📌 Arrochar Alps, Argyll & Bute
★★★★
The Brack is an craggy peak steeply overlooking Glen Croe and the Rest and Be Thankful road pass. After an easy start on gentle forest tracks, the absurdly steep qualifying scramble at the start of the hill path proper is a brutal reminder that you’re in the jagged Arrochar Alps. Beyond the summit lies a partly pathless but attractively undulating ridge to the south west. This conveniently intersects with the Cowal Way for a straightforward return route. Three kilometres of road walking at the end can be varied by using scenic (but less direct) forest paths beside Loch Long and the River Croe.
📷 Chronological photo guide
The Cobbler seen from the car park 
Track up Glen Croe 
Start of the steep ascent 
Steep ascent to The Brack 
Looking up Glen Crow 
The Cobbler 
Rocky upper slopes 
Lochan below the final climb 
The Brack summit 
Glen Croe from the summit 
Loch Long & Loch Lomond 
Southern end of Loch Long 
Lochgoilhead 
Looking back to The Brack from the path to the southwest 
Lochan southwest of The Brack 
Faint paths 
Coilessan Burn 
Track descent towards Loch Long 
Coilessan Burn 
Minor road towards Ardgartan 
Loch Long at Ardgartan 
Croe Water 
Path along the Croe Water 
🌍 Location
📌 Start / finish at Ardgartan trailhead, A83 2 mi west of Arrochar
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NN 270037
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 56.194148,-4.790378
🚌 Bus stops nearby on A83 | 🚗 Car park
📝 Key info
▶ 13 km / 8 mi | ▲ 940 m | ⌛ 5.5-6 hr
Features: △ The Brack (787 m, Corbett); 💧 Loch Long; 💧 Croe Water
⬤ Tough | Wide forestry tracks then steep and rough hill path for ascent which may require hands right at the start, and boggy in places. Descent to Cowal Way on intermittent grassy trods, then good path and track down Coilessan Glen. Minor road then woodland paths for return stretch.
Download file for GPS➡️ Anticlockwise circuit: start – start of hill path at 🧭 NN 253040 – The Brack – south west ridge (or similar route) – Cowal Way at 🧭 NN 234018 – Coilessan Glen by Cowal Way – Coilessan Cottage – beach just before Ardgartan Hotel by lochside path – footbridge over River Croe at 🧭 NN 275031 – return to start by east bank
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: Ravens and a few sheep high up; birds and ducks on the loch and in Glen Croe.
Weather: Sunny, but a few snow showers on surrounding hills. Just below freezing on the summit and windy where exposed. Frozen ground high up helped with boggy parts.
November 2016
