Loch Lomond & The Trossachs
National Cycle 7
Lochearnhead to Killin

by Eva McCracken

I have twice visited this part of the National Cycle 7. The first time it was at the invitation of Michael Hervey-Murray, himself a wheelchair user and a great sportsman. He had found out about me through my book, Walking on Wheels, and had contacted me asking him if I knew this route. Having established that I was keen to do it myself we arranged to meet at Lochearnhead. That was back in May 2009 and all we managed to do was 7 km of Cycle 7 as we had to build in the return journey with due consideration to our walking companions. It included the very old and beautiful viaduct (see photo) on which I have often spied cyclists while travelling by car up the A85. The second visit was in August 2010 when I joined the Forth and Tay Disabled Ramblers on a Sunday ramble, one way only, from the A85 north to Killin. Because I did it in two halves I did not have any need to cross the busy A85 where there are car parks at both sides.

The two halves of this 14 km ramble were quite different. The first, from Lochearnhead, started up a zigzag path (approx. 1:6 in places) to join the Cycle 7 along a disused railway. It then became a very gentle uphill 1:50 all the way along the Glen Ogle Valley for approximately 3 km before it crossed the A85. The second half had more varied surfaces along its 7 kms. From the car park on the east of A85, NN 558285, the track started as tarmac but changed to Forestry Commission rough track and followed an old drove road. The surface reverted to tarmac at another dismantled railway as it descended into Killin where it joined the busy A827 which had a bridge into the town centre. As we were a large group we did not cross the road bridge here but followed the river through forest and crossed a pedestrian bridge further up and continued until we reached the car park, NN 574333, where there were toilets.

After the initial steep climb of approx 1 km, then the following 3 km of mild uphill gradient the rest (11 km) was downhill which made it easy on the motors and batteries.

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