit for Ben Nevis & Scafell, thanks to Patrick for letting go back down on my own, it was brilliant. With Snowdon, a half summit is tricky as you can't descend the way you go up, so I decided to do some hiking in the area while the rest of the group did the climb. I took a chance and went to the ticket office and managed to get a single return ticket up to the summit of Snowdon at 9am which returned down by 11.30am. I was hoping to see my group on top and spring a surprise but the weather was terrible. I highly recommend the trip but make sure you are fit enough otherwise as there is an emphasis on time, so a slow walk up is going to slow everyone down and really delay the trip. Have Fun, Simon Bradish