A £1.5 million cycle route is to be constructed to open up the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park to locals and tourists.
The funding will enable Sustrans Scotland to work with the National Park and Forestry Commission Scotland to construct a 3.5km cycle path from Strathyre to Kingshouse.
Transport minister Keith Brown visited Strathyre Village Hall to announce £750,000 of Scottish Government money for the project, which will be match-funded by the park.
The existing cycle route through the national park is largely traffic-free, following disused railway lines and forest roads. The exception is the stretch between Strathyre and Kingshouse, where a traffic-free route was not possible when the route was constructed.
Since 2008 the project partners aided by the Strathyre Village Association have been working to develop a project to construct a new traffic-free cycle route linking the two villages.
Fiona Logan, CEO of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, said the new route would be important to the community and to tourism.
“The route now provides a community link with safe cycling access for local children and other activities,” she said.
“This new link now paves the way for further economic investment with potential new campsites and local businesses providing recreation facilities.
“The national park is committed to developing tourism infrastructure and we’re delighted to see such positive action being taken.”
Sustrans Scotland said the new route would provide local people with an excellent off-road facility to use on a daily basis, rather than using the busy trunk road.
“We envisage that it will also prove popular with tourists from both home and abroad, especially given that this is such a scenic part of Scotland,” said national director John Lauder.
Mr Brown said: “The Scottish Government is committed to investing in cycling infrastructure, training and road safety projects through active partnerships with charities such as Sustrans to make Scotland a more active and healthy nation and increase the numbers of people choosing to cycle each day.”