Scotland's "Greenlanes"

Hi folks,

I thought it would be a good idea to try to compile a list of roads/tracks in Scotland, which you are legally allowed to drive on, but are reasonably rugged and interesting. Obviously there are no actual greenlanes here, but I've been doing some exploring and found a couple of good spots, and I'm sure others on this site will have done the same.

I'd like to keep the list as specific as possible (eg individual routes, and not just areas), and obviously strictly legal and responsible. Of course there are a lot of nice single track roads here, so I'd like to stick with the particularly good ones. If this works I'll keep an updated list of tracks in this post, with details through the thread.

• Galloway Forest Park - northern tracks
• Killin/Glen Lyon/Ben Lawyers - single track loop

Galloway Forest Park
Galloway Forest Park includes a network of dirt roads run by the Forestry Commission, that you are allowed (and encouraged) to drive on. They advertise the Raider's Road in the centre of the park, which I found dull, but there is a much bigger section of tracks in the north of the park, just south of the village of Straiton. These are not well signposted, but they are open to the public, and include a couple of car park areas. The tracks are extensive enough that you could spend most of a day there, and they include some interesting and narrow offshoots, but they definitely aren't challenging, and all but one small section I came to would probably be doable in a crossover-type vehicle. But they are fun to explore, and you can get right down to the edge of a couple of small lochs.

Killin/Glen Lyon/Ben Lawyers Loop
This is a great single track road loop in central Scotland, around Glen Lyon. You can start in the village of Killin, and turn left onto the track as you leave the village going North, then follow the track right round the glen to the Bridge of Balgie. This has some paved offshoots to hydroelectric facilities which are interesting, and one section of it is gated (owned by Stirlingshire council, it says something along the lines of "ensure you close the gates or this road will be closed"). The gated section is in very poor condition, with lots of big pot-holes and some sections where the tarmac has basically disintegrated. Once you get to the Bridge of Balgie you can close the loop by driving down the Ben Lawyer's road, which is a single track road in reasonable condition, through some brilliant scenery. As with the Galloway Forest Park track, this one doesn't require 4WD, but I was definitely grateful for high clearance and decent tyres in the gated section, and I did actually engage 4WD on a steep scrabbly section.

I want to give these a try this year - thanks for sharing. I’m based in Edinburgh and recently purchased a 07 Jimny and I’m keen to do some Green Laning and mild off-roading.

Let me know if you come across any other cool places in Scotland. I imagine there must be quite a few. I am looking at doing the Owners 4x4 BYO School at the Scottish off-road driving centre in Perth. www.scotoffroad.co.uk/recreational

No problem! I was hoping this thread would take off but sadly there haven't been any other contributions. In the meantime I've explored a fair bit of Argyll which has been good, but nothing you couldn't manage in a hatchback. Let me know if you find anywhere interesting! I'd highly recommend heading to Drumclog btw, especially if you can find someone to go along with.

My sister kindly got me a voucher for Drumclog for a 4x4 day pass for xmas. It needs used up before the 6 months are up, so I will defo be up for a trip there before June if anyone wants to tagalong