Loch Trool is a gorgeous ribbon in the Forest of Galloway in the north of Kirkcudbrightshire, amongst the Southern Uplands.
The route up Glen Trool to the loch is a lovely walk in itself, but there is also a car park below at the foot of the loch, where the Water of Troll begins its run down the glen.
Clockwise around the loch, the path leads through the woods, close to the loch’s north shore. In time, it climbs to emerge on the road up the glen. It is quiet road, and at the Bruce’s Stone Lower Car Park, the path departs to run above the loch to Bruce;s Stone (erected to mark a victory by Robert the Bruce fought down in the glen).
The stone is at a viewpoint with a beautiful view south over the top end of Loch Trool, and the hills beyond. It is also where a path leads up to Merrick, Kirkcudbrightshire’s highest point (and indeed the highest mountain in the Southern Uplands), but the path around the loch does not lead that way.
The path from the stone leads down steeply to by the top of the loch and some of the burns feeding it. At Glenhead, you take a sharp turn westward to follow the south shore of the loch – this path is part of the Southern Upland Way. It runs through woodland with the loch glimpsed to the right, until it emerges at the car park again.
The route: map
Maps
Ordnance Survey:
Landranger 1:50 000 maps:
Explorer 1:25 000 maps: