Wednesday 27 June – Drymen to Rowardennan
After a few days in the pleasant, rolling Lowlands, today would be the day we finally entered the Scottish Highlands.
It would be a day of two halves: the morning’s walk to, up and down Conic Hill, then walking alongside Loch Lomond.
It was cool in the early-morning cloud as we left Drymen, giving no hint of the heat to come. Today would also be a hot one, 27C; given there was a hill to climb in the late morning we were keen to get underway quickly.
We farewelled our delightful B&B host Frances, strolled through the village, and were soon walking up a country lane. As we did so the mist and cloud lifted and cleared, the sun came out, and soon the air warmed up. Having coated ourselves liberally with anti-midge, we then walked through a plantation forest, enjoying the shade.
All too soon we were out in the sun on bare, heather-clad land leading to the open lower slopes of Conic Hill, its name reflecting its shape. While not especially tall at 360m, it’s a steepish climb, and in the fierce morning sun we were soon sweltering. We’d been promised some great views from the top and it was with great relief that we got there.
And my, the views were worth it!
To the north and east lay open moorland, high and heather-clad. To the south and south-east we could see out towards Drymen. And to the west? Loch Lomond in all its shimmering glory, sparkling in the late-morning sun studded with tree-clad islands, stretching out over a vast distance and curling round out of sight to the north. So we sat and soaked it all in, dozens of other walkers doing likewise. Definitely i-conic….
After a bit of a scramble down the steep southern slope we came to a little complex of buildings: the Loch Lomond visitor centre, a pub, and our destination, a café called St Mocha, reputed to serve great icecreams. And did it just! The best ice creams we’d had in ages, a real treat. Peter pronounced his flat white to be the best he’d had in the UK. So we were happy indeed.
Part 2 of our day took us northwards along the eastern shores of the loch, largely clad in lovely woodland. From time to time we passed small pebbly coves, looking very inviting indeed. Just as well the path was shaded as by now it was very hot. Even so, it seemed to take a very long time indeed before we arrived at the Rowardennan Lodge Youth Hostel.
The hostel is a former hunting lodge sited on a grassy bank by the lake, with the most amazing views. We promptly declared it being the leading candidate for best location for a Pub/B&B/Hostel. It even had its own little jetty, the perfect place to sit in and dangle our hot feet in the cooling waters. Bliss! That was followed by a refreshing ale, sitting on the grassy slope, simply looking out over the lake. A very tranquil and lovely place indeed.
We certainly need it; tomorrow will be a real scorcher, even hotter than today with a forecast of 30C, quite incredible for this part of the world and the hottest by far for us on this walk. We’ll be up and off as early as we can!
Distance today: 21km/15 miles (but felt a lot longer!)
NOTE: we have great photos to post – but are in areas with poor internet! Will update tomorrow.
Scrumpy to Scotch 