Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
Munro 2007 - Day 3, 18th April
Wednesday 18th April
Ben Lomond 974m NN 36700 02850 (Munro 4)
Ptarmigan 731m
Mountain name: Ben Lomond Pronounced: Ben Lomond Translated: Beacon Hill
Gaelic: Beinn Laomainn
Parking: Car Park a Rowardennan at end of public road on east side of Loch Lomond.
NS 35970 98600
Distance: 12.5 km
Ascent: 1050m
Time: 4:00 hours
Route: Ben Lomond is the most Southerly Munro.
I took the track north from Rowardennan, past the Youth Hostel and picked up a well
maintained small path ((I missed the start of this path which is not shown on OS map, so
the waypoint given may be inaccurate) that took me over Tom Fithich and Ptarmigan to the
foot of the NE ridge of Ben Lomond. This path now climbed steeply to the summit of Ben
Lomond where I picked up the bigger path on the normal ascent route. This wide, well
maintained path took me along the summit ridge and down the S ridge of Ben Lomond
before dropping into the recently clear-felled woods above Rowardennan.
GPS Waypoints:
NS 35970 98600
NS 36010 99490
NS 36320 99850
NN 35830 02200
NN 35840 02610
NN 36340 03110
NN 36700 02850 (Ben Lomond)
NN 37240 02510
NS 37670 99910
NS 37140 99140
NS 36130 98530
NS 35970 98600
Ben Lomond 974m NN 36700 02850 (Munro 4)
Ptarmigan 731m
Mountain name: Ben Lomond Pronounced: Ben Lomond Translated: Beacon Hill
Gaelic: Beinn Laomainn
Parking: Car Park a Rowardennan at end of public road on east side of Loch Lomond.
NS 35970 98600
Distance: 12.5 km
Ascent: 1050m
Time: 4:00 hours
Route: Ben Lomond is the most Southerly Munro.
I took the track north from Rowardennan, past the Youth Hostel and picked up a well
maintained small path ((I missed the start of this path which is not shown on OS map, so
the waypoint given may be inaccurate) that took me over Tom Fithich and Ptarmigan to the
foot of the NE ridge of Ben Lomond. This path now climbed steeply to the summit of Ben
Lomond where I picked up the bigger path on the normal ascent route. This wide, well
maintained path took me along the summit ridge and down the S ridge of Ben Lomond
before dropping into the recently clear-felled woods above Rowardennan.
GPS Waypoints:
NS 35970 98600
NS 36010 99490
NS 36320 99850
NN 35830 02200
NN 35840 02610
NN 36340 03110
NN 36700 02850 (Ben Lomond)
NN 37240 02510
NS 37670 99910
NS 37140 99140
NS 36130 98530
NS 35970 98600
Loch Lomond
Memorial. Rowardennan
Ben Lomond
Summit, Ben Lomond
 |  |
| |
Weather: There were sunny intervals in the morning and the cloud base was above the mountain tops. However
cloud was spreading in and dropping and the wind was strengthening. I reached the cloud base at about 800m and
the wind funnelling between Ptarmigan and Ben Lomond was gusting strongly enough to upset balance and make
progress difficult. The wind was driving a fine drizzle. By the time I got back to Loch Lomond the cloud base was
down to about 500m and the rain more persistent. The wind was still increasing and was now strong enough to rock
my van.
Nature notes: Goosander, including a magnificent male, were swimming around on Loch Lomond in front of my
van. There wasn’t much sign of life on the mountain, just a few sheep and a number of LBB (Little Brown Birds)
which were difficult to identify.
Over the next half-century, the existing coniferous forest on the slopes above Loch Lomond is being felled as it
matures and being replaced by native trees and shrubs. There will be a gradual transition from dense oak and birch
woodlands on the lower slopes to more scattered trees, shrub, heaths and grasslands on the higher land.
Goosander: Goosanders are large Diving Ducks. They can easily be confused with Red-Breasted Merganser as the
females and non-breeding males look almost identical. The male Goosander is distinctive with a bulbous dark green
head, white breast and black and white plumage. The females have brown heads and grey and white plumage
Red-breasted Mergansers are more frequent in coastal areas and Goosanders inland, on upland and forest lakes,
but their habitats do overlap.
Ben Lomond National Memorial Park: The land rising from the shore of Loch Lomond to the summit of Ben
Lomond was dedicated in 1996 as a Memorial Park to be held in perpetuity as a tribute to those who gave their lives
in the service of their country. An unusual memorial stands on the shore of Loch Lomond at Rowardennan. The
land was originally purchased for the nation using the National Land Fund after the Second World War.
The area is part of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park
Loch Lomond: Loch Lomond is the largest freshwater lake in Great Britain and its location just north of Glasgow
makes it a popular area for tourists to the extent that the road to Rowardennan has to be closed at times when the
parking areas are overflowing and road can’t take any more traffic.
Personal note: Ben Lomond was the first Scottish mountain, probably the first mountain, I had seen as I remember
it as the picture on a biscuit tin used by my Grandmother when I was a little boy!
I was feeling a ligament strain on my right knee again but will give it a few days to see if I can walk through
it. The walk up to Ptarmigan was pleasant with good views along Loch Lomond, but the rest of the walk was rather
unpleasant in the deteriorating weather. I was surprised to see one hiker having lunch on the exposed summit. Ben
Lomond has magnificent views and a fine summit ridge so it is worth climbing in good weather. Being so close to
Glasgow it is much climbed and, even midweek in bad weather, I passed 15 hikers climbing the mountain while I
was descending. I was also passed by a mountain biker who asked what conditions were like higher up. He obviously
didn’t get to the top as he passed me later riding recklessly down the path back to Loch Lomond.
Book: “Last Bus to Woodstock” by Colin Dexter. I had purchased the complete collection of the Inspector Morse
novels as a boxed set and this is the first of the series written in 1975.
Overnight: In a lay-by on the A811 south of Loch Lomond.
cloud was spreading in and dropping and the wind was strengthening. I reached the cloud base at about 800m and
the wind funnelling between Ptarmigan and Ben Lomond was gusting strongly enough to upset balance and make
progress difficult. The wind was driving a fine drizzle. By the time I got back to Loch Lomond the cloud base was
down to about 500m and the rain more persistent. The wind was still increasing and was now strong enough to rock
my van.
Nature notes: Goosander, including a magnificent male, were swimming around on Loch Lomond in front of my
van. There wasn’t much sign of life on the mountain, just a few sheep and a number of LBB (Little Brown Birds)
which were difficult to identify.
Over the next half-century, the existing coniferous forest on the slopes above Loch Lomond is being felled as it
matures and being replaced by native trees and shrubs. There will be a gradual transition from dense oak and birch
woodlands on the lower slopes to more scattered trees, shrub, heaths and grasslands on the higher land.
Goosander: Goosanders are large Diving Ducks. They can easily be confused with Red-Breasted Merganser as the
females and non-breeding males look almost identical. The male Goosander is distinctive with a bulbous dark green
head, white breast and black and white plumage. The females have brown heads and grey and white plumage
Red-breasted Mergansers are more frequent in coastal areas and Goosanders inland, on upland and forest lakes,
but their habitats do overlap.
Ben Lomond National Memorial Park: The land rising from the shore of Loch Lomond to the summit of Ben
Lomond was dedicated in 1996 as a Memorial Park to be held in perpetuity as a tribute to those who gave their lives
in the service of their country. An unusual memorial stands on the shore of Loch Lomond at Rowardennan. The
land was originally purchased for the nation using the National Land Fund after the Second World War.
The area is part of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park
Loch Lomond: Loch Lomond is the largest freshwater lake in Great Britain and its location just north of Glasgow
makes it a popular area for tourists to the extent that the road to Rowardennan has to be closed at times when the
parking areas are overflowing and road can’t take any more traffic.
Personal note: Ben Lomond was the first Scottish mountain, probably the first mountain, I had seen as I remember
it as the picture on a biscuit tin used by my Grandmother when I was a little boy!
I was feeling a ligament strain on my right knee again but will give it a few days to see if I can walk through
it. The walk up to Ptarmigan was pleasant with good views along Loch Lomond, but the rest of the walk was rather
unpleasant in the deteriorating weather. I was surprised to see one hiker having lunch on the exposed summit. Ben
Lomond has magnificent views and a fine summit ridge so it is worth climbing in good weather. Being so close to
Glasgow it is much climbed and, even midweek in bad weather, I passed 15 hikers climbing the mountain while I
was descending. I was also passed by a mountain biker who asked what conditions were like higher up. He obviously
didn’t get to the top as he passed me later riding recklessly down the path back to Loch Lomond.
Book: “Last Bus to Woodstock” by Colin Dexter. I had purchased the complete collection of the Inspector Morse
novels as a boxed set and this is the first of the series written in 1975.
Overnight: In a lay-by on the A811 south of Loch Lomond.