Aberfoyle, Forest, Quarries and Waterfalls

To the immediate north of Aberfoyle lies the huge Queen Elizabeth Forest Park where the Forestry Commission has combined commercial forestry with recreation. Near the start of the walk, a Go Ape outdoor adventure enterprise lets visitors fly overhead on zip wires.

At the south side of the park is the Lodge Forest Visitor Centre (formerly the David Marshall Lodge). Beyond the lowlands surrounding the young River Forth, the Campsie Fells and Kilpatrick Hills are visible. Northwest of the lodge, the hills of Craigmore and Creag a' Mhadaidh are broken up by old slate quarries — once the third largest of their type in Scotland — which were linked to the village railway via a tramway.

A little further around the route, the walk takes you over Duke's Pass (named after the Duke of Montrose, the 17th-century Royalist Scottish general). The pass was the scene of intense combat in 1651 when General Monk tried to subdue rebel forces, and again in 1753 when the Earl of Glencairn and Graham of Duchray ambushed and routed the Cromwellians.

On the final section, a beautiful babbling burn leads past fine waterfalls where it runs into Allt a' Mhangam (the stream of the little fawn), before leading back through the woods to the lodge visitor centre and into Aberfoyle.

Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.