free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
this year the summer was really generous to us, thou it came rather late, it lasted and lasted and i actually think it still lasts till now (end of October), cant complain! especially myself and Bea, we had a really good summer walking, camping and travelling in general.
SOOO let me introduce our relatively local mountain, ben donich. located in arrochar alps area (loch Lomond, trossachs) ben donich's most famous neighbours are the mighty 3 of arrochar (cobbler, beinn ime, beinn narnain).
weather forecast for that day was good, so we took off! as soon as we crossed Erskine bridge we couldn't help but be disappointed. thick fog/mist covered the world of trossachs, driving along loch Lomond we couldn't really see it, not to mention surrounding hills. but as soon as road turned in tarbet, we found ourselves on the other side of small hills ridge and discovered whole different world. sunshine, proper summer
just 2 miles away from loch Lomond!
path to ben donich starts from the car park in rest and be thankful. I always wonder why this place has such name. I mean, I do agree, it is a very good name - when you drive there you just want to stop and rest and be thankful for such amazing views
anyway, turn left just before loch restil and park on the first car park to your left. the path starts just there, first as a tarmac track, then as a muddy but well defined path up the grassy slope.
day spent on ben donich will most definitely be a good one. nice wee hill, pleasant path, amazing scenery, not too tough, not too long, some optional scrambling. path is well defined all the way up, map not necessary (in reasonable conditions).
and here are some pics:
beinn an lochain from the car park
loch restil
lonely walker
rock formations in the fissure area
quick glimpse of ben Lomond the distance
the summit of ben donich
amazing views on our way back down
wee scramble up the fissure
enjoy!
Ela
