CarMan
Member
Anyone have any views about a family holiday in the area in October with a view to trailering our Merry Fisher 625 from the Cotswolds?
Loch Lomond
- Thread starter CarMan
- Start date
Alrob
Well-Known Member
if you can get decent weather you will have a great time, dont know if you have been before but you will find it a lot bigger than the lakes
CarMan
Member
I haven't been before and after only my first year boating on the River Avon consider myself very much an amateur
Alrob
Well-Known Member
then you will doubley enjoy it - what are your plans re- launching & berthing (or are you staying in accommodation)
AlastairR is still berthed in Ardlui so he will have up to date info
AlastairR is still berthed in Ardlui so he will have up to date info
landlockedpirate
Well-Known Member
About 10 years ago I spent a weekend on Loch Lomand with my brother. When took his sticky boat and my RIB, we didnt see another person or boat for the whole time. Stunning scenery and very peacefull.
We left the cars and trailer at Balloch (Great slip and loads of room) and returned to find the car broken into. For security I would suggest you arrange storage for the car elsewhere.
Mark
We left the cars and trailer at Balloch (Great slip and loads of room) and returned to find the car broken into. For security I would suggest you arrange storage for the car elsewhere.
Mark
CarMan
Member
We will be staying in accommodation - Ardlui and Balloch seem to have places we could stay and launch, though the launching/berthing is much more of an unknown to us - we would hope to launch and then berth for the week if possible.
gandy
Well-Known Member
Lovely place. The middle is where you want to be, around all the islands.
I wonder if you could get a temporary mooring at Balmaha, at the boat yard. You could certainly launch there as a customer (its not a public slip). There are hotels and B&B in the village.
http://www.balmahaboatyard.co.uk/boatyard.html
I wonder if you could get a temporary mooring at Balmaha, at the boat yard. You could certainly launch there as a customer (its not a public slip). There are hotels and B&B in the village.
http://www.balmahaboatyard.co.uk/boatyard.html
silver_boy
Well-Known Member
Great Place! Plenty of places around the coast to eat and have a drink out - duck bay, rowardennan, luss to name a few. Also a small hotel on Inchmurrin. Not sure where you could berth for a week. We're at Cameron Marina but they don't have any visitor moorings. I have to suggest that you take some camping equipment and camp out on one of the islands at least for a night. Great experience and just so relaxing sitting around a campfire in total peace! Inchmoan has a good sandy beach but it'll be too cold for swimming in at this time of year. You'll love the scenery and it should be pretty quiet aswell at that time. If there's anything more you'd like to know about it just ask.
Alrob
Well-Known Member
I am sure Cameron House do have visitors berths (or ar least they did 2 years ago) also Ardlui will have them, Balmaha & Rowardennan are moorings only. Loch Lomond marina in Balloch is best avoided for security reasons.
CarMan
Member
I am certainly encouraged, many thanks - will make some calls in the morning and let you all know how it goes . . . . . .
Alistairr
Well-Known Member
Hi CarMan,
I boat on Loch Lomond and have a permanent berth at Ardlui, which is at the very top of LL.
If you are lookingfor a berth and accomodation for a week, then you are pretty limited as to where you can go, as others have said you could maybe do a deal and possible get a berth at Balmaha, a nice part of the Loch, although with the new speed restrictions you have bit of a trek before being able to open the throttles.
Balloch has a very good slipway, but accomodation would be in the town, so you'd need to moor down the rice a bit, again as other have said, possibly a security problem there.
There are only 2 proper marinas on the Loch, Ardlui and Cameron House.
I don't know much about Cameron House apart from the hotel accomodation is pretty expencive, I'm not sure if they'd give you a berth with it or not, but its maybe worth a call to find out.
Ardlui covers you for everything, accomodation in either the hotel or book one of their Chalets for a week, about a £1000 a week, but ideal if a few couples are sharing. They will also fit you into the marina somewhere either on the pontoon finger or berthed on the main pier, either way it will be fine for you. They also have a slipway, but its in need of repair that they won't charge you for using it, but unless you have a 4x4 its best too use their tractor to launch, as we generally launch of the sand at the side of the slip and not the slip itself, again its fine.
Petrol is available quayside at Ardlui aswell. One thing i must say, the drive to Ardlui if towing a trailer is not for the faint hearted, the last few miles from Tarbet to Ardlui is very narrow, and needs to be taken very slowly, incase you meet an on coming bus or Lorry, there is plenty of space to pass, but take it easy.
Your boat will need to be registered for the Loch, but that only costs £5 and can be done on arrival at Ardlui or Balloch, and several other places around the Loch.
The weather will be very hit or miss at that time of year, but with a nice hardtop like the MF 625 you should be ok, I've recently looked at the same boat, as we feel we need to go the heardtop route for our dodgy climate.
Good luck, and any other questions, just ask.
Cheers
Alistairr.
I boat on Loch Lomond and have a permanent berth at Ardlui, which is at the very top of LL.
If you are lookingfor a berth and accomodation for a week, then you are pretty limited as to where you can go, as others have said you could maybe do a deal and possible get a berth at Balmaha, a nice part of the Loch, although with the new speed restrictions you have bit of a trek before being able to open the throttles.
Balloch has a very good slipway, but accomodation would be in the town, so you'd need to moor down the rice a bit, again as other have said, possibly a security problem there.
There are only 2 proper marinas on the Loch, Ardlui and Cameron House.
I don't know much about Cameron House apart from the hotel accomodation is pretty expencive, I'm not sure if they'd give you a berth with it or not, but its maybe worth a call to find out.
Ardlui covers you for everything, accomodation in either the hotel or book one of their Chalets for a week, about a £1000 a week, but ideal if a few couples are sharing. They will also fit you into the marina somewhere either on the pontoon finger or berthed on the main pier, either way it will be fine for you. They also have a slipway, but its in need of repair that they won't charge you for using it, but unless you have a 4x4 its best too use their tractor to launch, as we generally launch of the sand at the side of the slip and not the slip itself, again its fine.
Petrol is available quayside at Ardlui aswell. One thing i must say, the drive to Ardlui if towing a trailer is not for the faint hearted, the last few miles from Tarbet to Ardlui is very narrow, and needs to be taken very slowly, incase you meet an on coming bus or Lorry, there is plenty of space to pass, but take it easy.
Your boat will need to be registered for the Loch, but that only costs £5 and can be done on arrival at Ardlui or Balloch, and several other places around the Loch.
The weather will be very hit or miss at that time of year, but with a nice hardtop like the MF 625 you should be ok, I've recently looked at the same boat, as we feel we need to go the heardtop route for our dodgy climate.
Good luck, and any other questions, just ask.
Cheers
Alistairr.
CarMan
Member
Alistairr.
That's huge help, many thanks for all the effort.
Rob
That's huge help, many thanks for all the effort.
Rob
CarMan
Member
Ardlui which would have been our preference are fully booked as they only have 2 lodges and it's half term, the accomodation at Balmaha sadly doesn't fit and we've been well and truly put off Balloch by the security comments which we may have misinterpreted? There are some good looking apartments in Balloch though and we love the idea of Loch Lomond so we're beginning to think maybe we should come in Oct without the boat (sadly) to sort out a proper plan for next year - would Balloch be the best centre for such a trip?
PeteCooper
Well-Known Member
Take the boat to Kip, Rhu or Largs and enjoy the Clyde. Drive to Loch Lomond. Go for day cruise on the Loch - enjoy.
michaelh
Well-Known Member
Don't go. It's always rough and raining. And there's nothing to see
Alrob
Well-Known Member
you could also try this place
http://www.lochlomond-lodges.co.uk/
they rent out chalets and have boating facilities (not far from Ardlui)
http://www.lochlomond-lodges.co.uk/
they rent out chalets and have boating facilities (not far from Ardlui)
silver_boy
Well-Known Member
Agreed /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
and if you're bored you could always climb that!
and if you're bored you could always climb that!
landlockedpirate
Well-Known Member
The car was broken into by the slipway, its a little way out of the village, cant be seen from the road and doesnt have lighting. Looking back on the incident we were stupid to leave the car there overnight.
My point was to leave the car and trailer somewhere more sensible (your accomodation?) rather than in the middle of nowhere. I have always found Balloch to be very nice.
My point was to leave the car and trailer somewhere more sensible (your accomodation?) rather than in the middle of nowhere. I have always found Balloch to be very nice.
michaelh
Well-Known Member
We stayed here one Easter
Inverbeg
They have chalets, mobiles and pontoons and a good little slipway and are on the main drag North from Luss and is great for access to the Clyde, Galsgow, Loch Long, Loch Fyne & the West coast.. Ardlui is beautiful but its right at the top so to go anywhere can be quite a drive.
We camp a lot at Milarrochy Bay (slipway & jetty) or Cashel (Pontoons coming soon). They are both on the East side and it can take 45 mins to get to Balloch. Both good sites.
Inverbeg
They have chalets, mobiles and pontoons and a good little slipway and are on the main drag North from Luss and is great for access to the Clyde, Galsgow, Loch Long, Loch Fyne & the West coast.. Ardlui is beautiful but its right at the top so to go anywhere can be quite a drive.
We camp a lot at Milarrochy Bay (slipway & jetty) or Cashel (Pontoons coming soon). They are both on the East side and it can take 45 mins to get to Balloch. Both good sites.
michaelh
Well-Known Member
Of course for a proper solution for where to park your boat you just need a JCB and some dynamite
