A few weeks ago we saw a post from the Oak Tree Inn on Facebook offering free loyalty cards which could be used to get a 40% discount on accommodation, food and soft drinks during January & February. It was too good an offer to miss, so we got in touch and booked dinner and one of their deluxe rooms for the last Sunday in January.
Balmaha is on the banks of Loch Lomond, and the Oak Tree is a perfect place to go for a drink, lunch or dinner when we go out there for hiking or canoeing, which we do at least a few times a year.
We had hoped to combine our Sunday night stay at the Inn with the Saturday night camping on Inchcailloch, which is just a short hop over from Balmaha. However, we couldn’t have picked a worse weekend as we had Storm Malik from Friday to Saturday, followed almost straight after by Storm Corrie on Sunday afternoon! Fortunately Storm Corrie didn’t hit too badly or last too long, but Storm Malik was pretty wild, so there was still no way that we were going to risk heading over to Inchcailloch in our dinghy with our camping gear on the Saturday, as we’d have likely capsized!
On Sunday morning it was the “calm between the storms” so we headed to Balmaha early, arriving about 1pm. At this point the weather was overcast, but dry and relatively calm. We did a short walk along the shores of the Loch to Millarochy Bay, managing to avoid the rain until we were nearly back.
Check-in was at 3pm, and we were delighted to be given an upgrade to a premier deluxe room, which was very spacious with a superking bed, a bathroom with Arran Aromatics toiletries and a separate bath and shower (the bath even had a TV!) and a sofa & coffee table looking out the patio doors onto the deck, with the loch just a bit further away.
We had booked dinner for 6pm, but headed to the a little restaurant early as the weather was getting quite wild with gusty winds and heavy rain. Inside was cosy, though, and we enjoyed a lovely meal with good beer and wine (the Romanian pinot noir is fabulous!) Paul finished off with a whisky flight from the Glengoyne Distillery – 10,12 and 21 year old drams plus a free tour and tasting voucher for the actual distillery to be used on a later date.
There were umbrellas to borrow both in the cottage (where our room was located) and at the Inn itself, which was a nice touch, although we didn’t use them due to the high winds.
Once we were fed and watered, we borrowed a couple of wine glasses to take back to the room, as we had brought a bottle with us, and enjoyed the rest of the evening relaxing.
Monday morning was relatively calm again, and Paul didn’t have to start work until 1pm, later for myself, so after check-out we headed up Conic Hill. It’s a good wee hill to go up, and the views over the loch are amazing. It starts from the main car park & visitor centre. We are probably about average as far as walking pace goes, and it’s a steep we climb with lots of steps, but we got all the way up and back in two hours, including photo stops. If you have less time, or just don’t fancy going all the way up, there is a great spot where it temporarily levels off about half way up which, in our opinion, is actually even better than the summit for photos. If you want to head there, then after all the steps, as you see your first glimpse of the loch below, the path splits with the main path heading right and a less defined (but defined enough) path heading left (pretty much straight ahead actually). Take this one for a shorter walk – you will still get awesome views!
We hope that you have enjoyed this short blog. If you did, please use the Like and Share buttons below. Our other blogs on and around Balmaha and Loch Lomond, canoeing and hiking, can be found by using the search facility, or click here to read about the trip that we didn’t manage this time – an overnight camp on Inchcailloch. You can also find or follow us on Facebook by clicking this link.
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