Aberfoyle, Stirling

Aberfoyle is a village in the historic county and registration county of Perthshire and the council area of Stirling, Scotland. The settlement lies northwest of Glasgow.GeographyThe town is situated on the River Forth at the foot of Craigmore (387 metres high). Since 1885, when the Duke of Montrose constructed a road over the eastern shoulder of Craigmore to join the older road at the entrance of the Trossachs pass, Aberfoyle has become the alternative route to the Trossachs and Loch Katrine; this road, known as the Duke's Road or Duke's Pass, was opened to the public in 1931 when the Forestry Commission acquired the land.Loch Ard, about 2mi west of Aberfoyle, lies 40 metres above the sea. It is 3mi long (including the narrows at the east end) and one mile (1½ km) broad. Towards the west end is Eilean Gorm (the green isle), and near the north-western shore are the falls of Ledard. The loch's northern shores are dominated by the mountain ridge of Beinn an Fhogharaidh (616 m). Two miles northwest of Loch Ard is Loch Chon, at 90m above the sea, 1+1/4mi long, and about half a mile broad. It drains by the Avon Dhu to Loch Ard, which is drained in turn by the Forth.