Firkin Point, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, Scotland
Our drive south through Scotland took us past Loch Lomond, Britain’s largest by surface area and second largest by volume (only behind Loch Ness). Loch Lomond forms a major part of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, Scotland’s first national park, established in the surprisingly recent year of 2002. It is easy to see why Scotland wanted to preserve the beauty of the loch (lake) and the munros (mountains). This area is sparsely populated, and protecting it helps keep it accessible to all visitors.
We stopped at Firkin Point. This part of the park has a much-needed restroom (which can be at a premium when driving in rural Scotland), a large car park, and a beach on the lake. On the Thursday evening we stopped, quite a few people were there, many day-trippers from nearby Glasgow. Most of the tourists in the park during our visit were from the Middle East, and people spoke Arabic and English. It was also interesting to see a modesty tent where women could change into full-body bathing attire. The picnic food of choice was lamb kebabs and other Mediterranean or Middle Eastern dishes. Except for the packed food and swimwear, the scene looked like any other park with a beautiful beach.
I hate that we couldn’t stay longer, but I didn’t want to impose on anyone’s picnic, and we were all starting to get a little hungry. Loch Lomond is a beautiful lake and even has its own legendary monster similar to Nessie. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed our quick stop and hope to further explore this National Park on a future trip to Scotland.
