Sunday 18 May 2025 - Cruach Tairbeirt

Sue caught the 8:45 boat trip to Rowardennan, from where she would nip up and down Ben Lomond before going for a swim.

Whilst at the beach I noticed swallows collecting mud from the shore line.

I enjoyed a leisurely start (10:30) and strolled up to the station underpass and the Three Lochs Way footpath.

A right turn along that path led me in a few metres to a left turn along a good rising path that would take me all the way to the 415 metre summit of today's objective, Cruach Tairbeirt. 

Once through the trees I paused for elevenses on another lovely sunny day, with occasional welcome clouds offering a brief respite from the strong sunshine. 

The hillside was deep with fading Bluebells and swathes of bright yellow Tormentil, and the terrain was deceptive - away from the path it was treacherous deep heather and grassy holes - much care needed for any off path diversions (eg to a suitable rock for a lunch stop, later).

After a lengthy chat with the first and only hillwalker I have met in three days of walking - Tim, from Colorado, working in Glasgow for a couple of months - I reached the summit. A fine white trig point adorns this modest summit that enjoys excellent views in all directions.

Ben Lomond, Beinnn Narnain, The Cobbler and The Brack are included in the panoramas.

Note the steep face of The Brack, and my route up it, to the left of The Cobbler, in the next picture.

Tormentil is very easy to identify thanks to its four small, bright yellow petals.

It didn't take long to descend to the Three Lochs Way footpath, and thence back to Loch View for a leisurely afternoon. Lunch was enjoyed on a hard to access rock on the way down.

Here's my simple there and back route - just 5.4km with about 400 metres ascent, taking 3 hours.

Saturday 17 May 2025 - Levengrove parkrun and Geilston Garden

Levengrove Park is a short way by car from Tarbet and the parkrun there proved to be an excellent way to start the day. Parkruns in Scotland start at 9:30, half an hour later than in England, so we enjoyed a lie in and a more leisurely breakfast than usual.

The park, next to where we left the car, enjoys the presence of a recently discovered well.

An energetic chap from South Wales kindly took the next picture. He was using this parkrun as a warm up for an ultra marathon multi day event from Fort William to Cape Wrath. He lapped me before finishing the run and dashing off to Fort William to start the ultra.

Others were loosening up on the warm morning.

We were quite sweaty by the end, with Sue in position 45 and me 98th out of the 145 participants.

We were 26:03 and 32:45 respectively on the three lap hilly course. Some were much slower.

Coffees with some locals at the café by the start and finish were most welcome, as our next destination lacked such a facility.

Moving on, we waved goodbye to the River Leven.

A fifteen minute drive took us to Geilston Garden, a pretty place on the way back to Tarbet.

Well, that was fun. After a pleasant hour in the garden we adjourned to Morrisons for a few days' provisions, then it was back to Loch View to discover that the owner had deposited the acquisitions from a shopping trip in the apartment - we now have a teapot, oven glove, oven trays, casserole dish, kitchen towel, bin liners and a second bin, table mats and lots of beer. He's certainly doing his best.

That's all for today unless Sue has another adventure whilst swimming in Loch Lomond...

Friday 16 May 2025 - Fiarach

A drive to Glen Lochy was needed to drop Sue off so that she could climb Ben Lui and Beinn a' Chleibh - two Munro summits that had previously defeated her due to poor weather. There would be no such excuse today.

I drove back to Dalrigh and set off up a small hill, Fiarach, via an old road at the back of the large car park. I soon crossed a bridge over the River Fillan, either side of which provided the views in these first two photos.

After the bridge over the river, a winding path took me in a further kilometre to a bridge over the railway line to Oban. A goods train was trundling in the distance across the valley along the Fort William line.

After a further 2km, with little height gain, the wide track arrived at a gateway into a conifer forest. I turned sharp left here, after enjoying elevenses in the shade of the forest, with a cuckoo in attendance. 

It was a steep ascent in the tracks of a suicidal ATV. It's steeper than it looks; I've come from the edge of the wood at the far left in the next picture.

Eventually a plateau was reached, inhabited by a puddle that turned out not to be Lochan Fiarach. 

A right turn beside the exhausted fence posts and rusty wires brought me up to said lochan, and splendid views to the Crianlarich hills.

The 652 metre summit of Fiarach is at the edge of a precipice, referred to in the SMC guidebook as a dolerite 'wall'. Splendid views all round.

After a leisurely lunch below the summit I returned to Dalrigh by the same route. After yesterday's faux pas I was careful not to head down beside the wrong line of fence posts, but I was still pleased to pass the unmistakable Lochan Fiarach. 

The rendezvous with Sue worked out fine. She got down from her two summits and a paddle just as I returned to the Glen Lochy car park at about 3pm.

Here's my route - 10.5km with 470 metres ascent, taking 3.5 hours.

Plenty of time later for Sue to get shouted at in Loch Lomond as she swam in front of a boat heading to the pier...

Thursday 15 May 2025 - The Brack

We are staying in a cottage in Tarbet called 'Loch View'. Pictured above is our view of the loch, and Ben Lomond, at dusk last night. Not pictured is the settee I had to stand on to get the view. The accommodation is brand new. Comfortable but not quite sorted for visitors. For example, there's a brand new oven but no ovenware or oven gloves. We are managing fine, having to be very careful with the brand new razor sharp knives, etc.

Anyway, we were on the hill by 10am this morning. I dropped Sue off in Succoth to climb Beinn Narnain and The Cobbler, before going to Ardgartan, where the car park was empty. My plan was to climb a Corbett, Ben Donich.

I set off up the forestry track on what was supposed to be a 4km walk up to a turn into the forest. After 2km I arrived at a sign advertising the path up The Brack, pictured in the distance shortly after I started walking.

Rather than continue up the forest track, I took the path to The Brack. It was steep, with tree roots to hang onto at times. I didn't fancy going back down the same way. Good views across the valley to Sue's hills opened out.

Here I am on a brief section of more level ground near a small lochan beside which I enjoyed my lunch.

After the welcome pause for lunch by the lochan, another steep haul (in all 700 metres ascent in less than 1 kilometre), brought me with some relief to the summit trig point.

There were fine views all around. 

En route and on the subsequent descent I noticed Orchids, Bluebells, Dog Violets, Tormentil, Cuckoo Flower, Milkwort, Lesser Celandine and lots of Cotton Grass, whilst Ravens soared above me and Meadow Pipits dashed about in the long grass.

I headed down towards the Bealach Dubh-lic. Or so I thought. So after ambling down towards the bealach I was somewhat surprised to reach the Cowal Way.

Instead of descending north west, I'd gone south west. The hill ahead of me that I thought was Ben Donich was in fact Cnoc Coinnich.

Oops!

A 3km yomp up to the correct bealach followed, with a message to Sue saying I would be later than expected. 

Once at the correct bealach, after the trudge through an area rich in wild flowers, it took me a while (after peering over a selection of precipices) to locate the white posts that led safely down to a path through the forest.

After the stile pictured above, five or ten minutes on a forest path though an area of wind devastation brought me to the forest track further to the east of which I'd started the walk. From there it was an easy stroll back to the car. I hadn't seen a soul since leaving the car park some six and a half hours earlier.

My delay enabled Sue to enjoy a paddle in Loch Long before I returned to pick her up.

Here's my route - 13.5 km with 840 metres ascent. Looking at that, I might have found it easier to follow the green diamonds of the Cowal Way.

Here are a few of Sue's pictures from her walk up Beinn Narnain and The Cobbler, before she went for a swim in Loch Lomond.