A beautiful Autumn Day here....

Looking north from Ross Priory with the wooded islands of Crunch, Torrinch and Inchcailloch floating on the water

 A beautiful autumn day here at Appletree Cottage and we go down to the shore of Loch Lomond at Ross Priory near Gartocharn to check on the boat.  The view up the loch is stunning.  Hardly a breath of wind and only the odd cloud in the sky....

Looking over to the Luss Hills in the west

Looking to the north west we could see the Luss Hills in the distance with the islands of Creinch and Torrinch rising out of the water in-between

Looking north east over to the village of Balmaha.

Looking to the north east we could see the white buildings of the village of Balmaha nestling on the far shore

Autumn colours along the drive at Ross Priory

Autumn colours are everywhere - not least on the drive out of the grounds of Ross Priory.
Ross Priory is the out of town club for the University of Strathclyde.  Although attached to the university it is open to the public for its excellent lunches.  Well worth a visit.

Tom Weir, famous walker and author stands guard over the bay at Balmaha

From Ross Priory at Gartocharn we decided to pay a visit to Balmaha to see what the trees were like there.   The statue of Tom Weir was still in the same position as you would expect.  Behind him the bay of Balmaha was like glass.

The isle of Inchcailloch, nature reserve, is in the centre of the picture

Although it was out of season there were still quite a few people around.  Balmaha is a very popular stop off on the route of the famous West Highland Way.  The Oak Tree Inn is an excellent pub in this tiny village - sometimes brewing its own beers and ciders and providing excellent food.

Water like glass in the bay at Balmaha. High water levels prevent the ferry to Inchcailloch running.

The Inchcailloch ferry lies moored to the flooded jetty

From Balmaha there is an ancient passenger ferry boat which takes people to the neighbouring island of Inchcailloch which is now uninhabited but is a beautiful nature reserve with a fantastic beach at the far end.  However the ferry wasn't running as the loch was unusual high due to all the recent rain.
​The island used to support a farm and there are the remains of a small chapel and an ancient churchyard.
Its a great place to take children as there is no traffic - just paths across the island and lots to explore.  
There are picnic tables by the beach on the far side with metal plates attached to the top to accommodate disposable barbecues.

The quite back road close to Appletree Cottage

Our hour at the car park was nearly up so it was in the car and back to Shandon Farm and Appletree Cottage.  Hoping this weather continues!

A duck trying to focus