Highland crossroads
Crianlarich
A low pass where roads and railways meet beneath Ben More, Stob Binnein and Cruach Ardrain.
- Woodland loops
- About 30 minutes each
- Rail connections
- Glasgow, Oban, Fort William and Mallaig
- High point
- Ben More, 1,174m
The Fox verdict
A low pass built around onward routes
Crianlarich is a junction for short woodland loops, the West Highland Way and serious mountain days.
The village store is set up for walkers, the two community-woodland trails each take about 30 minutes, and food choices range from a traditional pub to hotel bars and a mountain lodge.
Where to go
Places in Crianlarich
Every place below is checked against a published source, listed with what it is and how long to give it.
Local signatures
3 placesThe Rod & Reel
A traditional village pub serving food, with dogs welcome, a garden and one handpump whose cask ale is seasonal and absent in winter.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: around 60 minutes
- Locality
- Main Street, in the centre of Crianlarich
- Access
- Food and pub availability are seasonal, so check directly.
Crianlarich Village Trail
A burnside link through rowan, alder and birch where red squirrels and small birds may be seen.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: About 30 minutes
- Locality
- Between Crianlarich and Inverardran
- Access
- Moderate, with uneven, rocky and narrow sections, a bridge and a boardwalk.
Crianlarich War Memorial
A Category C listed memorial from around 1922, with a fully equipped kilted soldier on a pink-sandstone plinth and battlemented benches.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: around 10 minutes
- Locality
- By the road in Crianlarich
Food & drink
3 placesCrianlarich Store
An independent licensed general store and Post Office run by Bryan and Isla Craig, stocking local bread, pies, eggs, meat and brewery beers, with hot drinks and a microwave.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: around 20 minutes
- Locality
- Crianlarich
- Access
- Pre-orders and grocery deliveries to local self-catering accommodation are available.
Best Western The Crianlarich Hotel — Public Bar and Highland Lounge
A hotel public bar and roomier Highland Lounge with log-burning fires, serving dishes including Cullen skink, venison with haggis rösti and Highlander pizza.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: around 75 minutes
- Locality
- Beside the principal Citylink stop in Crianlarich
- Access
- The public bar and Highland Lounge both serve non-residents.
Ben More Lodge Hotel, Restaurant & Bar
An informal mountain lodge with a restaurant, bar and café that is popular with walkers.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: around 75 minutes
- Locality
- Crianlarich
Walks & outdoors
3 placesInverardran Forest Trail
A short trail through young woodland and mature conifers, with views of Ben More and Cruach Ardrain.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: About 30 minutes
- Locality
- Crianlarich Community Woodland
- Access
- Firm gravel and grass include muddy or uneven patches, steep slopes, gates and a narrow boardwalk.
West Highland Way at Crianlarich
Crianlarich provides an easy joining point on the 154km/96-mile trail, with the section south passing through Glen Falloch.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: One day for the approximately 11km/7-mile Inverarnan–Crianlarich section
- Locality
- Crianlarich joining point
Ben More and Stob Binnein
Ben More rises to 1,174m and is usually paired with neighbouring Stob Binnein.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: A serious mountain day
- Locality
- Above Benmore Farm
- Access
- A serious mountain day, not a casual village stroll.
History & heritage
1 placeCrianlarich Railway Station
The upper station opened in 1894 and now has direct ScotRail links plus a call by the London–Fort William Caledonian Sleeper.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: around 15 minutes
- Locality
- In the village
- Access
- There is no step-free platform access.
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Three ways to explore Crianlarich
Signature outings
Heat a pie before setting out
Buy a pie, warm it in the shop's microwave and pick up walker first-aid supplies at Crianlarich Store.
Take the half-mile forest trail
Follow the 30-minute Inverardran Forest Trail through woodland for views of Ben More and Cruach Ardrain.
Make Ben More a serious day
Treat 1,174m Ben More and neighbouring Stob Binnein as a serious mountain day rather than a casual village stroll.
The village story
Crianlarich Village Guide
Pies for the trail, converging routes and mountain ground beneath Ben More.
A Low Pass and a Well-Stocked Store
At the Crianlarich Store you can buy a pie and heat it in the shop's own microwave before carrying on up the West Highland Way. Bryan and Isla Craig run the place, a licensed general store and Post Office that carries Argyll Bakeries bread and pies, Kintyre free-range eggs, Gourlay Butchers sausages and burgers, and beer from the Loch Lomond and Arran breweries, including a Loch Lomond ale named after the Way itself. Fresh fruit and vegetables arrive six days a week, the shop keeps walkers' first-aid supplies behind the counter, and it will deliver groceries to your rental if you order ahead.
The village stands in Strath Fillan, about eight miles north of the head of Loch Lomond, with Ben More, Stob Binnein and Cruach Ardrain rising around it. Crianlarich has repeatedly been a junction: two military roads crossed in the 1750s, the railway arrived in the 19th century and split into the Oban and Fort William branches, and in the 20th the A82 and A85 joined too. The name is Gaelic for "low pass", which is more or less the whole explanation.
Steak Pie, Log Fires and a Highlander Pizza
For food, the Rod & Reel sits on Main Street in the centre. Its menu has listed homemade steak pie, haggis, neeps and tatties, chicken curry, fish and chips, poached salmon and macaroni cheese, though it is worth checking the day's board; reviewers single out the steak pie in particular. Dogs are welcome, there is a garden, and cask ale appears on the single handpump seasonally, so do not count on it in winter.
The Best Western Crianlarich Hotel keeps a public bar and a larger Highland Lounge with log fires, both open to non-residents. The menu is more ambitious: Cullen skink, a trio of hot- and cold-smoked salmon with salmon mousse, Crianlarich chicken with Stornoway black pudding, haunch of venison with haggis rösti, and a Highlander pizza topped with haggis, black pudding, bacon and cheddar. Citylink coaches to Glasgow, Fort William and Skye stop beside the hotel, though it is worth checking the current timetable.
From the Lodge to the High Hills
Ben More Lodge, an informal mountain lodge with a restaurant, bar and café, fills with walkers coming off the hill. Karen N., staying in April 2025, wrote of it: "Great food too, would recommend the steak pie."
The walking starts at the door. Two short community-woodland trails loop out from the village: the Inverardran Forest Trail is half a mile through young woodland with views of Ben More and Cruach Ardrain, and the Village Trail follows a burn through rowan, alder and birch where you may spot red squirrels. Crianlarich is one of the easier places to join the West Highland Way, and the day south to Inverarnan runs about seven miles through Glen Falloch. Ben More itself is 1,174 metres and relentlessly steep above Benmore Farm, usually climbed with its neighbour Stob Binnein. It is a serious mountain day rather than an afternoon out.
Church, Railway and Remembrance
The parish church, a small harled Gothic building of 1901 with red-sandstone dressings, closed in June 2024 and was put up for sale; the congregation now meets in the village hall. The station has been here since 1894, with direct trains to Glasgow Queen Street, Oban, Fort William and Mallaig, and the Caledonian Sleeper calling on its way to and from London. There is free parking and a waiting room, though no step-free access to the platform.
By the road stands the war memorial, a kilted soldier in full kit on a pink-sandstone plinth, put up around 1922. Walkers pass it most mornings on the way to the hill, boots already muddy and a warm pie from the store somewhere in a pocket.
Stay around Loch Lomond
Make a longer stay of it
Travel Fox holiday homes around Loch Lomond, linked directly to their property pages.
A guide with a point of view
Written from research. Edited for real journeys.
Use the Official site links for live practical details, then use this guide for context, ideas and room to explore.
Sources
Every place on this page is checked against a published source. Each entry links the record we used and names who publishes it.
- Crianlarich Store — westhighlandway.org other published source
- The Rod & Reel — find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk statutory register or public authority
- Best Western The Crianlarich Hotel — Public Bar and Highland Lounge — crianlarich-hotel.co.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation
- Ben More Lodge Hotel, Restaurant & Bar — benmorewebcam.co.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation
- Inverardran Forest Trail — forestryandland.gov.scot statutory register or public authority
- Crianlarich Village Trail — forestryandland.gov.scot statutory register or public authority
- West Highland Way at Crianlarich — lochlomondtrossachs.org.uk other published source
- Ben More and Stob Binnein — lochlomond-trossachs.org other published source
- Crianlarich Railway Station — trove.scot other published source record not machine-readable; publisher restricts automated access
- Crianlarich War Memorial — portal.historicenvironment.scot statutory register or public authority