Wednesday was looking like another glorious day! So this time we aimed for the more quiet northwestern part of the Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park. Welcome to Balquhidder Glen, lined by mountains known as the Braes of Balquhidder.
Apart from its astounding beauty, the valley is known for being the final resting place of Rob Roy MacGregor, commonly known as Rob Roy. He was an 18th century Scottish patriot, folk hero, and outlaw, sometimes seen as the “Scottish Robin Hood”.
The glen contains two small lochs—Loch Voil and Loch Doine—and is lined with mountains ranging from 600 m or so high to the highest peak above the valley, Beinn Tulaichean at 946 m/3,104 ft high.
We were greeted with a beautifully sunny day, crystal clear reflection in the lochs, and possibly one of the greatest views in the whole of the national park.
All photos shot on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my two prime lenses: a Laowa 9mm f/2.8 and an adapted Pentax 55mm f/2.0 lens. Developed using RNI Films’ Portra 160 film profile.
A short 250 m hike above the village of Balquhidder, one can climb above the Glen Kirkton forest to summit Creag an Tuirc and find one of finest views in all of Scotland. The entirety of the Balquhidder Glen, with its two lochs and many peaks, lays before you. Absolutely stunning.
After carefully clambering back down to the village, we began the walk towards the northern shore of Loch Voil, passing by a variety of beautifully quaint cottages.
In a field near the loch shore, a noisy stallion struts over to us for an inquisitive sniff.
Like much of the Loch Lomond national park, Balquhidder Glen is well-forested and the tree coverage is growing all the time.
After popping out of the woods of Gleann Crotha we were confronted with one of many peaks in the valley. This one is Stob Caol , at 734 m/2,408 ft.
Near the Dhanakosa Buddhist Centre the road winds right close to the loch shore, allowing us access to these incredible views and reflections.
Popping on my ultra-wide lens, I managed to snap this expansive loch view and its glorious reflections.
Further west along the shore of Loch Voil, the view opens up more. We could not have asked for better conditions.
We found a spit of land south of the Buddhist Centre and went wandering into its woodlands for beautiful light and interesting trees.
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