© Lonely Planet

345 CENTRAL HIGHLANDS

Central Highlands & ISLANDS & Islands

Scotland’s central Highlands and islands together make a superb area of exceptional natural beauty, brimful of contrasts and rich in alluring challenges. In the far west, floating dra- matically in the sheltered waters of the outer , the rugged has something for everyone. There are spectacular, rock-encrusted ridges and peaks, crowned by Goatfell, the island’s highest. The peaceful, scenic and very accessible northern coastline offers surprisingly remote, fairly undemanding walking.

Scotland’s first national park, Lomond & the , embraces a wonderful array of glens, lochs and mountains, extending southwards from the Breadalbane district to the southern end of , and eastwards from the to Loch Earn and Callander. Foremost among the high places are two renowned peaks: , the southernmost of the country’s 284 , affords magnificent views far and wide; while the iconic Cobbler, a fantastical cluster of huge granite tors in the Arrochar Alps, offers a test of nerves and skills almost second to none.

This superb slice of Scotland is compact and easy to reach from , Scotland’s largest and most vibrant city. There are good public transport services to and around Arran, and to Arrochar. We have divided this chapter into two manageable sections: Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park and the Isle of Arran. These are followed by some notes about other walks on Arran and the magnificent wilderness of the remote Isle of Jura on p357 .

HIGHLIGHTS

Summiting Ben Lomond (p349 ) for an eagle’s-eye view of the divide between the Highlands and lowlands Scrambling to the top of the fearsome boulders on the summit of ( p350 ) Weaving through jumbled boulders on the ascent of Arran’s Goatfell ( p357 ) CENTRAL HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS 11 George Sq) 11 George Some of areas these were already protected share of Way ( theWestHighland p418 ). villages, major roadsandrailways,afair lands, historicsites, many smalltownsand also ascore of lochs, large andsmall,wood- theboxedCorbetts (see text, p349 ). There is ofbane ‘hills’,withatotal 21Munrosand20 rochar Alps,theTrossachs andtheBreadal- fine ranges of includingtheAr- mountains, Scotland’s first nationalpark.Ithas several km) Loch Lomond&theTrossachs was in2002,720-sq-mile(1865-sq- Established PARK TROSSACHS NATIONAL LOCH LOMOND&THE jumping-off point. toric townof Stirlingmakes anotherhandy pass thecityaltogether, whilethelarge, his- for theCobblerwalk.Bycar,youcanby- andtoArrochar Isle of Arranferry service andtrainslinktothe From Glasgow,buses from Englandandelsewhere inScotland. GNERandVirgin trainsFirst ScotRail, byNationalExpress andby buses served of Glasgow. Scotland’slargest city,it’swell The maingateway forthisarea isthecity GATEWAYS private transportisvirtuallyessential. Lomond, ForBen descriptions fordetails. be reached thewalk bypublictransport;see chapter (Goatfell andtheCobbler)can easily Two of thethree walksdescribedinthis AROUND GETTING Rd) 7200 620;41Dumbarton find the In themaingateways tothisregion youwill Information Sources ogy, geography androutes longandshort. is arich sourceof informationabout geol- Southern Scotland The OSTravel –Road1:250,000mapNo3 &Books Maps INFORMATION 346 .visitscottishheartlands.com. introductory touristinformationiswww The Southern Highlands LOCHLOMOND&THETROSSACHSNATIONAL PARK ••Planning Glasgow tourist office Glasgow tourist and tourist office Stirling tourist covers thearea neatly. . A useful website for . Auseful byKMAndrew

( % 0141-204 4400;

( % 0870 sachs NationalPark www.lochlomond-trossachs.org; Balloch) variety of walksandisrecommended. Clackmannan and before anysignificantsnowfalls. late AprilandearlyOctober,aftertween areThe walksinthissection bestdonebe- When toWalk PLANNING Gaelic from anoldScotsword thatthenameLomondcomes It’s thought andtheLowlands. theHighlands between ary Fault, thedramaticgeological divide water loch,Bound- straddles theHighland Lomond)toputitthetest! across Ben featurean outstanding (such aspowerlines amajorjudgment; perhaps itneeds threat to more obvious.It’sprobably toosoontopass lochs, have glensandmountains become letaloneimproving,maintaining, accessto too, theproblemsfacingparkmanagers in cations andactivitiesprograms.Perhaps, by exhibitionsatthevisitorcentres, publi- strengthenedheritage hasundoubtedly been ple’s awareness of thepark’ssuperbnatural dents, thecountryandvisitors? Many peo- anddiversestandards) parkbringtoresi- now withinthenationalpark. ElizabethForestQueen Parks, andtheyare Argyllfor theirnaturalvalues,notably and tional Park’s The Loch Lomond&theTrossachs Na- Information Sources ( fromthe Rangers Guided Walks background informationandcontacts. proof mappages (at1:40,000)andlotsof Trossachs National Park Harvey’s spiral-bound &Books Maps Centre is alsothe more central the website toget thefeel of theplace. There the park,including accommodation;browse lent first portof callforinformationabout in the area, including on Ben Lomond. in thearea, includingonBen % Loch Lomond, Trossachs, Stirling & largestLoch Lomond,Britain’s fresh- What benefitscansuch alarge (bylocal 01360-870224)

( laom, % 01389-722100; meaning a‘beacon’or‘light’. meaning Gateway Centre Gateway byJohn Brooks covers awide and

( % National TrustforScotland Loch Lomond&theTros- 01389-722100) h Loch Lomond&the National Park Balmaha Easter-Oct) atlashaswater-

llumon, ( % isanexcel- 0845 345 leadwalks . orthe

4978;