Loch Lomond Christmas and Hogmanay 2026
Festive events, opening and trains, 2026/27
Loch Lomond at Christmas 2026: a free festival at the Shores on 5 and 6 December, Santa sailings on Loch Katrine and booked Hogmanay nights. No trains run on 25 December or 1 January.
- Shores festival, free
- 5–6 Dec
- Trains on 25 Dec and 1 Jan
- None
- Daylight on 21 December
- ~7 h
- Loch Katrine New Year cruises
- 1–2 Jan
Christmas at Loch Lomond in 2026: the short version
Go if you want a quiet loch, a market day out from Glasgow or a Santa trip with under-12s. Skip it if you want a public street party with fireworks, or you will travel without a car on Christmas Day or New Year's Day.
Best day out: the free Loch Lomond Christmas Festival at Loch Lomond Shores in Balloch, Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December, 10am to 5pm. It has market stalls, winter street food, a Lomond Radio stage and children's rides. You do not need a ticket; the registration form only helps the organisers count heads.
One day with children: take the train to Balloch on Saturday 5 December, do the festival in the morning, then book a Santa slot at SEA LIFE on the same site if 5 December is on its list. Book Sail with Santa on Loch Katrine before anything else: it runs on six weekend days only, 5 to 20 December. Loch Katrine cruises covers the pier and parking.
Christmas Day: book lunch where you sleep. No trains or coaches run. The only public Christmas Day lunch we found published at the loch is at the Loch Lomond Arms in Luss (£100 an adult). Cameron House sells Christmas Day dining only inside a three-night stay, and the Oak Tree Inn and Loch Katrine are closed.
Hogmanay: the cheapest night out is Hogmanay at the Arms in Luss, £45 an adult. The Oak Tree Inn in Balmaha takes non-residents for dinner, with live music from 21:30 to the bells. We could not confirm any public fireworks or street party at the loch; the resort displays are for guests. For crowds, go to Edinburgh.
Last checked on 2 November 2026. Some festive times were not out yet; they are listed under the calendar, with the date to recheck.
Winter around the loch
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Festive calendar 2026/27
In date order: November and December markets, festive menus and Santa trips, then Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, then Hogmanay and 1 to 2 January. Every date and price comes from the organiser's own page or booking shop, read on 2 November 2026. Prices are per person unless stated.
| Date | What | Where | Cost | Booking | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 25 Nov, Wed 2 Dec, Sun 13 Dec | Spirit of Christmas: one hour on the steamship Sir Walter Scott with mulled wine, mince pies and carols. Departs 1pm (25 November also 11.30am). | Trossachs Pier, Loch Katrine | Adult £20, child 5–13 £19, under-5 £1; family of four £65 | Loch Katrine online shop | Open in maps |
| Sat 28 – Sun 29 Nov | Cameron House Christmas Market: stalls from local makers, 11am to 5pm, hot drink on arrival. | Loch Lomond Suite, Cameron House; see a day at Cameron House | £5, under-3s free | Online at cameronhouse.co.uk | Open in maps |
| 1–30 Dec, most days | Festive lunch menus open to anyone: the Oak Tree Inn every day 1 to 30 December except Christmas Day; the Lodge on Loch Lomond 1 to 23 December, noon to 4pm and 5.30pm to 9pm; Duck Bay from noon. | Oak Tree Inn, Balmaha; Lodge on Loch Lomond, Luss; Duck Bay, north of Balloch on the A82 | Oak Tree £25 for two courses, £30 for three; Lodge £37.95; Duck Bay £31.95 for two, £39.95 for three | Oak Tree 01360 870357; Lodge 01436 860119; Duck Bay 01389 751234 | Open in maps |
| Sat 5 – Sun 6 Dec | Loch Lomond Christmas Festival: market, street food, live stage, children's rides, 10am to 5pm. | Loch Lomond Shores, Balloch | Free. Car park £4 all day | No ticket needed | Open in maps |
| Sat–Sun 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20 Dec | Sail with Santa: one-hour sail on the Lady of the Lake at 10.15am, 11.30am, 12.45pm or 2pm, then a festive buffet, Santa and a gift. | Trossachs Pier, Loch Katrine | Adult £20, child 5–13 £15, under-5 £5 | Loch Katrine online shop | |
| Selected dates from 5 Dec | Santa at SEA LIFE: grotto visit with a gift for every child, plus the aquarium for an hour before your Santa slot. | SEA LIFE Loch Lomond, at the Shores | Child £25.95 including admission (early bird £19.95); adult admission £14.50 (early bird £12.50) | Pre-booking essential on the SEA LIFE site | |
| Sat 12, Sat 19, Sun 20 Dec | Afternoon Tea with Santa: festive afternoon tea, a visit to Santa at each table, then dancing and games, 12.30pm to 3pm. | Lodge on Loch Lomond, Luss | £27.95 (age 3 and over), under-3s £12.95 | Lodge on Loch Lomond, 01436 860119; non-refundable | Open in maps |
| Thu 24 Dec, evening | Christmas at Candlelight: a string quartet by candlelight in Luss Parish Church. | Luss village | £40 | Tickets on Eventbrite, linked from the Loch Lomond Arms page | Open in maps |
| Thu 24 – Sun 27 Dec, three nights | Christmas at Cameron House: breakfast each day, the resort's festive programme and one Christmas Day meal in the Cameron Grill, La Vista or The Clubhouse. | Cameron House | From £1,720 per room for two adults, three nights | Online or 01389 312 210; non-refundable | Open in maps |
| Fri 25 Dec | Christmas Day lunch in the Stag & Two Hounds, the Loch Lomond Arms' village pub. The only public Christmas Day lunch we found published at the loch. | Loch Lomond Arms, Main Road, Luss G83 8NY | Adult £100, child £50 | Phone 01436 860420 | Open in maps |
| Thu 31 Dec, 8pm–1am | Hogmanay at the Arms: ceilidh band and DJ, stovies at 10pm, a piper at midnight. | Loch Lomond Arms, Luss | Adult £45, under-12 £30: the cheapest Hogmanay night we found | Email enquiries@lochlomondarms.com | |
| Thu 31 Dec, evening | Hogmanay at the Oak Tree Inn: dinner open to non-residents, live entertainment in the main building from 21:30 through the bells. | Oak Tree Inn, Balmaha | Dinner price not published; rooms from £310 a night B&B | Phone 01360 870357 or the inn's enquiry form | Open in maps |
| Thu 31 Dec, gala | Hogmanay Gala Dinner: Champagne and canapés, four courses, Champagne at midnight, then a ceilidh and disco. | Lodge on Loch Lomond, Luss | £179 | Phone 01436 860119 | |
| Thu 31 Dec, two nights | New Year at Cameron House: the Hoolie, the adults-only Gathering of the Clans or La Vista, with fireworks in the Hogmanay programme. | Cameron House | Per room for two adults, two nights with breakfast: from £1,340 (La Vista) or £1,460 (Gathering of the Clans) | Online or 01389 312 210; non-refundable | |
| Fri 1 – Sat 2 Jan | New Year Celebration Cruises: one hour on the Sir Walter Scott at 11:00, 12:30 or 14:00, with the Ian Muir Band and a dram or prosecco. | Trossachs Pier, Loch Katrine | Adult £25, child 5–13 £19, under-5 £5.99, dog £2 | Loch Katrine online shop; drive, as nothing runs on 1 January |
Checked and not running: the Tarbet Hotel is closed for the winter until March 2027; the Oak Tree Inn is closed on Christmas Day; the Lodge on Loch Lomond lists no Christmas Day lunch. Not published on 2 November 2026, so recheck from 20 November: ScotRail's last trains on 24 and 31 December and its Boxing Day timetable, which go on ScotRail's 'Christmas and New Year train times' page on scotrail.co.uk (last year its final reminder came on 30 December, so check again the week before); McColl's festive times for the 305 to Luss and 309 to Balmaha (it posted last year's notice on 19 November); the Shores festival line-up; SEA LIFE's Santa dates and its hours on 24 to 26 December and 1 January; the price of the Hoolie at Cameron House; and the date of the free Luss Christmas Fair, which the Loch Lomond Arms lists with a weekday that does not fit 2026.
Christmas Eve to 2 January: what runs and what to do
Christmas Eve, Thursday 24 December
Trains run, but ScotRail's last ones leave earlier than normal. Citylink's 976 Glasgow to Oban coach (stops at Balloch, Luss and Tarbet) and the 914, 915 and 916 to Fort William and Skye run a normal service. Loch Katrine's boats do not sail. Arrive in daylight; the sun sets before 15:50. Trains and coaches to the loch has the everyday routes.
Christmas Day, Friday 25 December
No trains and no Citylink coaches, and Loch Katrine and the Oak Tree Inn are closed. Eat where you sleep, or drive to a booked lunch. For a walk, the paths of Balloch Castle Country Park are open 24 hours and start opposite Balloch bus station. Luss Caravan and Camp Site closes to touring pitches from 24 to 26 December.
Boxing Day, Saturday 26 December
Loch Katrine's winter timetable lists no closure today, so its 45-minute sailings should leave Trossachs Pier on the hour from 10:00 to 15:00; phone 01877 376315 to confirm. Citylink runs a special timetable on both A82 routes; ScotRail's plan was not out on 2 November. Near Callander, the short walk to Bracklinn Falls is about half a mile each way.
27 to 30 December
Citylink runs normally and this is the quietest stretch by the loch. Sweeney's sails from Balloch when there is demand. For a longer walk, the Lochan Spling trail in Loch Ard Forest near Aberfoyle is 4.2 km and takes about an hour and a half; start by 10am to finish in good light.
Hogmanay, Thursday 31 December
ScotRail's last trains leave earlier than normal, so you may not get back to Balloch after the bells; the times were not out on 2 November. Loch Katrine is closed. Book a bed where you see the New Year in.
New Year's Day, Friday 1 January
No trains and no Citylink coaches. The Loch Katrine New Year cruises sail at 11:00, 12:30 and 14:00, so drive or book a taxi.
Saturday 2 January
Citylink runs a special timetable. Last year ScotRail ran a revised service on 2 January with later first trains, so check before you set off. Loch Katrine has its second day of New Year cruises.
Three things to sort before you book
- A table for 25 December, booked with the room. Most kitchens by the loch are closed that day or serve residents only.
- A bed for 31 December where you see the New Year in. Last trains leave early and nothing runs on 1 January.
- The A82 and the A83 on Traffic Scotland the night before you drive. The A83 Rest and Be Thankful has its own live line.
Hogmanay, parking, roads and winter closures
The practical details that event listings leave out, one topic at a time.
- Hogmanay by the lochBook a table, not a street. Every Hogmanay night at the loch is a booked hotel or pub event; the calendar lists the four we found, from £45 at the Arms to £179 at the Lodge. Fireworks are for guests: Cameron House lists them in its New Year programme, and Loch Lomond Waterfront's festive page says it sets off a display at midnight for its lodge guests in Balmaha. We found no Hogmanay event in Callander for 2026, so ask your hotel what it runs.
- Hogmanay in Edinburgh insteadEdinburgh's Torchlight Procession is on 29 December (18:30), and the Street Party and Hogmanay in the Gardens start at 20:00 on 31 December, with fireworks at midnight. Tickets are on edwinterfest.com. Book a bed in the city for that night.
- Parking and free daysThe Shores car park is paid by number-plate camera: £4 all day. On 5 and 6 December the train to Balloch is easier; the Shores are a short walk from the station. Stirling Council car parks, including Balmaha and Callander, are free on 25 and 26 December and 1 and 2 January (Balmaha parking). Argyll and Bute Council lists free parking for the two weeks before Christmas, which covers Luss (Luss parking).
- Roads, rain and grittingBEAR Scotland grits the A82 and the A83 for Transport Scotland, and Traffic Scotland's gritter tracker shows which roads were treated recently. December is one of the wettest months (Glasgow averages 118 mm), and after long wet spells the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful can close for landslips, with traffic sent along the Old Military Road in convoy; road status has the live line. Three Lochs Forest Drive is shut to cars until spring.
- Daylight and Ben LomondAt Balloch the sun is up from 08:48 to 15:45 on 21 December and sets at 15:54 on New Year's Day; civil twilight adds about 45 minutes. The National Trust for Scotland says the Ptarmigan route in ice and snow is only for people with, and used to, crampons and an ice axe. Read the Ben Lomond route and start at first light. Weather by month has the rain and cold; long nights also help the northern lights.
- What closes for winterThe Loch Lomond Bird of Prey Centre is closed from early November to early February, and the Tarbet Hotel until March 2027. The main cruise season ended on 1 November; Sweeney's keeps a reduced winter timetable, and Loch Katrine sails daily 45-minute trips all winter except on 24, 25 and 31 December (loch cruises compared). Rowardennan's toilets open Easter to October only; Balloch Castle's open 9am to 2:30pm in winter.
Where to base yourself over Christmas
Without a car, stay in Balloch: it has the station, the Shores festival and SEA LIFE on foot, and Balloch hotels and B&Bs are compared on their own page. For a couple's Christmas, Luss puts the candlelit concert, Christmas Day lunch and Hogmanay at the Arms within a short walk; see places to stay in Luss. For Hogmanay on the quieter east shore, Balmaha has the Oak Tree Inn, with rooms from £310 a night that evening. With under-12s and a car, Balloch still works best, about 35 minutes from Glasgow.
Festive breaks sell whole periods, not single nights. Cameron House sells Christmas as three nights from 24 December and New Year as two nights from 31 December. The Loch Lomond Arms, with 15 rooms, sells three nights from 24 December, three from 27 December and two for Hogmanay, with prices on request. The Lodge on Loch Lomond sells a Hogmanay package from 31 December. Where to base yourself compares the rest of the loch.
Rooms for the festive dates
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Prices and free rooms change daily, so check them for your dates.
Check hotels in Loch Lomond on Booking.com Compare bases around the lochQuestions people ask
Is Loch Lomond a good place to go for Christmas in Scotland?
Yes for a quiet break with walks, a market weekend and Santa trips, about 35 minutes by car from Glasgow. No for city lights or a big public Hogmanay: Edinburgh does that. Families do best from Balloch, couples from Luss.
What events are happening at Loch Lomond in 2026 at Christmas?
The Cameron House Christmas Market (28 and 29 November), the free Christmas Festival at Loch Lomond Shores (5 and 6 December), Sail with Santa on Loch Katrine (December weekends from the 5th), Santa at SEA LIFE, the Christmas Eve concert in Luss, Hogmanay at the Loch Lomond Arms and New Year cruises on Loch Katrine on 1 and 2 January. For the rest of the year, see the year's races and festivals.
Which is the prettiest town in Loch Lomond to stay in at Christmas?
Luss, for a couple: a small shore village with the Christmas Eve concert in its church and Hogmanay at the inn. Choose Balloch instead if you come by train or bring children.
What are the best Christmas packages at Loch Lomond?
We do not rank them. Compare what each includes: Cameron House's New Year stay starts at £1,340 per room for two nights with breakfast and one Hogmanay dinner, and is non-refundable; the Loch Lomond Arms quotes its breaks on request. Ask whether Christmas Day lunch is included and how you will travel on 25 December.
Where can I have Christmas dinner at Loch Lomond?
The only public Christmas Day lunch we found published is in the Stag & Two Hounds at the Loch Lomond Arms in Luss: £100 an adult, £50 a child, booked on 01436 860420. Cameron House serves Christmas Day dining only as part of its three-night stay, from £1,720 a room. The Oak Tree Inn is closed on 25 December, the Lodge on Loch Lomond lists no Christmas Day lunch and the Tarbet Hotel is shut for winter.
Do trains run to Balloch on Christmas Day or Boxing Day?
Not on Christmas Day, nor on New Year's Day. ScotRail had not published its Boxing Day timetable or its last trains for 24 and 31 December on 2 November; they will go on its 'Christmas and New Year train times' page on scotrail.co.uk.
Is there a Hogmanay party or fireworks at Loch Lomond?
Not a public one that we could confirm for 2026. Hogmanay here is a booked night: the Loch Lomond Arms in Luss (£45), dinner at the Oak Tree Inn in Balmaha, the Lodge on Loch Lomond gala (£179) or a New Year stay at Cameron House. Cameron House and Loch Lomond Waterfront put on fireworks for their own guests.
Do the Loch Lomond cruises run at Christmas?
Sweeney's at Balloch sails all year on a reduced winter timetable that depends on demand, so check on the day. Loch Katrine sails daily all winter, except on 24, 25 and 31 December, and adds Santa sailings on December weekends and New Year cruises on 1 and 2 January.
Can you climb Ben Lomond in December?
Yes, if you are equipped for winter and start at first light, since there are only about seven hours of daylight. In ice and snow the Ptarmigan route needs crampons and an ice axe.
Related
- BallochLoch Lomond ShoresHome of the December Christmas festival and SEA LIFE.
- TrossachsLoch KatrineSanta sailings and New Year cruises from Trossachs Pier.
- West shoreLussThe candlelit church concert and Hogmanay at the Arms.
- All yearEvents by monthRaces, Highland games and festivals outside the festive season.
- PlanningWeather and seasonsCloud, rain and daylight by month.