The Rob Roy Way is a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

long distance footpath that runs from Drymen in

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

Pitlochry Pitlochry (; gd, Baile Chloichridh or ) is a town in the Perth and Kinross council area of Scotland, lying on the River Tummel. It is historically in the county of Perthshire, and has a population of 2,776, according to the 2011 census.Scotla ...

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland an ...

. The path was created in 2002, and takes its name from Rob Roy MacGregor, a Scottish folk hero and

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...

of the early 18th century. It traverses countryside that he knew and travelled frequently. The route crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, a geological fault where the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia * So ...

meet the Lowlands. Views from the trail overlook Loch Lubnaig, Loch Earn,

Loch Venachar Loch Venachar (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Bheannchair) is a freshwater loch in Stirling district, Scotland. Geography The loch is situated between Callander and Brig o' Turk. It lies approximately above sea level, and is long with a maximum de ...

and

Loch Tay Loch Tay ( gd, Loch Tatha) is a freshwater loch in the central highlands of Scotland, in the Perth and Kinross and Stirling council areas. It is the largest body of fresh water in Perth and Kinross, and the sixth largest loch in Scotland. The ...

. The way is in length if the direct route along the southern shore of Loch Tay and the River Tay is followed between Ardtalnaig and Aberfeldy. An optional loop also links these places via Amulree: choosing this option increases the length by a further to . The Rob Roy Way was designated as one of Scotland's Great Trails by

NatureScot NatureScot ( gd, NàdarAlba), which was formerly known as Scottish Natural Heritage, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for the country's natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and ...

in spring 2012, and also links to two further Great Trails, meeting the Great Trossachs Path near

Callander Callander (; gd, Calasraid) is a small town in the council area of Stirling, Scotland, situated on the River Teith. The town is located in the historic county of Perthshire and is a popular tourist stop to and from the Highlands. The town se ...

, and the

West Highland Way The West Highland Way ( gd, Slighe na Gàidhealtachd an Iar) is a linear long-distance route in Scotland. It is long, running from Milngavie north of Glasgow to Fort William in the Scottish Highlands, with an element of hill walking in the ...

just north of Drymen.

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was ...

Landranger 1:50000. Sheet 57 (Stirling & The Trossachs). The Rob Roy Way also shares sections of route with Route 7 of the

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...

, which also links Drymen and Pitlochry. Shared sections include the minor road on the south side of Loch Tay and the section following the route of the former Callander and Oban Railway, including Glen Ogle viaduct. Besides Drymen and Pitlochry, the way passes through Aberfoyle,

, Strathyre, Killin, Amulree and Aberfeldy. About 3,000 people use the path every year, of whom about 450 complete the entire route.

References

External links

*Web page o
Rob Roy Way from Scotland's Great TrailsOfficial guidebook on the Rob Roy WayWeb page on Rob Roy Way from VisitScotlandOfficial website on the Rob Roy WayIndependent guide to the route from Walkhighlands
Scotland's Great Trails Footpaths in Stirling (council area) Footpaths in Perth and Kinross Trossachs River Tay {{Scotland-geo-stub