Loch Katrine Circular Walk

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Loch Katrine Circular Walk: Primrose Hill Loop Guide

Published 17 July 2025 Updated 5 June 2026

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Ranked #265 of 974

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HikeList Score

Loch Katrine Circular Walk scored 84/100 on HikeList's trail-quality metrics.

Great Hike

See score breakdownHide breakdown

Ideal length 55
Balanced challenge 100
Scenery & wildness 98
Varied terrain 83
Accommodation 83
Food & support 88
Path quality 80
Season flexibility 89

Computed from length, challenge, scenery & wildness, terrain variety, accommodation, food & support, path quality and season flexibility.

The Loch Katrine Circular Walk is best understood as the Primrose Hill Circular: an 11 km waymarked loop from Trossachs Pier in Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, Scotland. This is a 1-day, moderate walk with about 382 m of ascent, mixing a tarred private lochside road with forest tracks and a steep climb above Loch Katrine. It suits walkers wanting a short Trossachs day-hike with loch views, woodland and clear waymarking, rather than a long thru-hike.

Route Overview

Start and finish at Trossachs Pier, using the Loch Katrine pier car park. The route heads north-west along the tarred private shore road on the north side of the loch, with an optional early detour to Brenachoile Point. It then leaves the shore road and climbs on the green-striped waymarked Primrose Hill Circular through forest, gaining height to a track above Loch Katrine before descending back to Trossachs Pier. This is a true loop, not the longer linear shore walk to Stronachlachar. For bigger Scottish walking trips, compare the Arran Coastal Way or the Ayrshire Coastal Path.

Loch Katrine, Scott and Glasgow’s water

Loch Katrine became famous through Sir Walter Scott’s 1810 poem The Lady of the Lake, which drew early tourists to the Trossachs. The loch’s western head at Glengyle was the birthplace of Rob Roy MacGregor in 1671. From 1855 to 1859, Loch Katrine was engineered into Glasgow’s principal water supply, opened by Queen Victoria and carried to the city by aqueducts and tunnels roughly 50 km long. Steamers have sailed the loch since the 1840s.

Notable highlights

Brenachoile Point: A grassy promontory about a kilometre along the shore road, making an easy optional detour and a good rest stop with open views west down Loch Katrine.
Primrose Hill viewpoint: The steep forest climb leads to higher views over Loch Katrine towards Ben Lomond and the Arrochar Alps, the main scenic reward of the loop.
SS Sir Walter Scott steamship: This historic steamship has sailed Loch Katrine since 1900 and can be combined with a cruise or cycle-and-sail option from Trossachs Pier.
Loch Katrine and The Lady of the Lake: Sir Walter Scott’s 1810 poem set on the loch helped make the Trossachs a landmark of early Scottish tourism.
Rob Roy MacGregor country: Glengyle, at the western head of Loch Katrine, was the birthplace of Rob Roy MacGregor; it is part of the wider Trossachs story, though not on this short loop.
Glasgow’s water supply: Loch Katrine has supplied Glasgow’s drinking water since 1859, which helps explain the protected character of the loch and its shore road.

Challenges to expect

The walk is short, but it is not flat: the climb onto the forest track over Primrose Hill is steep and sustained. Expect a mix of tarred lane, gravel and dirt, with muddier sections after rain. Scottish weather can change quickly, even on a low-level route. Navigation is helped by green-striped waymark posts, but there is no on-route accommodation, and ticks are a seasonal hazard.

265

Ranked #265 of 974

See the Top 100 →