Drymen, which means ‘On the ridge’, is located to the west of the Campsie Fells hills and hosts spectacular views of Dumgoyne to the east and is just a short way from Loch Lomond to the west. It is an attractive village with a lovely village square at its centre.
Drymen is ideally situated for those wishing to explore Scotland, with Stirling located 20 miles to the east and Glasgow only 20 miles to the south east. The Queen Elizabeth Forest reaches down to the village edge, and the whole area is part of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.
Drymen is a village with a rich history. It was first established as a settlement due to its location, near the lowest point at which the Endrick Water could be bridged. To this day, the remains of a medieval motte can be observed near the modern bridge crossing the river. The ruins of Buchanan Castle can be found here, this was a stronghold of the Grahams of Montrose and dates back to the 17th Century. It is rumoured that it was from Drymen that Rob Roy MacGregor carried out his daring exploits against the Duke of Montrose.
The village has two pubs and a walker’s shop. The Clachan Inn is one of the oldest pubs in Scotland, dating back to the 1700’s. Drymen Parish Church was erected in 1771 and lies on the south side of the village.
The Forest Scotland project ‘Cashel’ is also based in Drymen. This is one of 77 Millenium Forest Scotland projects that promotes the preservation and regeneration of Scotland’s native woods for public benefit.
Drymen is a small village but boasts 2 of the areas best hotels – The Winnock Hotel and The Buchanan Arms Hotel. Both are completely different in character the Winnock being the older of the two. They both offer quality food and accommodation and are a great venue for a wedding, special occasion or even for business uses such as conferences.
The Winnock Hotel has a regular Sunday night Ceilidh throughout the Summer and regular Murder Mystery Nights. The Buchannan Arms boasts a swimming pool and fully equipped gymnasium.
Drymen is extremely popular with tourists, with many hikers stopping over on the West Highland Way which passes through the Village and also the Rob Roy Way starts in Drymen and finishes at Pitlochry 77 miles away. There are a number of bed and breakfasts in The Village and also a Hostel called Kip in The Kirk which you can guess, is a converted church. Because of the two long distance walks accommodation can be booked up so it is advisable to book well ahead if you are planning to do one of the walks.
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