Day 2 - Loch Lomond

Photo taken at Cameron House - our accommodation

Loch Lomond is a popular staycation place for locals. Its about 1 to 2 hours drive from Edinburgh. There are many treks available around Loch Lomond and the Great Trossachs Forest. Visit Loch Lomond Official Site for more information. You will need at least 2 days. 

Our trip today include Bracklinn falls, Sir Walter Scotts (Trossach Pier) and our accommodation at Cameron House. 

We started with short walks on the 2nd day as a warm up. For city dwellers like us and having jet lags, do not embark on adventurous treks on the first few days as it will wear down everyone fast and spoil the rest of the trip.

Bracklinn falls
Off Bracklinn Road
FK17, 8EQ
Callander

Bracklinn Falls is a 1.5 hours drive from Edinburgh. Allow for some traffic jams when driving out of the city. Once out of city, the drive to Loch lomond is fairy simple along direct straight roads as we drive along the major highway. Scotland roads are more bumpy and narrower than New Zealand roads, but as it is the same direction as SG roads, it is not much a issue adapting.

It is recommended to park at the 2nd car park after driving up a slope. Some people suggested to park at the lower car park near the dentist and walk up. I will suggest NOT to walk up the slope as there are very little path for walking up the windy slope and you will have to avoid cars coming up and down. For drivers, the path is a one-way up and down the slope. 

We took the simple Falls route (45mins walk) which is recommended for family according to tripadvisor. 

My kids walking faster than me

Along the way you will hear the sound of waterfall

We turn back after watching the waterfalls on the bridge. You can always continue beyond the bridge but it will be a tougher walk according to tripadvisor. 

We stop for lunch at Taste of Trossach at Callander, the nearby town once out of Bracklinn falls.

This is a small cafe that is catered for people who just lunch and go. As we are tired after our walk and tempted by their ice-cream after our lunch, we spent quite a fair bit in the cafe. That invited many "stares" from the local as they thought we are hogging the seat. 

The Meadows

After lunch, we visited the small lake just behind the cafe at the car park - The Meadows. It was raining but the kids have fun with the ducks.

The meadows

It started to rain and we quickly drove a short distance of 15 minutes to Trossach Pier for our Sir Walter Steamship cruise. Its hard to find the pier and we missed it and then drive back again, so we took about 30 minutes instead. As I mentioned earlier, the GPS map in scotland uses postal code, which is a wide area. Google map may not work well as connection is pretty bad in rural areas (as compared to New Zealand).

Sir Walter Steamship
Loch Katrine
Trossach Pier

We book our Sir Walter Steamship cruise at Loch Katrine in advance in order not to be disappointed. The family ticket cost 32.50 pounds (about SGD$57.79) for 1 hour scenic cruise at 2.30pm. The boat has toilet, drinks and snack kiosk and they only accept cash at the snack kiosk. There was a family who has run out of cash and their kids have to look with envy at our kids drinking the hot chocolate and ice-cream. Loch Katrine has recently been used a location for the popular TV show Outlander.



The rain stops abruptly just before we board. 

In Scotland as we soon discover, rain comes and goes abruptly throughout the day. The lake and sky will look blue when clear, and gloomy when rains. So its best to snap as many pictures as possible when the sky is clear!

And we don't wait out the rain as you never know when its going to stop soon - and start soon!

Engine room

Walk down to toilets

Photo taken during raining - gloomy lake and sky

We got great scenery at Loch Katrine once the sky clear up and its not raining. 

Cameron House
Loch Lomond Inverbeg
Alexandria G83 8QZ

We drove about 1 hour to our accommodation at Cameron House and arrive about 5pm to check in.

It took us awhile to book an accommodation for our family of 4 due to the popularity. In the end we book one of the more expensive accommodation of our trip which cost about SGD$600+ per night. This is nothing compared to our local hotels at Sentosa, for those who are familiar with our local staycations.

But it is worth it! This luxury hotel Cameron House comes with a huge heated indoor pool, Kids slides, Jacuzzi and Spa. They even have private jet planes for joy rides! Cameron House has a concierge and valet services. The scenery around it is fantastic! They also have many dining options. 

We took the family room with King size bed and a bunk bed for Kids. The bunk bed is a corner with their own small TV

Shops along the way to swimming pool and Posh restaurant

Heated Indoor Pool with changing rooms. We have fun in the swimming pool. There is a lifeguard watching the kids

Indoor Play area

As the indoor restaurant is too expensive for our budget, we went out to their outdoor dining The Boat House for cheaper option.

Great scenery along the way

Our dinner

Our Kids fall asleep during dinner, due to jet lag. The dinner at restaurants in Scotland typically take about 2 hours so do go for dinner early at 5pm even though its late spring/summer and good daylight. 

Optional places to visit near Hotel - Balloch Castle Country Park
We didn't have enough time so has skipped this.