Alastair's Blog

Lochearnhead railway Walk

Driving up to Lochearnhead on Sunday morning in the pouring rain I was beginning to wonder if the walk was going to be a bit of a washout but miraculously as we approached Lochearnhead the sky brightened and the sun came out. The car park had a coffee Kiosk which provided a welcome cup of coffee to start the day off.

Twenty one walkers arrived with visitors from as far away as Dalgetty Bay, Linlithgow and Perth. To start the walk, I gave a brief history of the two rail lines at Lochearnhead, especially the Callander-Oban line which was our first line on our walk.

The building of the line had many difficulties but once opened to Oban carried thousands of passengers (even services from London) and freight.

The first part of the walk was probably the most dangerous – crossing the A84 and then steeply up the Glen Ogle Trail to the rail line. We then proceeded to the iconic Glen Ogle viaduct which by its location stands out as remarkable structure. This was a good place  for a coffee break before returning down the line (1in 60). 

On the way we passed the Queen’s View ( I am reliably informed) with fantastic views along the whole length of Loch Earn. Just before we stopped for lunch, we passed a sculpture of a Gorilla (Neanderthal Man?), why it was there I don’t know, but it was very photogenic. 

We then moved onto the Comrie to Lochearnhead line which proved to be unviable mainly because it was pointing in the wrong direction!. We finalised our walk at the award winning Lochearnhead Station which displayed fascinating posters of the rail excursions that were available in this area.

The walk ended with a visit to Mhor 84 for cakes and coffee. (one of my favourite refreshment places)

Luckily the weather was perfect for our walk and we had a great day with great company.

Alastair

Photos courtesy of Alastair, Babs and Allan . To see all our photos from this great walk, click on the following link      Lochearnhead railway Walk