rewarding. Because they are close to the cities, and rise rockily out of lovely lochs, they have helpful, followable paths. Ben Venue is probably Scotland's best-loved low hill (although conceivably Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh might steal that title); but with it come Conic Hill and the Luss Hills, and Ben A'an.
Even away from their paths, these smaller hills are grassy rather than harshly heather. This is down to overgrazing by the clansmen's cattle and then by sheep – but the result is that you can wander solitary in remote corners of Cowal, working your own route across unvisited small mountains, with crags around to add seriousness, but without the vegetation hell you'd find elsewhere in the Highlands. The southwest of the area is the place to look imaginatively at the map and experiment with hill routes of your own invention. The Luss hills are relatively gentle, excellent for a first-ever attempt at a self-guided walk; the Lochgoilhead and Cowal ones are more severe.
The Luss Hills offer gently grassy walking with outstanding views of Loch Lomond. Just above Luss village on Beinn Dubh (Route 48).
Mountains of 750m and upwards are conventionally distinguished as Munros (above 914.4m or 3000ft) and Corbetts (762–914m, or 2500–3000ft). Over the Highlands as a whole, it's the Munros that are pathed and peopled, and that makes them actually easier than the slightly lower Corbetts. Here, however, the Corbetts are as well walked as the higher ones; and deservedly so. Ben Ledi is every bit as good as Ben More. The Cobbler (884m) is arguably the finest hill south of Glen Coe (I shall argue with anybody who says it isn't). So in this book the ‘mountain’ designation starts at 750m.
When to go
April is still winter on the summits, but low-level routes already offer good walking then and in May. The leaves are breaking and birds are at their noisiest. Low-level routes are also excellent in October as the birch leaves turn gold.
May and June are enjoyable at all altitudes. July and August can be hot and humid, with less rewarding views and midges infesting the glens. West Highland midges can be pretty grim; the trick is to keep moving, and when you stop, stop high.
Midges hang on until the first frost, normally some time in September. October often brings clear air and lovely autumn colours. In between times there'll be gales. Over Ben Lomond and the southern approaches to the Arrochar Alps there are no access restrictions during stag stalking. Elsewhere, from mid-August (sometimes July) to 21 October, responsible access includes avoiding disturbance to deer stalking. Most estates offer email or phone contact points, or advise walkers to stick to the main paths and ridges (see Appendix B).
Winter is a time of short days and foul weather. Snow can lie on the high tops from December to April. Well-equipped walkers skilled in navigation and with ice axe love the winter most of all, for the alpine-style ascents of Ben Lui and the 100km views through the winter-chilled air.
Safety in the mountains
Safety and navigation in the mountains are best learnt from companions, experience, and perhaps a paid instructor; such instruction is outside the scope of this book. For those experienced in hills further south, such as Snowdonia or the Lake District, these hills are only slightly larger but noticeably more rugged.
The international mountain distress signal is some sign (shout, whistle, torch flash or other) repeated six times over a minute, followed by a minute's silence. The reply is a sign repeated three times over a minute, followed by a minute's silence. To signal for help from a helicopter, raise both arms above the head and then drop them down sideways, repeatedly. If you're not in trouble, don't shout or whistle on the hills, and don't wave to passing helicopters.
To call out the rescue, phone 999 from a landline. From a mobile, phone either 999 or the international emergency number 112: these will connect you via any available network. Reception is good on most summits and ridges, and on hillsides that happen to have line of sight to Crianlarich or Arrochar. Sometimes a text message to a sensible friend can get through when a voice call to the rescue service can't. You can pre-register your phone to send texts to the emergency services at www.emergencysms.org.uk. And if you don't use GPS, the smartphone OS Locate app (free) pinpoints your exact location as a grid reference.
Given the unreliable phone coverage, it is wise to leave word of your proposed route with some responsible person (and, of course, tell that person when you've returned safely). Youth hostels have specific forms for this, as do many independent hostels and B&Bs.
On the north ridge of An Caisteal (Route 23), looking to Ben Lomond
Being lost or tired is not sufficient reason for calling the rescue service, and neither – in normal summer weather – is being benighted. However, team members I've talked to say not to be too shy about calling them: they greatly prefer bringing down bodies that are still alive…
There is no charge for mountain rescue in Scotland – teams are voluntary, financed by donations from the public, with a grant from the Scottish Executive. You can make donations at youth hostels, TICs and many pubs.
Maps
Some people enjoy exploring in mountains that are poorly mapped or not mapped at all. They should stay away from the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, as it has been excellently mapped – four times over. The mapping in this book is from the Ordnance Survey's Landranger series at 1:50,000. For lower-level walks this book's mapping may well be all you need. For mountain walks, however, it's advisable to have a larger map that shows escape routes (and the other glen you end up in when you come down the wrong side of the hill).
The 1:50,000 Landranger mapping covers the area on sheets 56 (Loch Lomond), 57 (Stirling & Trossachs), 50 (Glen Orchy) and 51 (Loch Tay). The Crianlarich Hills (Parts 3 and 4) are awkwardly on the shared corner of all four maps.
For detailed exploration of crags and corries and pathless boulder slopes you will be helped by the extra contour detail at 1:25,000 scale. The Harvey maps are ideal; they are beautifully clear and legible, mark paths where they actually exist on the ground, and do not disintegrate when damp. They also overlap conveniently. Five Harvey sheets – Arrochar Alps, Crianlarich, Ben Lomond, Ben Ledi, Ben Venue – cover the national park apart from Cowal (Walks 70 to 73) and the Luss Hills (Walks 47 and 48).
The Harvey maps mark fences and walls on the open hill, but not on the lower ground; so if you're planning complicated valley walks you may prefer the Explorer maps, also at 1:25,000 scale. They are bulkier and less robust than the Harvey ones, and the contour lines are less legible, but if Harvey hadn't done it better, they'd be excellent maps. Sheets 364 (Loch Lomond North) and 365 (Trossachs) cover most of the ground, with 347, 360 and 363 for outlying western and southern walks.
Harvey also offers the British Mountain Map: Southern Highlands, covering the national park apart from Cowal at 1:40,000 scale; also the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Outdoor Atlas at 1:40,000 scale. It's spiral bound to fit into a map pocket, and has useful overlap between the pages. Not everybody will like it, but I used it for researching and walking the routes in this book.
The relevant maps (LR = Landranger; Expl = Explorer) are listed in the information box which appears at the start of each route.
In good winter conditions Ben Lui is the best. The south ridge (Route 33) with Ben Lomond and the Arrochar Alps behind.
Compass and GPS
A compass is a very useful aid in mist, even if your skills only extend to ‘northwest, southeast’ rather than precision bearings. Magnetic deviation is about 1° West (2018): this can usually be ignored. The crystals of magnetite found on Cruach Tairbeirt (see Appendix A) are too small to affect navigation: it's you