A CANADIAN tourist has revealed her dismay after walking eight miles only to be left stranded on the banks of Loch Rannoch overnight as a result of a ScotRail replacement bus blunder.

Johanne Landry, 31, and her friend Karine Pitre, 33, both from Montreal, were at the end of a two-week holiday in Scotland when they headed to Corrour railway station, on the West Highland Line, on June 26 to begin their journey back to Glasgow.

The friends, who had been walking the West Highland Way during their first ever trip to Scotland, had contacted ScotRail customer service on the Friday beforehand and were told that, due to the ongoing conductors' strike, there would be no trains running from Corrour.

READ MORE: ScotRail workers to launch fresh strikes in driver-only train row

Ms Landry said she was told that a replacement bus would be laid on instead.

However, when the pair arrived at Corrour station at around 4pm on Sunday they discovered that there was in fact no road access for vehicles and, after contacting ScotRail again, were told that the nearest station running transport back to Glasgow was in Rannoch.

The backpackers felt "abandoned with no food and nowhere to stay", said Ms Landry, but set off on foot on the eight mile (12km) journey to Rannoch.

However, by the time they arrived - at around midnight - they were too late for the last service, and were forced to camp for the night instead.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon calls for 'meaningful discussions' to end rail strike

Ms Landry said: "They told me on the phone that if I wanted to get [a bus], I would have to walk to Rannoch - that was the nearest station. But by the time we got there, it was too late.

"We didn't realise it was so far.

"Fortunately a lady walking her dog saw us and gave us some food to eat.

"We walked on a little further to Loch Rannoch and camped out under a tree. We had a tent but that night it was very cold and everything we had was soaking wet.

"I am very unhappy about the experience. It's very bad customer service.

"At first I couldn't believe it, I thought 'it's not possible - they're not just going to leave us here, are they?'. I thought they would send a bus or something. It was quite scary, because we didn't really know where we were going.

"I was disappointed [with ScotRail], but the good bit is that the Scottish people were very nice."

The friends, who are both Chinese medicine and acupuncture practitioners, caught a bus to Glasgow at around 11am on Monday, in time for their flight home to Canada later that day.

The incident runs counter to operator Abellio's promise to "enhance the tourist experience" when it took over ScotRail last year, and comes amid ongoing industrial action by conductors in a dispute over safety.

Further 24-hour strikes are planned for July 3, 10, 11, 14, 16 and 17, with overtime bans also in place.

READ MORE: ScotRail workers to launch fresh strikes in driver-only train row

A spokesman for ScotRail said: “When trains aren’t running, we try our best to provide alternative transport for customers in remote locations – however this isn’t always possible at every station.

"On this occasion, the customer was given incorrect information about her journey options and we are sorry this happened.

"We’ve taken her feedback into account and made arrangements with the Station House Restaurant at Corrour to enable taxis to be permitted to pass through a locked gate on the estate which allows them to get much nearer to the station. This should help prevent this issue happening in the future.

"We would urge the customer to get in touch so we can consider how we may assist her.”