Loch Lomond, The Trossachs and Stirling Castle – Day trip from Glasgow

There is a lot to see in Scotland, and short day trips give you a taste of the best places, landscapes and experiences.

Loch Lomond, The Trossachs National Park and Stirling Castle are all beautiful places to visit.

It’s ideal especially if you don’t have much time to travel in Scotland, but don’t want to miss out on all the things it has to offer.

You can use a short day trip to plan longer trips in future, or just enjoy the time you have and make the most of it.

Taking a day trip with timberbush tours

I took a day trip to Loch Lomond, The Trossachs & Stirling Castle with Timberbush Tours.

On the morning of a lovely day in July, I boarded the Timberbush minibus to go see some of Scotland’s most beautiful sights.

All of these are close enough to Glasgow to make for a perfect day trip.

Timberbush Tours operate guided tours from both Glasgow and Edinburgh. There are 1, 2 and 3-day tours to different parts of Scotland, either in a coach or a minibus.

My day trip was in a small group in a minibus, which provided good opportunities to get to know the other people on the tour and chat with them.

We were mostly tourists who came to Scotland for a short visit.

The tour overview: loch lomond, trossachs national park and stirling castle

The tour departed from Glasgow and the first stop was Loch Lomond, where we went on a perfectly calm boat trip with commentary.

Next, we stopped for lunch in the village of Aberfoyle.

From there we drove through the Trossachs National Park with some stops to take photos and take in the view.

Our last stop was at Stirling Castle.

Loch lomond

We departed Glasgow on time with a full minibus and a cheerful driver-guide called Andy.

Andy told us (with a Scottish accent that was surprisingly easy to understand) about points of interest along the way as we were leaving the city of Glasgow and heading to the countryside.

Our first stop was Loch Lomond.

When we reached the lake, we each got a ticket for a boat tour.

It’s an optional part of the day trip, but just about everyone opted for it (apart from one person who’d already done it).

The ticket isn’t included in the price of the day trip, but we got it at a reduced price from our driver.

The boat trip in Loch Lomond was wonderfully peaceful, both relaxing and exciting, with stunning views all around.

It comes with commentary about the history and geography of the place.

The lake is quite large (one of the largest in Scotland) and the boat tour took about an hour.

For those who are not interested in going on the boat, the alternative is a walk around the area and the village of Luss.

Lunch stop at aberfoyle

After driving through mostly farmland, all very green and beautiful, we reached the village of Aberfoyle.

We stopped for an hour there to have lunch. There were a few places to choose from.

I walked into the first pub I saw and was surprised to find some vegan options on the menu, including a vegan pizza (!)

The lunch break was one hour long, so I didn’t really have a chance to wander around Aberfoyle, but it looked like a lovely place.

Trossachs national park

After lunch we continued our trip and moved on to explore the Trossachs.

In this part of the trip we mostly drove around the beautiful, green national park, with our guide telling us about the places we saw around us.

We made some stops along the way to take photos at the most picturesque spots.

One of these was a viewing point overlooking the green heart of the Trossachs.

Another stop was close to a small lake called Loch Druckie.

All along the way we saw charming villages, castles (there are many of those in Scotland!), cute highland cows (or coos, to use the Scottish word) and of course – many beautiful lakes.

It’s a truly dreamy landscape that looks like a painting and I’m afraid photos can’t quite capture the experience.

TIP! The road is narrow and winding, so if you’re prone to car sickness, you want to take some preventative measures.

Stirling castle

Our last stop was Stirling and its famous castle. We drove into Stirling and uphill to the castle.

This is another optional part of the trip; you can pay for a ticket to enter the castle (at a discount), or take some time to wander around Stirling.

If you choose the latter, remember the castle is on the top of a hill and to reach the town you’d have to go down the hill and then up again (it’s rather steep).

Because of its location on the top of a hill, there are some good viewing points in the area of the castle, so have your camera ready.

The castle is beautifully preserved and if you love history you’ll appreciate its significance in Scottish history.

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The trip ended in the afternoon back in the centre of Glasgow.

We were lucky to have pleasant weather throughout the day.

If you don’t have much time to see Scotland, taking a well curated day trip is the best way to explore.

I liked not having to spend any time on planning the day trip by myself. That’s a huge advantage when you’re short on time.

You also get to avoid the feeling that you might be missing out on anything worth seeing. Your guide will know exactly where to take you and where to make stops for the best views and sights.

Book this tour here or browse more Timberbush tours

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I’m grateful to Timberbush Tours for inviting me on this lovely day trip. All opinions are my own.