By the banks of Loch Lomond in the charming wee village of Luss is an enchanted forest with a wonderful fairy trail. We have visited the Loch Lomond Faerie Trail several times and it is honestly one of the most magical days out for kids.

“Since the beginning of time, Scottish faeries have lived by the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. Happily inhabiting the forest and woodlands, living in harmony with nature, in their beautiful fairy houses…”

The fairy trail is a walk through beautiful Scottish countryside; up and down wee hills, through woodland, alongside the River Luss and a little burn, past fields of sheep and through quite a lot of mud if the weather is right. However the woodland is full of fairy houses, wooden carvings and lots of magical things to find.

Firstly you need to collect your guidebook from the cabin in the car park or from the visitor centre (depending on what’s open on the day you visit). This gives you directions around the trail so you don’t miss any bits (you will definitely miss bits if you don’t have guidebook). Plus it contains puzzles and questions and riddles and all sorts of activities to complete as you follow the trail.

From the beginning of the faerie trail as you head up over the overpass there is fairy dust to follow to let you know you are on the right path. (There are also signposts but who needs those when you can follow the magic instead). You’ll cross the overpass and head through a little gate, and then you come to the entrance to the woodland. Kids have their own tiny door to head through but if you aren’t up for getting through that, there is a regular sized gate too.

All through the woodland you will find faerie houses, a faerie airport, faerie village and a faerie shopping centre. There are water faeries and trolls and big carved wooden fairy wings. Find the worry tree, the spell books, the dummy fairy and the log bridge over the burn. Have a play down by the river towards the end of the trail. There is so much to see and find here.

The Loch Lomond Faerie Trail website states that the trail takes 1-2 hours, but we have easily spent 3 hours following the trail, making sure we find all the parts of the trail in the guidebook and exploring everything. Obviously with stops for sandwiches and snacks too. So I think that probably depends on the age of your kids, how much they tend to explore and how into completing the guidebook they are!

The Highlights

The main highlight for us is how magical this trail is for the kids. They are always so excited to follow the trail, to find all the fairy houses and to find out what happens next in the story. It’s beautifully done.

The Loch Lomond Faerie Trail is really well maintained. The fairy houses are always in great condition and there are never any noticeable bits missing. There’s always plenty of fairy dust around for kids to follow too.

The trail and guidebook are changed every so often too. So the story, the puzzles in the guidebook and the trail itself is slightly different if you go year to year.

The Logistics

  • Wheels: Wouldn’t recommend taking wheels, however it is possible. You can get round it with decent buggy tyres – I did it once with ours – but there are at least 3 flights of stairs & a lot of tree rooty bits that make taking a buggy a bit of a chore.
  • Parking: Plenty of parking available at the big car park at Luss. It’s £3 for the day.
  • Toilets: Public toilets available at Luss.
  • Clothing needed: Dress for the weather. Wellies recommended if it’s been wet.
  • Dogs: Dogs are permitted but must be under control/on lead.

The Location

The Loch Lomond Faerie Trail is located in Luss, mid-way along the western banks of Loch Lomond between Balloch and Tarbet. You will get directions to the beginning of the Faerie Trail when get your guidebook. It’s well signposted though and easy to find.

There is plenty of parking available in the big public car park at Luss. It costs £1 per hour and you need to pay in cash at the machines so make sure you have some change available (though I think they might have introduced an online payment facility more recently). 

The Cost

The cost for entry is £4 for adults & 13+; £5 for kids; free for age 0-2. With this each child gets a trail guidebook and wristband, a certificate of completion for the end of the trail, and of course access to the faerie trail.

The Verdict

The Loch Lomond Faerie Trail is truly a wonderful day out for families, and a lovely walk through some beautiful countryside. The trail is incredibly well set out with a fantastic booklet to guide you through the woodland around the trail, and activities or puzzles to solve at each fairy door station. Highly recommended.