Luss village
Stone cottages and a pebble beach on the west shore, the prettiest stop for photographs and the busiest on summer weekends.
Fifty minutes on a train from central Glasgow puts you on the shore of the largest lake in Great Britain by surface area, with the Highlands genuinely beginning behind it. This was Scotland's first national park (designated 2002), around 1,865 square kilometres of lochs, glens and summits, and the remarkable part is that it starts more or less at the city's edge and charges no entry fee at all. The park has two moods. The western half is Loch Lomond itself: Balloch at the southern tip, with the Loch Lomond Shores complex of shops, aquarium and cruise pier; the conservation village of Luss on the west shore, all stone cottages and a pebble beach made for family photographs; and Balmaha on the east shore, where the West Highland Way passes and, a few miles north at Rowardennan, Ben Lomond (974 m), one of the most-climbed of Scotland's Munros, rises above the water. The eastern half, the Trossachs around Callander, Aberfoyle and Loch Katrine, is narrower, wooded and quieter, the landscape often called the Highlands in miniature and made famous by Walter Scott's The Lady of the Lake. Here the historic steamship Sir Walter Scott sails Loch Katrine from Trossachs Pier, with cruises of 45 minutes to two hours in the summer timetable (late March to late October). Without a car you can reach one point comfortably: the train from Glasgow Queen Street to Balloch takes about 50 minutes, then it is a ten-minute walk to the shore and the pier, where Sweeney's one-hour cruise costs roughly £18.50 per adult and under-fives go free. Citylink coaches from Buchanan Street run up the A82 to Luss and Tarbet. To combine Luss, Balmaha and Loch Katrine in a single day you need to drive, and the pay car parks at Luss and Balmaha fill before noon on sunny summer weekends. For families this is one of Scotland's easiest big days out: the shore paths at Balloch and Luss are flat and pushchair-friendly, the cruises are short enough for small children, and nothing needs booking except summer-weekend sailings. Three warnings: midges bite on damp evenings from June to August, so bring repellent; hill weather turns within the hour; and camping on the busy lochshores between March and September requires a cheap permit (about £4.50 a night) or an official campsite. In winter the boat timetables shrink to a few short sailings and the light is gone before four, leaving short walks and a beautiful stillness, which is a fine thing but not a full day.
Stone cottages and a pebble beach on the west shore, the prettiest stop for photographs and the busiest on summer weekends.
One hour among the islands at the loch's southern end, short enough for children and ten minutes' walk from the train.
A historic steamer crossing Loch Katrine from Trossachs Pier in the summer season, an option for drivers rather than train travellers.
Balloch, Luss and the Trossachs, about 30 km north-west of Glasgow
Without a car, do Balloch only: train, shore path, the one-hour cruise and the shopping complex, which is a good half-day and no more. Luss is far prettier but relies on a Citylink coach with limited timings, and the Trossachs and Loch Katrine are effectively out of reach by public transport. If you are in Glasgow for a week or more, hire a car for one day and combine Luss, Balmaha and the Trossachs instead.
Yes, but a manageable one. Midges are tiny, carry no disease, and appear at dawn and on still, damp evenings; they rarely bother anyone in the middle of the day or in a breeze. Repellent from any chemist and long sleeves at dusk are enough, and out on the water during a cruise they are almost absent.