Stand Up Paddleboarding on Loch Lomond – Aldochlay

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Aldochlay is a location that has been on my radar for a paddleboarding session for a while now. It is located on a more sheltered section of the shore of Loch Lomond. This spot has the benefit of easy access to many of the islands. We had the luck of a morning off and a perfect forecast and again Loch Lomond didn’t disappoint.

The Main Points

• Location – Aldochlay, Loch Lomond, Scotland
• Cost – Free access with minimal parking by the waters edge  
• Conditions – Freshwater Loch
• Other users – Some other paddle boarders and canoeists
• Entry Point – Pebbly beach
• Surrounding amenities/Bathrooms- Town of Luss to the north has cafes and shops and bathroom facilities

Location

Weather

A Wee Blether

Aldochlay is such a fantastic spot and on a great day is stand up paddleboarding perfection. Loch Lomond has 23 islands and this is one of the best places to access many of them. You can even island hop over to Balmaha on the eastern shore. On this paddle session we paddled out to Inchtavannach which is a large island and closest to the shore. We had a great time playing with the drone and our new GoPro Hero 9, Telesin Dome, Telesin Tripod/Selfie Stick and GoPro Bite mount that we ran out of time to explore the other islands as the wind had sprung up making paddling pretty difficult. I will review these paddleboarding accessories in future posts.  Click any of the images to find out more information and for up to date prices.

These attachments can also be gotten for earlier GoPro Hero models

Other new equipment we used for the first time on this paddle is our PFD’s.  Not being from Scotland, we hadn’t realised on previous paddles that there are actually bylaws for Loch Lomond which state that paddlers are required to wear PFD’s/Lifejackets  when out on Loch Lomond. It’s a bit of a trap for those unfamiliar with the area as I am yet to see any signs around the Loch that inform people of this – that’s not to say they are not there however!!  I have also heard that people without them have been fined.

Paddleboarding Aldochlay on Loch Lomond

Aldochlay is a very popular paddleboarding location for Loch Lomond.  As mentioned above there is very limited parking and if you arrive when the parking is full the next best location to go from is Luss which is not far up the shore. There is plenty more parking at Luss, it has bathroom facilities and is also quite a lot more busy as it is one of the main stopping off places for tourist buses visiting Loch Lomond.  It is worth mentioning that Loch Lomond is a very beautiful and popular place to go, especially on a sunny summer weekend.  For this reason paddlers should be hyper aware of all other craft around them at all times.  There are many boats and ferries crossing the Loch which are best given a wide berth. 

Ideally it is better to arrive earlier in the morning. At this time the wind is usually a lot calmer and makes for better paddling conditions.

For more places to Stand Up Paddleboard around Loch Lomond see our posts here

 

Thanks for joining us for our exploration of Loch Lomond. I hope you have found the information useful and that it enhances your paddleboarding experience.

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