New Lochearnhead Circular Bus Journey linking Breadalbane and Strathearn Country



Loch Earn, Lochearnhead on The Ring of Breadalbane Explorer route

A new summer tourist bus "The Ring of Breadalbane Explorer" will offer holiday cottage guests of  Briar Cottages self catering in Lochearnhead and holidaymakers in the surrounding regions a fantastic opportunity to be driven around some of the most scenic routes,  popular attractions and mountains in this naturally beautiful area. The bus service started by The Breadalbane Co-operative will be operated by Kingshouse Travel of Balquhidder.  The hop on and off service links Lochearnhead, Killin, Kenmore, Weem, Aberfeldy, Crieff, Comrie and St Fillans together for the very first time,  in one continuous loop.   The area will have tremendous appeal to visitors who can leave the car behind and explore, eat and do outdoor sports at their leisure covering a large territory of Perthshire and Stirlingshire for just £9 a day or £15 for a 2 day ticket.  Its great news for locals too!  Whether you are into sight seeing and exploring, photography, eating,  walking,  cycling, wildlife watching,  munro bagging or fishing, each of the points along the route offers plenty to see and do including; the Rob Roy Way, The Lochearnhead Water Sports centre, fishing points, hotels, Ben Vorlich and Stuc a Chroin,  Cycle Route 7, The falls of Dochart, village walks, Killin Golf Club, Ben Lawers and its Hotel, The Crannog centre and oldest Inn in Scotland at Kenmore,  Highland Safaris, gold panning and a deer centre near Weem, The Birks of Aberfeldy, A stunning drive through the Small Glen past Amulree,  The Glenturrett Whisky Distillery and visitor centre at Crieff,  Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre and coffee shop at Comrie, Boat Hire, hotels and a Golf Club at St Fillans - then back to Lochearnhead.   These are just a few of the attractions that each area has to offer.  I cant wait to try it myself.  Launching on 17th July 2012 there will be six circular journeys per day offered 4 days per week and the full circle is estimated to take 3 hours.   There will be leaflets in Briar Steading and Little Briar Cottages here for our guests however more details of the timetable can be accessed by facebook users at  http://www.facebook.com/breadalbaneexplorer now. 

The service will run throughout the summer  on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays until 16th September for this year.  Dont forget your cameras folks!

Scotlands descendants, come home to stunning panoramic views in Lochearnhead, Perthshire

Come home to Little Briar cottage in response to the governments "HOMECOMING SCOTLAND 2009" initiative. This charming holiday cottage is elevated on the 2 acre grounds of Briar Cottage, a 17th century thatched cottage with stunning views on the banks of Loch Earn facing south towards Glen Ample and Edinample Castle(once a Campbell stronghold).

This is an exceptionally beautiful part of west Perthshire and the Trossachs in the heart of Scotland. Famous for family names and septs of MacGregor, Ferguson, Stewart, McLaren, Neish, Campbell, McNab and MacIntyre amongst others. These lands have centuries of stories and folklore to boast.

Briar Cottage was first owned by a MacGregor, followed by the Duke of Breadalbane (descended from Campbells) and latterly McLarens. Clan chiefs of local families e.g. the Stewarts of Ardvorlich and the McLarens of Balquhidder still reside locally. They make an annual appearance at the Lochearnhead Highland games where families still do battle - albeit a well fought but innocent tug-of-war.

Little Briar holiday cottage is so central, that you can easily reach any of the homecoming party's and major attractions. Briar cottage comes with riparian rights which means that guests can fish for rainbow and brown trout from the loch garden with its jetty, slipway and garden furniture. There are 2 hotels within a 200 metre stroll, a watersports centre and cafe at 500 metres and a local shop and post office less than 1 mile from the garden gates. The area is ideal for walking, cycling, golf, water sports, history, folklore, wildlife, birds, flora, fauna, forest trails and relaxation.

Today the grounds are proudly owned by Fraser and Kim(nee Donald) Proven who will welcome you, invite you for a drink in the cruck room, show you around the 250ft loch garden and introduce you to their hot tub which you can arrange to use.

See www.stayatbriar.co.uk for tariff and availability, www.tripadvisor.com for guest comments, www.homecomingscotland.com for information on home coming events, www.incallander.co.uk for more detailed information on local history and folklore and www.robroycountry.com for alternative accommodation in Balquhidder, Strathyre, St Fillans and Lochearnhead.

NB Little Briar has a 4 star classification with Scottish-Country Cottages.

Rowing to Briar Cottages, Loch Earn, Perthshire

We wanted to test our new digital camera properly by taking photo's of Little Briar and Briar Cottages from Loch Earn. Our neighbour Richard to the rescue! He owns Scooby Watersports in Lochearnhead. Only 150 metres from our gates his shop is attached to the Clachan Hotel overlooking the loch. Very handy. He sells a wide range of wakeboards, ski's, wetsuits, drysuits, pontoon Boats, float Tubes and more. He also hires bikes out, which has been well appreciated by cycling enthusiasts holidaying in our cottage. Last week our guest family of 4 hired them to cycle along the path of the Old Callander to Oban railway line that was disbanded in 1965. It is part of national cycle route 7. They cycled Lochearnhead to Killin on their first visit in April and took on the more leisurely Lochearnhead to Balquhidder leg this time. Anyway, Richard let us test drive a rowing boat and we are pleased with our photos taken on a glorious November day in front of our 250ft loch garden and slipway. Cheers Richard!