KYQ4: Rob Roy Way: Lochearnhead to Strathyre

Friday, 6 March 2026

Distance: 10 kilometres
Time: 2 hours 16 minutes

Aileen and I began walking the Rob Roy Way after we retired. The intention was to start at Pitlochry and walk north to south, the opposite way of the normal route. For reasons of bus timetables changing and, in my case, the perpetual pull of Munros, we never completed the sections. I still have two of the 8 sections to complete: Aberfeldy to Acharn and Killin to Strathyre. I decided to walk half of the latter section today as part of bedding in my new hip. I figured that 10 kilometres would be challenging enough, my longest walk since last July.

I caught the excellent C60 mini bus to Lochearnhead and met a woman who used to live in Brig a'Turk and was a friend of Ellie and Stanley, my in-laws. She had run a care home and was visiting her husband, who was in the community-run care home in Killin. She was angry that Callander's private care homes had both closed, but was full of praise for Killin, which had taken over a private care home. This was largely down to John MacPherson, a redoubtable community activist, who had been the chair of the Community Council and had badgered the Council to provide the support for a community buy-out. My colleague, Helen Munro, had responded to the request with characteristic vim and chivvied the Health Board into giving support as well. The home remains a lasting example of community engagement and the willingness of the Council and Health Board to be proactive in their support.

I got off the bus at the centre of Lochearnhead at Cameron Crescent, a group of 15 social rented houses that we had obtained funding for from the Scottish Office in 1999. The sun was shining, and my mood was euphoric as I headed south for a kilometre to reach the side road leading to the Rob Roy Way. Could I manage a 10-kilometre walk?. Until a few years ago, I would run this distance 3 or 4 times a week.

Arriving at the gate that gave access to the Way, the buds of Spring were bursting with colour. I settled into a steady pace, rotating my head to observe the arc of snow-capped hills. After making a mistake in following a road to Edinchip, I quickly returned to the route and met a father and daughter enjoying a break on one of the benches located on the route. The man was in his sixties and had an infectious enthusiasm, having taken up photography after a hip operation and discovered the delights of walking the trails.

I battered on through the native woodland on a twisting path towards the Balquidder junction, where the views to Loch Voil opened up. Stob Binnein was visible, its snow-white, flat-topped, distinctive profile reminding me of eight visits to one of the highest Munros in the South Highlands. The first time was in 1978, it was my first Munro after recovering from a broken leg and meeting Aileen. She dropped her two brothers and me at Crianlarich, and we walked over Ben More and Stob Binnein to Inverlochlarig. The most recent occasion was in August 2022; it was the last Munro I climbed before she passed away. Stob Binnein would now be a memorial to those 44 years.

There had been several cyclists on the route. Some on sturdy mountain bikes, quite a few on electric bikes and some on gravel bikes. A lone elderly female runner had passed with a smile that suggested she was oozing endorphins. I envied her; I had not run since last May, and even that was downhill.

Beyond the Balquidder road, I inadvertently continued on the cycle path rather than crossing the A85 on the Rob Roy Way, which took a route through the forestry plantations. It was an easy section passing alongside fields with horses and stables, others with sheep, but no lambs yet, and there were even some pigs. I arrived in Strathyre knowing that I had probably gone further than I should. I visited the local shop and post office that had been managed by a community activist who had been elected to serve on the Board of the National Park when I was the returning officer. The present owners of the shop had no knowledge of what had happened to him, despite his vigorous campaigning for many initiatives in the area. I eased my aching legs into the car, drove home and soaked in the bath. I have missed returning home at the end of long days on the hills to Aileen, a beer, bath and meal. The bonus today was being invited out for dinner by a neighbour.