Booie Lewis and the Fruin

[superstar_tradesman]

The Power of Love of being out on the hills on a beautiful sunny Valentine's Day led me west to this pair and a long day with some fabulous views out west…

Taking inspiration from Norman Grieve's route (from exactly three years ago!), it seemed like there was a good route to join these hills together in a linear walk, making use of the John Muir Way (and some of the newer Three Lochs Way), and coming back from Helensburgh by train. So I parked in one of Loch Lomond Shores' many car parks, hoping I'd remember where I parked when I got back later…

Once I'd solved my first navigational challenge and found my way out of the car park, I skirted a new looking pub to join the old Luss Road. The route up the hill was a wee lane, Stoneymollan Road, signposted at the end.

The start of Stoneymollan Road and the way up the hill

After crossing the A82 by a footbridge, I regained the lane, which was surfaced and an easy way to gain some height. After passing the end of the road, the path led through a lovely avenue of trees before reaching the open hillside, now with a fair covering of snow. Lovely views back to Loch Lomond and the snow-covered Ben behind.

Ben and Loch Lomond (and a horizon that needs correcting!)

Path through sunlit trees

The path enters an area of clear-felled forest, and soon reaches a track at a crossroads. I turned right, following the snowy track NW towards the ridge obscuring Ben Bowie. There's a signposted junction, left to Cardross and right to Helensburgh, so I went right, on a path that stayed parallel with the forest edge, and then zigzagging up steeply to reach a forest track. This track wove through some thick, snow-covered forest, and while it seemed peaceful at times, but there were quite a few people out enjoying the sun.

Icy forest loch

At another junction I turned SW, following signs for Helensburgh, out of the forest, then turned right, keeping the fence on my right as I headed up the final slopes of Ben Bowie. Negotiated one barbed wire fence, and soon reached the first of twin summits; the cairn is on the second (northern) one, right on the edge of the Highlands. The Firth of Clyde was sparkling, Arran looked Alpine, and in the other direction, the view along the Highland Boundary Fault across Loch Lomond via Inchmurrin and Inchcailloch to Conic Hill was particularly prominent.

Greenock, the Firth of Clyde and Arran beyond, from the top of Ben Bowie

Highlands on the left, Lowlands on the right. The fault line from the top of Ben Bowie

The Fruin looked a long way, but not as snowy, and I was hoping it would be fast going to get over there before what looked like a slog up the second hill of the day…

The Fruin looks a long way away!

The OS 1:50k map indicated a cleared area all the way back to the track, but in reality the tree cover is more advanced. I guess in summer there would be a path, but it wasn't easy to see, and I made an ill-advised descent into some windblow pretending to be a clearing. After a snowy retreat back up hill I eventually found a route down to the track, and from there it was fast walking all the way down to the A818 and a whole jumble of cars parked at the track end.

This next stretch was always going to be fast but less pleasant, following a cycle path on the south side of the very busy road. Eventually, I reached the reservoirs to the N of the road. I'd wondered about following the track past the reservoirs to start the climb early, but decided instead to follow the path behind the Hill House. I'd been along that path once before, and remembered it was a pleasant wooded walk.

I vaguely remembered from checking out the route on WH that there were some paths through Highlandman's Wood which would have saved more open hillside plodding, but then I unexpectedly found an initially very nice new path up the E side of the wood—this was the Three Lochs Way again, and not on any map I'd looked at. Unfortunately a fallen tree across the path required negotiating another barbed wire fence, easier for me than the two fellas on mountain bikes that passed me as I had some lunch! The path was new but soon got very muddy, and I eventually caught up the bikers as they struggled in the mud. After the edge of the forest, the path contours across the hillside, so I stayed on it as long as I could, before striking NW up the gentle but sometimes boggy grassy slopes towards a gate just below Tom na h-Airidh and a big TV transmitter.

Ben Bowie looks a long way away!

A fence separates the two, so I followed advice in other WH reports and stayed to the NE side of the fence for the walk along the top of the hill. It was a good mile of plodding through snowy tussocks and heather, which in some cases disguised bog (in one case the ground shook like I was on quicksand…). I didn't exactly float like a butterfly over these bogs, but managed to keep moving at a decent pace, over a couple of knolls and eventually reached the top of The Fruin. The hill is a bit of a pudding, but the views are excellent all round!

Argyll's Bowling Green from the top of The Fruin

The Firth of Clyde and Greenock still sparkling

I retraced my steps back to the forest corner just below Tom na h-Airidh, and this time followed the forest edge down to a point where I could enter the forest at NS289853. Headed W along a wee path, then SE, but I missed the path that led directly downhill and instead followed the track that descended SW. This left me with about 700m to head back E to regain the track down almost to where I'd started the climb up the Fruin. I followed the path down under the railway and through the Duchess Wood, coming out on West Montrose St.

Path through Duchess Wood

Then it was knight's moves though Helensburgh's wide streets, gradually downhill until I reached Central station and found a train leaving in 10 minutes's time.

I did need a credit card to ride that train, as the guard checked tickets even before we set off, but it was a lovely run along the Clyde to Dumbarton. I changed at Dumbarton for the next Balloch train (only 10 minutes wait, the Sunday service is excellent here!). From Balloch Station, it was a nice walk up the W side of the Leven and round through Lomond Shores, back to the car and the end of a fantastic walk.

A last glimpse of Ben Lomond

The snow-hidden bogs might almost have made one man weep, but the views would make anyone sing