Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Loch Lomond Shores
(
www.lochlomondshores.com
)
, a major tourism development a
half-mile north of Balloch, sports a national park information centre plus various visitor
attractions, outdoor activities and boat trips. In keeping with the times, the heart of the de-
velopment is a large shopping mall. It's also home to the
Loch Lomond Aquarium
(
www.sealife.co.uk
;
per person £13.20; 10am-5pm)
, which has displays on the wildlife
of Loch Lomond, an otter enclosure (housing short-clawed Asian otters, not Scottish
ones), and a host of sea-life exhibits ranging from sharks to stingrays to sea turtles.
The vintage paddle steamer
Maid of the Loch
(
www.maidoftheloch.com
;
admission
free; 11am-4pm Sat & 2-4pm Sun Easter-Aug)
, built in 1953, is moored here while un-
dergoing restoration - you can nip aboard for a look around. It is hoped that her steam en-
gines will be restored to working order in 2013.
Unless it's raining, give Loch Lomond Shores a miss and head for the little picture-
postcard village of
Luss
. Stroll among the pretty cottages with roses around their doors
(the cottages were built by the local laird in the 19th century for the workers on his es-
tate), then pop into the
Clan Colquhoun Visitor Centre
(
01436-860814; Shore Cot-
tage, Luss; adult/child £1/free; 10.30am-6pm Easter-Oct)
for some background history
before enjoying a cup of tea at the Coach House Coffee Shop.
Sleeping & Eating
INN
Drover's Inn££
(
01301-704234;
www.thedroversinn.co.uk
; s/d from £42/83, bar meals £7-12; lunch
& dinner; )
This is one howff (drinking den) you shouldn't miss - a low-ceilinged
place with smoke-blackened stone, bare wooden floors spotted with candle wax, barmen
in kilts and walls festooned with moth-eaten stags' heads and stuffed birds. There's even a
stuffed bear and the desiccated husk of a basking shark.
The bar serves hearty hill-walking fuel such as steak-and-Guinness pie with mustard
mash, and hosts live folk music on Friday and Saturday nights. We recommend this inn
more as an atmospheric place to eat and drink than somewhere to stay - accommodation
varies from eccentric, old-fashioned and rather run-down rooms in the old building (in-
cluding a ghost in room 6), to more comfortable rooms (with en suite bathrooms) in the
modern annexe across the road. Ask to see your room before taking it.
Loch Lomond SYHA£
(
01389-850226;
www.syha.org.uk
; dm £19; Mar-Oct; )
Forget about rough-
ing it, this is one of the most impressive hostels in the country - an imposing 19th-century
HOSTEL
