Drymen

Drymen is a village in Stirlingshire  in the Central Belt of Scotland. It's within Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, four miles from the east shore of Loch Lomond, and this is the main reason to visit. In 2020 the population was 830.

"Drymen" is from Gaelic Druiminn, a hillock. It's by a crossing point on the Endrick Water and until mid 19th century was one of many points where cattle drovers brought their black cattle out of the Highlands and headed to lowland marts such Crieff and Falkirk. Those droves ended once railways enabled direct shipment of livestock. Drymen remained agricultural, but also developed tourist accommodation as an access point to the loch. The actor and comedian Billy Connolly (b 1942) lived here in the 1970s.

Get in
McColls Bus 309 runs daily every 90 min or so from Alexandria via Balloch station (for trains from Glasgow) to Drymen (15 min) and Balmaha.

From Glasgow take M8 / A82 to Balloch then A811 north. From Edinburgh take M9 to Stirling then A811 west.

Drymen is the first significant village on the West Highland Way after starting out from Milngavie. From Drymen the route crosses Conic Hill to Balmaha then follows the east shore of Loch Lomond to Rowardennan and Inversnaid.

Get around
Drymen is small enough to explore on foot.

See

 * is the village green, a common layout in England but rare in Scotland. The bus stops here. The village is much more peaceful since A811 was diverted east of Drymen, with the loop of its former route now B858.
 * is a fenced-off ruin by the golf course. It was a mansion built in the 1850s for the Duke of Montrose, but abandoned in 1954. Rudolf Hess was briefly held here after his flight to Hamilton in 1941, then sent to the Tower of London.
 * Catter Law south of the river by the junction of A811 and A809 was a medieval motte, an artificial hillock reinforced by wooden palisades. It was never converted to a stone castle. The site has been much altered and is on private property.
 * is a baronial mansion built in 1884. It's nowadays private mansions so you'll have to be content with a distant view - but that development has saved it from sharing the fate of Buchanan Castle.
 * is a scenic ravine reached down a staircase, where a circular rock is known as "The Devil's Pulpit". The only deed that the devil is reliably known to have committed here is to make it a TV location for Outlander in 2014, whereupon tourists flocked and messed up the area. However other TV sagas have been and gone since then so you may find it tranquil.
 * is a bird-life reserve on the loch shore at Gartocharn, follow signs for Lagganbeg caravan park. The car park is open daily 9AM-5PM and the reserve is free.

Do

 * Golf: Buchanan Castle GC is west near the castle off A811 (don't follow the bumpy lane off B837); white tees 6133 yards, par 70. Strathendrick GC has nine holes, south of the village.
 * West Highland Way Stage 1 is Milngavie to Drymen, 12 miles of fairly level lowland going. Stage 2 from Drymen climbs over Conic Hill then descends into Balmaha; you then follow the east bank of Loch Lomond to Rowardennan. Conic Hill can be climbed by itself but that's better done from Balmaha.
 * Rob Roy Way is a 79-mile hiking trail from Drymen to Pitlochry. Section One to Aberfoyle heads north on the lane (Old Drymen Road) for four miles to Loch Ard forest. (On-road bikes stay on the lane all the way to Aberfoyle, off-road bikes can turn off onto the hiking trail.) You pass Corrie Aqueduct and waterworks of Loch Katrine, then descend by Bofrishlie Burn into Aberfoyle.
 * Drymen Agricultural Show and Highland Games are held on the showground half a mile south of the village in late May.

Buy

 * Spar is the village convenience store on The Square, open M-Sa 6:30PM-10PM, Su 8AM-10PM For a big supermarket drive to Dumbarton.

Eat

 * Drymen Bakery & Deli on The Square is open daily 08:00-17:00.
 * Skoosh is a friendly cafe on Main St 100 yards south of The Square, open M-Sa 8AM-4PM.

Drink

 * No pub, try the hotels. Drymen Beer Shop is an off-licence at 15 Main St open M-Sa 11AM-8PM, Su noon-8PM.

Sleep

 * The Hawthorns and Braeside are B&Bs on The Square.
 * The Hawthorns and Braeside are B&Bs on The Square.

Connect
As of Dec 2022, Drymen and its approach roads have 4G from EE, O2 and Vodafone, and 3G from Three. 5G has not reached this area.

Go next

 * Balmaha is the only village on the east shore of Loch Lomond. The lane continues north to dead-end at Rowardennan, start of the ascent of Ben Lomond.
 * Balloch at the south end of the loch is a larger town with more amenities.
 * Stirling to the east is a miniature Edinburgh, with its castle perched on a crag.