Tour # 9.
Stirling - Dumbarton.
60 km.
Approx. total hill climb: 150 meters.
Highest point: The hill 4 km. after Bucklyvie 100 meters above sea level.
Traffic: Busy
Severity Rating: *
Fun rating: **
How to get to Stirling: Train from Aberdeen, Perth, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The scenery along this route is impressive, but that is all there is to this cycle trip. A good spring tour or late autumn tour. The road is dead flat, with some small climbs through Bucklyvie and before Balloch.
Follow A 811 just under Stirling Castle towards Balloch. The road is dead flat for the first 20 kilometres. It starts to climb a bit before Bucklyvie (shops) and it continues to climb for the best part of 10 kilometres. But the climb is very gentle and is normally taken in heavy gears. The view across the valley towards Ben Lomond and the Trossachs are fantastic. The road climbs slowly up to a small hill (the highest point on this trip) before it drops down to the crossroad between Balloch, Aberfoyle and Glasgow. Take the road down past Drymen (shops) and over the hill to Balloch. The hill over to Balloch is on this side very steep and brutal over half a kilometre. Down in Balloch, take the first road to the left through Jamestown and Bonhill, past the Ballantines distillery and down to Dumbarton.
Train back to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling four times an hour.