📌 Arrochar Alps, Argyll & Bute
★★★
Cruach Tairbeirt (stack of the neck of land) is aptly named: it overlooks the finger of soil stopping Loch Lomond and Loch Long from joining up. With a top height of only 415 metres above sea level it must be one of the smallest hills in the region to be crowned with a trig pillar, but its sprawling, heathery summit commands decent views across Scotland’s first national park. There’s a path (of variable quality) leading the short distance to the top, and those using public transport take note: the ascent route starts from a railway station on the West Highland Line. At only 35 miles from Glasgow, the walk must get busy, right? No – we had it to ourselves on Easter Sunday with a perfect weather forecast.
📷 Chronological photo guide
Signposted trail at the start… 
…but soon turn off onto an informal path between trees 
Emerging onto the open hill 
Ben Lomond & Loch Lomond from the ascent 
Loch Lomond 
Loch Long – view reached by detouring slightly west from the path 
Arrochar Alps 
Arrochar Alps 
Ben Vorlich (left) & the upper reaches of Loch Lomond from the summit 
View south from the summit
🌍 Location
📌 Start / finish at Arrochar & Tarbet railway station
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NN 312045
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 56.202855,-4.723134
🚆 Arrochar & Tarbet | 🚌 Arrochar & Tarbet railway station, or better service stops on A83 to east
🚗 Car park
📝 Key info
▶ 4 km / 2 mi | ▲ 370 m | ⌛ 1.5-2 hr
Features: △ Cruach Tairbeirt (415 m, sub-2000′ Marilyn)
⬤ Moderate | Good path at first, then informal dirt path through forest with a couple of fallen trees to climb over. Grassy hill path to summit is boggy in places.
Download file for GPS➡️ Out-and-back walk: start – leave waymarked trail immediately after fording burn at 🧭 NN 311048 – Cruach Tairbeirt – return by outward route
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: Caterpillars, moths and lots of frogspawn, sadly mostly in fast-drying puddles.
Weather: Mostly sunny, light winds, temperature in single figures. Plenty of snow on many hills above about 600m.
April 2018
