Go - Trossachs National Park - Dog Friendly Trips & Holidays

The Trossachs National Park and all that it includes is a great place to visit on a day out, short break or a main holiday. With so much to see and do over it's 65 dog-friendly square mile area, it's best to plan in advance of your journey and to ensure you get the best experience.  

The Trossachs and the surrounding area is very dog-friendly as we found out on a recent trip to the area. Here are some of our highlights on where to go, things to do, where to eat, and places to stay and hope they inspire ideas for you on your next trip to this place of beauty.

Aberfoyle

The town Aberfoyle is most definitely worth a stop to stretch the legs have a bite to eat and visit some attractions. There is also a tourist information centre that has tons of visitor guides, maps and information. The staff in the centre are on hand to help and have a wealth of knowledge they are only too happy to impart.

The Scottish Wool Centre is a four-star visitor attraction and has a wealth of things to offer. As well as a large shop and cafe, they have sheep out in the front field and pens, they give sheep shearing demos, they give informative live talks and in all weathers. You can normally see the small crowds facing onto the fields when you approach the public car park.  Visit their website for more information.    

The dog-friendly Faerie Tree Inn on the main street, came highly recommended to us for lunch. With a wide selection on the menu, great coffee and really good service. The food was really good, came out very quickly even though it was very busy. They have outside seating for those warmer days and a large visitor car park out in front. 

Loch Katrine

A short drive along some winding roads brings you to the beautiful setting of Loch Katrine, the home of the famous steamship Sir Walter Scott, where even at 118 years old, is still working strong to this day. Pleasure cruises run most days on the ship and you can even take your dog too. A round trip cruise will take you around two hours and is well worth the journey. The loch's other cruising vessel, Lady of the Lake, runs at alternative time slots and is also dog-friendly.

As well as the cruises, there is a visitors centre and shop, ice cream kiosk, and a dog-friendly cafe, selling great coffee and homemade food. Cycle hire is available and great for all the cycle routes around the loch and adjacent lochs.

If you're planning to stay overnight in this spectacular setting, with views out over the loch right in the heart of nature, you may want to consider the well-appointed Eco Lodges they have for rent here, just a two-minute walk from the pier. Plus, they have lodges available for those of us with dogs. 

Scenic walks lochs along the lochside are very peaceful and a must if you just want to get out and explore or just get away from all the hassle and bustle of normal life. 

Visit the Loch Katrine Website for full information. 

Loch facts - 

• Loch Katrine is 8 miles long and is the 11th largest loch in Scotland
• Permission has been in place for swimming in the loch since 2007
• You can walk and cycle around the loch
• Loch Katrine supplies the city of Glasgow and the surrounding area with 240,000,000 litres of water a day. 
• Queen Victoria visited the loch to open the water project system (which feeds the city of Glasgow) in 1859, the same water system still in use today, 160 years later, which carries the 240,000,000 litres of water through tunnels and aqueducts to Glasgow
• The Sir Walter Scott steamship built-in 1900, is still in operation to this day, taking passengers up and down the loch
• Two cruise ships plie the loch on a daily basis
• Eco-lodges, tent pitches and campervan pitches are available for rent

Be Prepared

With the weather never really being fully guaranteed it's best to take a few items of clothing and those handy doggy towels, just in case the weather changes either way, regardless of the season. Due to its popularity with locals and visitors, it's worth bearing in mind that the Trossachs and some of its narrow winding roads can be busy during the months of June - Sept with cars caravans and coach tours.

Happy Days Out!

(First published in May 2019. Reviewed May 2020)

NOTE - Information contained in this article was accurate at the time of publishing and should be used for guidance only. Whilst we make every effort to keep our information up to date, public information is constantly changing and therefore, no responsibility will be accepted if this information becomes out of date or which warrants this information to be inaccurate.