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What an unbelievable day!
We had planned this well ahead and were using public transport to get to Arrochar. As we had prebooked our tickets on the bus we had a few low level walks planned in case the weather was a bit dodgy. On checking the weather at 7am, it was all looking good,,cold, but dry and bright.
Margaret and I met in Buchanan St for the 09:15 Campbeltown bus ,, it left a bit late but the drive up was lovely, nice to sit back, at a bit of a height and take in the views, mists rolling over Loch Lomond, then clearing to show amazing golds, browns, greens against a bright blue sky. We managed to charm Driver Jim (cheery chap) to drop us at Succoth, saving the 10 min walk round from Arrochar, so we were kitted up and on to the lower path by 10:40 am. The Succoth car park was packed and there were people all around us for the whole of the day. Good to see all sorts out and about enjoying a fantastic November day.
To be walking up a hill in Scotland in November,,in a t shirt was more than we had hoped for, the sun was shining,,low clouds over the surrounding hills gave the impression of being much higher up, spectacular views down Loch Long, up to The Cobbler and for miles around.
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- Loch like a mirror in the morning
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- Morning sunlight
Its a pretty well trodden path and easy to follow, once you get past the initial slog up through the trees, it levels out a bit and being able to see Narnain up to the right was an added bonus, having climbed it twice, both times with pretty poor visibility, it was good to see where we had previously walked.
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- Wee stagger by the Narnain Boulders
There were large parties, single walkers, couple of pairs etc and all paths were busy, there were also people coming down , must have been an early start for some!
As we were really just keen to get out for the day, already having done the Cobbler before , we had originally opted to take the path right through between Bens Arthur and Narnain then to nip up the rocky staircase at the back of the hill.
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- Mists clearing from the Ben
As the day was so fabulous, we decided to take the middle path, straight up via a scramble to the saddle between the two tops.
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- Sun is in the sky, oh why oh why......
Bit of low cloud and mist rolled in from the west at this point and we had a few spots of rain, but not enough to warrant a jacket, was off before it started so no stopping and starting, packing and unpacking kit. Hey,,your skins waterproof,,whats the fuss?
The scramble up was great, bit of a stream bed, some great rocks etc and the views from under the north peak, by this time, backdropped by a fantastic clear blue sky, were utterly amazing. see pics, I was so impressed by it. Poor Margaret had to put up with my "ooohs" and "aaaahhhs" and "wows"
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- Fab colours,,,the pink t shirt I mean....
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- Me and some boulders, and grass, and sky
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- Stunning view,,and the rocks are good too!
Never fails to amaze me how something so familiar can still make such an impact.
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- Views up to the North peak
As we got to the saddle, several groups were having a bite to eat, a wee chat etc but we just headed off up to the right and on to the North peak, reached about 13:00. It was mobbed! Crowd of Dutch soldiers in uniform, few other people milling around and several groups arrived around the same time as us, including a chap we had met coming off the bus who had hooked up with 2 other men,,think he was Russian, so all in all, quite a mix. Some varying accents, poss Eastern European too. Very diverse.
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- Smiley smiley
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- Freeeeedoooooooommmmmmm
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- Whit a day,
Much taking of Saltire pics with other parties borrowing for their own photo opps too.
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- 2 burds on boulder
We were able to sit on the top with t shirts on, chatting and having some lunch, barely so much as a light breeze.
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- Views east over low cloud and hills
We had a great view over to the South peak and the needle. We had been there on a very misty and wet day some months ago so weren't too fussed about going over again.
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- View across to the Needle on the South peak
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- A sparkler for Mr Fawkes,,,where are you now!!!!
After a great wee encounter with Beany and Biggles, 2 very lively, and hungry, beagle hounds, we headed off down to the saddle again and then off the back of the hill, by our originally planned ascent.
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- Me, Margaret , Beany, Biggles and some much sought after cranberries.
It had got a bit cloudy and chilly by this time, so fleece and gloves on for the route down to the pass where the paths to Narnain and Ime meet. Only took a little over 30 mins to get to here and then we headed off down the usual path. This always takes longer than you think its going to, was about 15:15 when we got down, so under the 2 hrs, happy with that.
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- I can see the pub from here!
The cloud we had at the top had cleared by the time we were half way down this path which was lovely as we had given some words of encouragement to 2 kids with their dad earlier in the mist, stating that the sun was shining at the top, nice to know they should have had some lovely views.
Straight off the hill, headed round to Arrochar,,some amazing views down Loch Long again, sun shining on the Loch and surrounding hils.
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- View down Loch Long
Bus back to Glasgow wasnt due until 17:59, by my reckoning,,that was over 2 hrs to kill in Ben Arthurs Bothy, Fab lounge at the back, views directly over the Loch and up to the Cobbler, Lovely to watch the light fading with a pint in my hand and some haggis for tea. There was a planned firework display at 18:30, unfortunately, half an hour after we were due to leave,,nearly caught it though as the bus was 5 mins early and it was only a chance glance over my shoulder when about 50mtrs short of the bus stop that I saw the bus coming and flagged it down. Might have ended up in a local B&B if we'd missed it.
Hip flask with some Glenfiddich at the ready,,we had a lovely trip back to glasgow, took about an hour and we had great views of fireworks on the way down. Smashing, relaxing trip, great bus and back in Glasgow for the 19:15 bus home.
The was a gem of a day, amazing weather, great company and loads of people, likewise enjoying an iconic landmark. One of those days that just makes you smile.
