A weekend in Callander, Scotland

If you have been reading my latest blog posts, you will notice that they are day trips to different locations in Scotland. However, this one is not a day trip but a weekend trip, specifically a weekend in Callander. The Photographic Society of the University of Edinburgh organises each semester a weekend trip for its members, but since most students have a low budget, it had to be a destination where cheap accommodation was available as well as cheap transportation. Callander, a small town on the edge of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park satisfied all the above.

Getting there

Getting to Callander with public transport may be a bit tricky as you need both a train and a bus, but it is still quicker to get there from Edinburgh than to other National Parks in Scotland. To get there you need to take a train to Stirling and then take bus 1 or 59 from there to get to Callander. Trains leave from both train stations in Edinburgh (Edinburgh Waverly and Haymarket) and the bus leaves from Stance D which is opposite Stirling train station. The bus stops at Callander town centre, just make sure to get off at the War Memorial stop. The total trip should take no more than two hours.

Note: If you want to spend a day extra in Stirling, then check out this blog post: A day trip to Stirling from Edinburgh.

Things to do

Callander mostly offers nature-based activities such as walking, cycling and fishing. For us, walking was our focus point and we decided to follow two walking tours (one per day) that would take us to Bracklinn Falls (the first one) and to Ben Guillipen (the second one). On day 1 we followed this walking route and on day 2 this one. Both routes offer fantastic views!

Weekend in Callander – Photo Diary

Day 1

Yellow Flowers in Callander — Starting our Day 1 walk to Bracklinn Falls. To our surprise, although it was already March, we found some snow there! Sony ILCE-5100

This is Bracklinn Falls Bridge. Sony ILCE-5100

My best attempt on taking a long exposure of Bracklinn Falls. I only brought with me my mini tripod and I was trying to balance in on the wet bridge handrail, so not ideal conditions… Sony ILCE-5100

Forest in Callander — The walk continued into the forest. Sony ILCE-5100

Callader Forest — We are officially walking on snow! Sony ILCE-5100

View over a river and some hills — All that walk into the forest let us in front of this beautiful view! Definitely, the highlight of our day! Sony ILCE-5100

View of the forest — On our way back to the town centre, having the forest we entered before on our side. Sony ILCE-5100

Day 2

Morning River View — It is a new day today and time to explore the other side of the town. Sony ILCE-5100

Route of day 2 walk — We followed a lovely route through the snowy forest. Sony ILCE-5100

Views of day 2 walk — The views started appearing before even reaching the highest point of our walk. Sony ILCE-5100

View of Callader day 2 walk — From one point onwards the route became a bit steeper and walking in the snow didn’t help. Sony ILCE-5100

View from Ben Gullipen — We made it to Ben Gullipen (414 m) and it is now time to enjoy this gorgeous view! Sony ILCE-5100

Unfortunately, during the return leg of our route, most of the snow had already started melting… Sony ILCE-5100

Views from Callander — We made it back to our accommodation. This is the view from the back yard of the Callander Hostel that we were staying. Sony ILCE-5100

Callander Town Centre — Bye Callander! Time to return back to Edinburgh! Should I mention that we barely feel our feet? Sony ILCE-5100

P.S. This was my first time staying in a hostel, and it wasn’t a terrible experience! Not sure if I will do it again though…

This Post Has 2 Comments

Clazz - An Orcadian Abroad 23 May 2020 Reply

Beautiful photos!! I’ve passed through Callander once and I’ve been meaning to go back, it seemed so charming and beautiful with the views of the mountains behind it. Also I love hostels, you should definitely give them a chance. 🙂
1. Elina Michaelidou 23 May 2020 Reply
  
  Callander indeed was very charming and only a breath away from the mountains!