Drymen

The Clachan and the Square

The Clachan Inn sits on the square with a licence dating to 1734, first held by Mistress Gow, one of Rob Roy MacGregor's sisters. Inside, a movable carved wooden plate in the original fireplace hides a salt larder, and a row of pews from the old United Free Church lines one wall. Gordon and Elaine Strang run it now, and the kitchen turns out Cullen skink, haggis bon bons with a whisky cream sauce, beer-battered haddock, a Malaysian lamb casserole and an Aberdeen Angus Scotch beef roast on Sundays. The wood-burning stove warms people and dogs alike.

The square itself is community-owned, and its flagpole was a coronation gift in 1953 from Sir Maurice Denny, the Dumbarton shipbuilder. The square is at the heart of the village, with shops, pubs and services nearby.

Fireside Inns and Hotel Dining

A few doors along, the Drymen Inn occupies what was once the Oddfellows Hall. Stuart and Jennifer Burch have run it since 2015, and the menu leans on Highland produce: a gateau of haggis, neeps and tatties in a peppercorn-brandy sauce; a grilled venison and caramelised-onion burger; a fillet of beef Highlander; a slow-roasted Scottish lamb shank. Dogs get an allocated spot by the fireplace, where Jennifer photographs the visitors and has been known to hand out extra sausages.

The Winnock Hotel's Ptarmigan Bar, also on the square, keeps a log fire, a long list of malts and a homemade steak pie that regulars order without looking at the menu. For something more formal, the Buchanan Arms — once the village post house — does roast rib of Scottish beef and an afternoon tea of finger sandwiches, scones and home-baked sweets.

Village Provisions and Walking Routes

Drymen Bakery, at 1 Stirling Road, runs to fresh bread, cakes, homemade soup and takeaway sandwiches. The building was a shoemaker's from about 1887, then a draper, a post office and a police station, before David Mackie made it a bakery and deli in 2021. David MacDonald's butcher shop on the square sells dry-aged beef, pies and cooked meats. Skoosh does teas and takeaways on Main Street, and Conic Crafts, a few doors down, sells work by local makers, all of it made in Scotland.

Drymen is well placed for walking. The Rob Roy Way starts in the square and runs seventy-nine miles to Pitlochry, and the West Highland Way skirts the village; many walkers stop in Drymen. A popular day out is Conic Hill: buses reach Balmaha on the lochside, and you walk the seven miles back over the 361-metre summit, which looks straight down the chain of islands marking the Highland Boundary Fault across southern Loch Lomond. A gentler alternative follows Wilkies Path to Balmaha through the Buchanan Castle Estate, past the ruined castle and the Loch Lomond Stud.

Crossings, Markets and Connections

The village grew on a south-facing ridge above the lowest fording point of the Endrick Water; the five-arched Drymen Bridge replaced the ferry in 1765. For centuries this was a droving and market centre, its annual auction fair moved to the square in 1850, and livestock was later banned there in 1932. Eric Liddell's family stayed nearby at Ashbank while on furlough from missionary work in China from around 1908.

The nearest station is Balloch, eight miles off, with McColl's 309 bus running in from Alexandria and Balloch; the village sits just off the A811, with the B837 heading east towards Balmaha and the loch.

The Short View West

Opposite the Buchanan Arms, a short path climbs to a viewpoint looking west over Loch Lomond and its islands to Conic Hill and Ben Lomond. It is about five hundred metres each way on pavement, needs no special footwear, and makes a short pre-dinner outing.