Walk up to Craig of Monievreckie, Aberfoyle

Beautiful Walk near Aberfoyle

A lovely day here at Appletree Cottage and we've heard that a walk up the forestry paths to the Craig of Monievreckie is a good walk so we jump in the car with our clumpity boots on.and drive up the A81 towards Aberfoyle.  
At a roundabout just before Aberfoyle, at a hamlet called Braeval, we took the second exit (signposted Port of Menteith, still the A81).  Just past Aberfoyle Golf Course on the left there is a turning into the car parking (free).  We took the footpath going straight up the hill

View back down to the car park.

The ascent is reasonably steep.  Tall pine trees tower majestically towards the sky either side of the path.  Although in the wood we are blessed with many sunny patches.  It is a beautiful day and the occasional shade is appreciated.

Small burns run under the well maintained path

Here and there small burns (streams) cross under the path which is generally well maintained.  Apart from the running water and a soft breeze in the trees the only other sound in the forest is birdsong.

The trees are superb

This section of path leads from where we parked the car to a section of what is known as the Rob Roy Way.  Rob Roy Way is a long-distance path running through the Trossachs from Drymen to Pitlochry.  It is less busy than the more famous and very popular West Highland Way which runs from Milngavie in the north of Glasgow to Fort William
The Rob Roy Way at 79 miles (127km) long, the route travels through some of the most beautiful scenery in the British Isles.
Marker posts confirm the route but it is advisable to have a good map with you as sometimes the posts can be few and far between.  Also, at many locations there is a choice of path and it can be frustrating to head off in the wrong direction for a couple of miles before realising.  There are not many people around to give directions!
After climbing for about fifteen minutes we came to a well-made forestry track.  We turned right onto it and continued to climb.
​The going was easy on a continuous gradient

Signposts mark the route of the Rob Roy Way

Through a fire break we could see the Campsie Hills in the distance

As we climbed the views were terrific.  At the occasional fire break in the forest, we could see right across to the Campsie Hills in the south.  What a fantastic day!

View across Lake of Menteith with Inchmahome and its ruined priory

Not long after we had vistas across the Lake of Menteith with its ruined Abbey on Inchmahome island - well worth a visit.  It can be accessed by a ferry from Port of Menteith and is a great place to take a picnic and explore.

We could see across to Stirling and even further to the Forth Bridges

At the end of the road, we were still below the summit of Craig of Monievreckie.  It looked very steep - probably best ascended from the north looking at the map.  So we found a nice log and sat down to have sandwiches which we'd bought in Aberfoyle.  From our position we could see the Wallace Monument, Stirling Castle and even the high girders of the bridges over the Forth at South Queensferry.  A perfect day for such a view.

Forestry track back down the hill

After lunch it was just a case of following the forestry road back down the hill to the car and Appletree Cottage.  An excellent fairly easy walk with fantastic views which we will surely do again.