Ben Lomond

Paul Cunningham

You need to log in as a member of Walkingworld to access the details for this walk and have an active subscription. Please join, or log in above if you are already a member.

This circular walk starts at the car park at Rowardennan that lies on the path of the West Highland Way along the eastern shores of Loch Lomond. Rowardennan is reached by following the B837 through Balmaha from Drymen.

Because of its location close to the central belt of Scotland, Ben Lomond is a popular mountain and there is a distinct path all the way to the summit. For the first part of the walk, the path climbs through forest before emerging onto the open hillside. The route then climbs the shoulder of Sron Aonaich with the views back along Loch Lomond getting more spectacular all the time - weather permitting!

Once Sron Aonaich is left behind, the gradient eases for a while before steepening again to reach the rim of the mountain's north-east corrie that is then followed to the summit (974m). An alternative to returning via the outward route is to descend the north-west ridge to the beallach between Ben Lomond and Ptarmigan, swinging south to reach the summit of Ptarmigan (731m) and following its south ridge, descending to reach the lochside road less than 1km north of the Rowardennan car park.

Most of the route remains easy in winter conditions for those who are properly experienced and equipped; however the final section along the rim of the north-east corrie and the descent of the north-west ridge require care in icy conditions.

Scotland - Central Scotland - Stirling - Loch Lomond and The Trossachs

Features

Great Views, Mountains, Munro, Woodland
7/29/2008 - fraser campbell

Easy going @ the start through the woods one hard push at the end to the top but well woth the effort fantastic views at the top of ben vane, vorlich and picturess views of loch lomond.

6/4/2006 - merv stapleton

An excellent introduction to 'munro-bagging'! The stunning views from the trig point are worth the effort. Recommend doing it as a circular route (ascend via 'tourist' or ptarmigan, descend via ptarmigan or 'tourist') for the contrasting views given by the two routes.

4/17/2006 - Bryan Talbot

This is an excellent walk for one of the most well known (and walked) Munro. Prefer to ascend via Ptarmigan to the 'trig' point then descend via the 'tourist' route. Can get a little busy at weekends, so a weekday is preferable.