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Bowie & the Sponge

Bowie & the Sponge


Postby Fife Flyer » Mon May 16, 2022 7:47 pm

Sub 2000' hills included on this walk: Ben Bowie, The Fruin

Date walked: 14/05/2022

Time taken: 4.5 hours

Distance: 14 km

Ascent: 550m

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Another weekend adventure, unfortunately George was unavailable so I suggested to Parminder we take a break from the Donald's and tackle a couple of wee hills in the wild west.
We did our usual research and noticed there are plenty of reports for Ben Bowie and a few for the Fruin. I worked out what I thought would be the easiest routes for both hills, with the least amount of ascent as that is what I am struggling with.
I did notice that Jaxter has at least 5 reports for Bowie and only one for Fruin and we can understand why. Fruin is definitely not a hill I will be returning to, if it isn't the worst hill I have walked up it is not far off. Not only is the summit area like a sponge with soft mushy ground the approach is far, far worse.
Parminder volunteered to drive and we left Fife before 8.30 and we opted to tackle Bowie first and parking is fairly limited and isn't helped by the majority of cars belonging to dog walkers - not that I object to dog walkers.


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Ben Bowie route

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The way to Ben Bowie

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Excellent track with a nice gentle incline, perfect for me

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Looking back

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Dogwalkers ahead and certainly well used by them

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Still ascending

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Looking back

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Slightly higher view of Loch Lomond

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Primroses - I believe

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Not long before we leave the luxury of the track

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Parminder leading the way towards the forest

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Looking back

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A very hazy Loch Lomond now

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Faint path leading us towards the forest

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Parminder will soon catch me up

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Path uphill through the forest

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The track & the loch

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Parminder marching through the forest

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Looking back

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First of a few obstacles

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Quite a few trees down

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Over and under

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Our exit spot from the forest

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Looking north towards Glen Fruin where we be heading next

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Waiting for me before the final push

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Lovely daffodils on the summit area

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A hazy Helensburgh

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The Clyde and Gare Loch meeting

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More daffs

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Not the biggest cairn

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Parminder spotted these red conifer buds

Really enjoyed Ben Bowie it is a cracking wee hill that offers great views (on a decent day), unfortunately it was just too hazy for any decent photo's.
After Bowie we kept our boots on for the short car journey along the Glen Fruin road. I was surprised to see a small parking area, that was a bonus because the road down Glen Fruin is single track.


our_route.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts


The Fruin

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Parking area for our next challenge - The Fruin

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Overgrown cattle grid

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We won't be going that far

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Good path uphill

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Looking back down towards the vehicles

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After the small gate we turn right

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The way ahead for us, the plan was to loosely follow the wall uphill picking our way through the awful terrain

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Interesting modification in the wall to allow the burn to flow freely

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Dead bracken isn't a problem, cattle have also been on the ground making it very uneven

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Looking back, the lump in the distance is Ben Bowie

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Not getting any better

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Progress is slow but we are getting there

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A bit of flora

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More flora

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The grass looks dry, it wasn't lower down

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Looking back

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The slight lump in the distance is The Fruin, the real "boggy" fun is about to begin

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Following the fence, trying to find the best ground

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Getting closer and the bog is going to get really bad - welly's recommended

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Looking back

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Parminder's cool pose

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Gare Loch, NW

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Looking across to Ben Lomond and the big boys

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Summit area of the Fruin, and even the whole area is spongy and soggy

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The Fruin cairn, not really worth all the effort and sogginess

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More flora

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And more

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Camera photo - possibly Helensburgh

This was another enjoyable day, well Ben Bowie was and we plan to get back on our Donald mission next week with Cairnsmore of Carsphairn on the menu and if we feel OK maybe carry on and tackle Moorbrock Hill.
User avatar
Fife Flyer
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 2642
Munros:272   Corbetts:58
Fionas:39   Donalds:89+33
Sub 2000:130   Hewitts:2
Islands:5
Joined: May 15, 2013
Location: Guess?

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