Achray Water Circular

Achray Water Circular is a 2.75-mile (4.5 km) loop from Ben Venue Car Park through forest to a footbridge over Achray Water. It is a gentler choice than Ben Venue’s summit climb, with opening views of Loch Achray and Ben A’an, a boardwalk over marshy ground and a stretch beside the river. Allow 1.5–2 hours for about 110 m of ascent.

Take the path between the information board and car-park entrance; turn right at the first junction for the boardwalk, then left onto the private road toward Loch Katrine dam. Before it bends, take the path left to Achray Water Bridge. Cross, turn right onto the signed forest track, then left up a signed path through trees. It undulates, drops to another track and descends toward views of Ben A’an. Go straight at the crossroads; at the T-junction by the water, turn left, then right at the earlier junction to the bridge. Keep the wooden rails and water in frame here. Cross again, retrace the road to the boardwalk and follow blue waymarks back to the car park.

Ben Venue Car Park is off the A821; parking is charged. Expect forest paths and tracks, boardwalk and a short private-road section; this is a low-level circuit, not a summit walk. Dogs are allowed under Scotland’s access rights. From April through July, keep them close or on a short lead in the woods for breeding birds. Achray Water’s flow varies with the upstream dam.