Balloch Castle Country Park sits where Loch Lomond narrows into the River Leven, and the circuit round it is 3.5km on tarmac and firm path with 60m of climbing — flat enough for a pushchair, short enough for an hour, and the only walk here that works equally well in December drizzle.
The route takes in the walled garden, the loch shore, and the nineteenth-century castle itself, which is a Georgian country house rather than a fortification and is currently not open inside. What it does have is a lawn sloping to the water with a clear view north up the loch, and enough space that it never feels busy even when the car park is.
Balloch has a railway station with direct trains from Glasgow, which makes this the one walk in the catchment that needs no car at all.
