July 5th Glasgow - Callandar

A really great day. We were not disappointed today by the cycle path. We set off at 8am and were able to cycle along the Clyde, through an industrial area and then along The Clyde Canal. It really was an idyllic scene with the river Clyde on left and canal on our right. Path well maintained and we met lots of cyclists and walkers - the only problem on 2 ocassions was negotiating gates - on each one we had to take off all the bags and get help from passing cyclists to lift the bike over the gate. Took photos at Bowling where the Puffer fishing boats used to be made. cycled across river into Dumbarton which is very pretty away from main road. Cycled along the river through Alexandria to Balloch and then onto Loch Lomond where we had coffee at Thortons and ate some delicious cakes.. beautiful weather all day. Cycled back to Ballock and then up through Ballock castle Country park to Drymin. This was a long hard climb. From Drymin we cycled through Garadhban Forest on the forest trail to Gartmore and on to Aberfoyle where we had a drink at a pub and then ate our bacon sandwiches sitting on a bench. From Aberfoyle we not only had a very stiff climb but we had to cycle on a very rough forest trail which made us worry about punctures. The views were fantastic. We cycled down to Loch Drunkie and then alongside the loch all the way to Callandar. Callandar centre is the Rob Roy tourist industry! He is buried nearby.
Had a really good Italian meal; had to book as restaurant very busy. B&B ok but first place been to where host decided how much cereal we could have! (64 miles)