2: The drama of the Arrochar Alps and the famous Cobbler
Under 2 hours from Edinburgh
One of the most iconic climbs in Scotland
7 miles (11km) walk, 862m total ascent
Gradual climbing for the first half of the walk then an easy downhill all the way back
Easy to follow path but be prepared for proper highland conditions
Getting to the Start
If driving, the starting point is the car park in the village of Succouth (Postcode: G83 7AP). It’s a large car park but get’s busy if you don’t get there early. It’s a nice drive to get there along the side of Loch Lomond.
Thankfully Arrochar is also straightforward to get to by bus or train.
The citylink bus service (number 926) runs several times a day between Glasgow and Arrochar and takes 1 hour and ten minutes.
There are also a number of trains a day out of Glasgow Queens Street station direct to Arrochar. Again it’s about a 1 hour ten minute journey.
Highlights
As you exit the forest after the first third of the walk, you get an amazing view of the Cobbler ahead of you. It’s awesome!
There are some really great picnic spots on the walk: beside the river as you exit the forest, the oddly-shaped Narnain boulders and the top of the Cobbler itself!
There’s a real sense of achievement when you reach the top of the Cobbler. The scenery helps!
Walk Description
From the car park in Succouth, cross the road and you’ll see a large notice board marking the start of the trail.
Climb up through the trees following the main path. The path zig zags steadily upwards for about an hour of walking. It’s fairly gentle and when you look backwards the loch and a view of Ben Lomond starts to open up. At this stage it’s difficult to picture how different the view will be once you come out of the trees above you.
After a final few turns the tree line ends and you enter a valley with the peak of the Cobbler in the distance in front of you. The path really flattens out at this point - still uphill towards the foot of the Cobbler but a lot more gentle than in the trees.
The path is really well maintained with steps cut into the steeper sections. Pass through the massive Narnain boulders that are either side of the path as you near the start of the exciting climbing ahead.
When a fork is reached, keep right and continue up the valley. The route to the left is the return route for this circular walk. By forking right, you start the main climb round the back of the Cobbler.
Shortly after a small lochan to your left, the path forks again. You can see the imposing munro Beinn Ime in front of you and at this point you turn left to start the steep climb up. There are steps pretty much the whole way up, and whilst, steep, this makes it straightfoward to pause for breath along the way and enjoy the view.
The climb comes out on a plateau surrounded by the bizarre rock formations that make the peak so distinct from below.
The guidebooks point out of the various dangers of climbing the rock formations so we explored the main plateau then turned downhill via the path between two large rocks with stunning views of the valley below. The path is quite steep in places but safe as long as you take it slow and steady.
Eventually you pop out back on the main path back towards the Narnain boulders and the treeline below. From here it’s simply a case of retracing your steps back down and stopping for lots more photos.
TOP TIPS
As you exit the tree line, to your left is a river and after the climbing it’s worth stepping off the main path for snacks and views from the river’s many stunning rock pools.
