Brig o' Turk

The Bridge Between the Lochs

The bridge that names the place crosses the River Turk and was built in 1796, though people had been getting over the water here since at least 1451. The earlier bridges kept washing away. This one held, and was widened in 1929. It sits at one end of a hamlet among hills and lochs, with Loch Venachar to the east and Loch Achray to the west, and Ben A'an, Ben Venue and Ben Ledi filling the skyline.

The Byre, formerly the Byre Inn, offers exclusive private hire for groups of 10 or more. Group menus include wood-fired pizzas, steaks, roasts and Scottish breakfasts, and guests can bring their own drinks for corkage. Advance booking is required; there are no walk-ins.

The Tearoom and the Trails

A little further on, Brig o' Turk Tearoom occupies a wooden building that passed its hundredth year in 2023 and appeared in the 1959 remake of The 39 Steps. The vegetarian kitchen bakes its own scones, cakes, traybakes and vegan soda bread. Named for the hill, the Ben A'anna Muffin comes with Biscoff, banana and date syrup; other dishes include breakfast cranachan, a veggie-haggis and caramelised-onion panini, and a Trossachs Ploughman.

From the village the Great Trossachs Path runs west to Loch Achray for two kilometres one way, mostly on flat, firm gravel beside the water. There is a slight slope at the bridge and the path can be muddy through the farm in wet weather. Glen Finglas, the estate around the village, has nine waymarked routes, from surfaced low-level loops to long remote climbs. Little Druim Wood has a natural play and sculpture trail of about a kilometre and a half from Lendrick Hill car park, with a road crossing, steps and three short steep slopes.

Walks, Ruskin and the Loch Achray Church

Half a kilometre up from the Dam Road car park is the Ruskin Viewpoint, which marks where John Everett Millais painted John Ruskin's portrait in the summer of 1853. Millais spent that season fighting rain and midges, and also falling in love with Ruskin's wife, Effie. The Ruskin marriage was dissolved in 1854, and Millais married Effie the year after.

The parish church stands on the north bank of Loch Achray, a small rubble church of 1849 built after residents grew tired of the fourteen-mile round trip to Callander for a service. It opened that October. Its roof has fish-scale slate stripes, while lancet windows hold stained and diamond-paned glass. The war memorial inside, installed in 1919, is made from wood from HMS Britannia.

Getting There and Loch Katrine

Brig o' Turk sits on the A821 between Callander and Aberfoyle via the Duke's Pass. When bad weather shuts the pass, the alternative road route goes through Port of Menteith. Bridge of Allan is the nearest railway station to Glen Finglas, 18 miles from the wood. Since June 2026, the year-round Trossachs Explorer has linked the village with Callander, Loch Katrine and Aberfoyle. At Trossachs Pier, passengers can board the steamship Sir Walter Scott for a cruise on Loch Katrine.

The Bicycle Tree

A sycamore near Dorothy's Field held a bicycle high in its branches, linked in village lore to the blacksmith. The tree received a preservation order in 2016 and fell in a storm before February 2025. It also gave its name to the local newspaper The Bicycle Tree.