Everything people ask us.

Stage 1 runs about 12 miles from the obelisk in Milngavie to Drymen, typically five to six hours of walking through Mugdock Country Park and the Blane Valley.

Yes. We sit just before the start of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Camping Management Zone, so no permit is needed to pitch with us.

Pre-booking online is recommended, especially for the pods. You can also pay camping fees from £14 per person when you arrive, subject to availability.

Ask at reception. Most baggage transfer providers on the West Highland Way already deliver to and collect from us, and we can sign you up on the spot.

Five, plus the End to End and the Badger Divide. The site is directly on the West Highland Way, where Stage 1 ends and Stage 2 begins. National Cycle Route 7 and Cycling UK’s Great North Trail both pass the gate on Gartness Road. The Rob Roy Way starts in Drymen Square, about a mile on, and the John Muir Way cycle route passes within about 600 metres. Most walkers going from Land’s End to John o’ Groats also cross Scotland on the West Highland Way, so they come past us too, and the Badger Divide gravel route from Glasgow to Inverness passes about a kilometre away, near Gartness.

Most walkers finish Stage 1 at Drymen, 12 miles from Milngavie. Drymen Camping is on Gartness Road directly on the Way, with pitches from £14 per adult and pods from £52. The village itself is two kilometres on and has pubs, a cafe, a deli and a Spar.

Yes. Drymen Camping sits on Gartness Road, directly on the West Highland Way and National Cycle Route 7, two kilometres from the centre of Drymen. It takes tents, small campervans and has five glamping pods.

About 7 miles, over Conic Hill. Most walkers carry on to Rowardennan, which makes Stage 2 roughly 14 miles and six to seven hours from Drymen.

The West Highland Way runs 96 miles (154km) from Milngavie to Fort William and is usually walked over seven stages, so seven to eight days. Stage 1 ends at Drymen.

Inside the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Camping Management Zones you do, from 1 March to 30 September, and the East Loch Lomond zone runs from roughly Drymen north to Rowardennan. Drymen Camping sits just before that boundary, so a booked pitch here needs no permit. Check the National Park’s published guidance for wherever you plan to stop after us.

Usually, yes. Camping fees can be paid on arrival from £14 per person, subject to availability. The pods book up well in advance though, and the site gets busy through the main walking season, so pre-booking is recommended.

We stock Colemans C300 Performance gas with a universal screw-top fitting at reception in Drymen, and it can be added to a booking in advance. Gas cannot travel in hand luggage, so it is a common problem for walkers flying into Glasgow before starting the Way.

Dogs are welcome on camping pitches at £1.50 per dog per night, on a lead and under control. They cannot stay in the pods, though assistance dogs are welcome throughout. Follow the National Park advice on dogs and livestock around Conic Hill, particularly during lambing.

Standard pitches are £14 per adult per night. Family pitches start at £33 per night. Kocoons are £52, Green Pods £60 and the LandPod starts at £80 per night. Toilets, hot showers, charging points and wi-fi are included in every price.

The 2027 season runs from Sunday 14 March, with the last night on Friday 8 October and last check-out on Saturday 9 October. We are closed outside those dates.

Dogs are welcome on pitches at £1.50 per dog per night, on a lead and under control at all times. Dogs cannot stay in the Kocoons, Green Pods or LandPod, though assistance dogs are welcome throughout.

No. We cannot take motorhomes or caravans anywhere on site. Small campervans are welcome on a family-sized pitch with pitch-side parking.

Check-in is from 2pm to 8pm during the summer months, or before sunset if that comes first. Check-out is 10am.

Yes. The Purple Pod is our reception and shop, stocking TentMeals dinners, noodle pots, soft drinks, crisps, tent repair kits, plasters, Colemans C300 gas and freshly ground Caffia coffee. Homemade pizza by Altquhur Byre is also available on site.

Yes. Homemade pizza made by Altquhur Byre, our neighbours on Gartness Road, is available at Drymen Camping: margherita, pepperoni, roasted vegetable, on a 5-hour fermented dough with homemade marinara sauce, with gluten-free and vegan options. Order it on site, or pre-order by calling, texting or WhatsApping Carolyn at Altquhur Byre on 07980 889790.

Yes. We stock Colemans C300 Performance gas with a universal screw-top fitting at reception, and you can add it to your booking in advance. Gas is not allowed in hand luggage and other stockists may be closed when you arrive, so we keep it on site.

Yes, for groups walking or cycling an established route such as the West Highland Way. Groups of seven or more adults must contact us before booking, using the group enquiry form or WhatsApp, rather than splitting into smaller bookings online. Army, scout and school groups may be offered a discounted rate depending on dates.

No. We do not take stag or hen parties, or groups of young adults who are not walking or cycling an established route. A group that arrives without our knowledge or agreement will be turned away.

Drymen village is about a mile on from us along the West Highland Way and has four places to eat and drink: The Clachan Inn and The Drymen Inn on the square, the Winnock Hotel, and the Buchanan Arms Hotel on the Stirling road. There is also a bakery and a Spar for supplies. On site there is homemade pizza by Altquhur Byre, and TentMeals dinners, noodle pots and freshly ground coffee from the Purple Pod shop.

There is drinking water on site, though no water or electric hook-up on the pitches themselves. Drymen village has a free Top Up Tap on the square, part of the Scottish Water refill network, about a mile on from us. The next one north is at Balmaha, roughly eight miles away, so fill up before you leave for Conic Hill.

Balmaha, about eight miles north of us over Conic Hill. There is a village shop, a cafe, a pub and a National Park visitor centre there, and it is the last easy resupply before Rowardennan. Between us and Balmaha there is nothing at all: Garadhban Forest and the Conic Hill crossing have no facilities.

Two kilometres, a little over a mile. The West Highland Way does not go through the village, it skirts around it, and we are on Gartness Road on the trail itself. The village is a short walk on from us for a meal or supplies, and you rejoin the Way where you left it.

Everything worth seeing here is on the West Highland Way, so you pass it on foot. Walking in from Milngavie you go through Mugdock Country Park, past Glengoyne Distillery and the Dumgoyach standing stones, then the Pots of Gartness a mile before us. Heading north you climb through Garadhban Forest and over the shoulder of Conic Hill, which gives the best view of the Loch Lomond islands on the whole route.

In Drymen Square, in the centre of Drymen village. Drymen Camping is about a mile from the start along the West Highland Way, so you can stay the night before and walk in to set off.

The cycle route comes close. Between Balloch and Strathblane the walking and cycling routes split: the cycle route runs along Gartness Road with the West Highland Way, about 600 metres from Drymen Camping, while the walking route crosses the Kilpatrick Hills, about three miles to the south.

Yes. Route 7 links Balloch with Aberfoyle through Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, and Drymen is one of the villages on it. It passes the gate of Drymen Camping on Gartness Road.

Yes. Part 6 of Cycling UK’s Great North Trail, Glasgow to Fort Augustus, comes north through Drymen before heading into Loch Ard Forest. The mapped route passes Drymen Camping on Gartness Road.

Most walking routes do. There is no single official path, but through Scotland walkers usually follow the West Highland Way north to Fort William, and the Way passes Drymen Camping on Gartness Road at the end of its first stage.