July 2015
National Park urges people to “get on their bike”
As part of a major drive to encourage people to get
active in the great outdoors, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park has
been successful in securing £142,500 to create two dedicated traffic free
routes or walking/cycling/horse riding routes ’ between Drymen and Croftamie
and Milton of Buchanan and Balmaha. 
The funding has come from Sustrans and will allow the National Park in conjunction with a range of local partners including Sustrans; Drymen Community Development Trust; Buchanan Community; Croftamie Community; Sportscotland; Stirling Council and Love Loch Lomond to deliver on ambitious plans to further make cycling, walking and horse riding an integral part of the National Park experience.
The move is part of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority’s five-year (2013-2017) £8.7m Outdoor Recreation Plan, which supports over 30 outdoor activities.
Bridget Jones, head of visitor management at Loch Lomond
& The Trossachs National Park, said:
“Improving opportunities for cycling, walking and riding is very much a part of
meeting community aspirations and we’re happy to be playing a part in making
these a reality.”
The Milton of Buchanan to Balmaha route represents the second phase of a major project to connect Drymen and Balmaha. The first section between Drymen and Milton of Buchanan was completed last year at a cost of £400,000.
Tom Wallace, chair of Drymen Community Development Trust,
said:
“We were really excited to see this first stage of the Connecting Communities
project come to completion and the plans now in place for the second
stage. It shows what can be achieved through community action in
partnership with other agencies. We are indebted to our funders and look
forward to enjoyable walking, cycling and riding.”
In addition to this, a range of new cycle route cards developed for Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park is now available to download at www.lochlomond-trossachs.org and a fantastic new bus service is now running along west Loch Lomond which will carry bikes.
This service provides more options for visitors and the communities along the route. Visitors can enjoy a car-free day out at Loch Lomond, Arrochar and Ardgarten Forest and people staying along the route can use this service to access rail travel to and from the Park.
It will let visitors and locals cycle the path by the side of Loch Lomond with the security of a bus service to return them and their bike to their start point from any of the main villages on the loch or even from Arrochar and Ardgartan on the shores of Loch Long.
So get out and give them a try!
Ends
For further information, contact Ruth Crosbie, PR & Media Manager (Mon-Wed) Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park on 01389 722120 or email ruth.crosbie@lochlomond-trossachs.org, or Nancy McLardie, PR & Media Manager, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park (Thurs/Fri) on 01389 722016; email nancy.mclardie@lochlomond-trossachs.org.
Note to Editors
General images of cycling and walking in the National Park are available on request. We also have some before and after shots of the Drymen to Milton of Buchanan route, showing what can be expected on these new routes.