Escape to the hills
Over 56 million people in Britain live in urban areas, so the mountains might feel far away at times. But if you're one of them, fear not; here, seven of our contributors share some memorable hill days that are readily accessible from seven of our major cities
1. GLASGOW THE COBBLER &BEINN IME, ARROCHAR ALPS
James Forrest reckons a last-minute decision to climb The Cobbler is almost never a bad idea
The sun is setting across the Arrochar Alps, a compact group of peaks in the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, located just one hour by car from Glasgow. My Glaswegian friend Eddie and I are killing time on Ben Vorlich’s summit, watching nature’s spectacle unfold across the isle-dotted expanse of Loch Lomond. Hazy layers of silhouetted peaks stretch out into the distance, as the multi-coloured sky blends and marbles with every passing moment. We didn’t plan to be up here this late, but some things are too good to miss out on. It’s an excellent last-minute hill decision – until we come to getting off the mountain. Stupidly, neither of us packed a head torch – and we now face a dicey descent as nighttime closes in. We’re hiking blind, guided only by the insufficient glow of our iPhone torches. At one point I fall into a ditch trying to avoid a cow. My lack of suitable illumination has turned me into a hillwalking calamity – but who cares when the scenery is this beguiling?
The following day, after a night at Luss Campsite, my plan is to solo hike the most iconic Arrochar Alps route – a loop of two Munros (Beinn Narnain and Beinn Ime) and Scotland’s best-loved Corbett (The Cobbler). I’ve never climbed The Cobbler – or Ben Arthur, to use its Sunday name – before, and it has a reputation as a beast. The Arrochar Alps are strikingly steep and intricate with imposing skylines, but The Cobbler takes things to another level. It’s a weirdly shaped mountain topped by a vertigo-inducing turret of exposed mica schist rock. After bagging Narnain and Ime in dreamy blue-sky conditions, I finally gaze upon The Cobbler’s rocky plinth.
It’s a Grade 3 scramble to the top, including squeezing through a narrow gap known as ‘Argyll’s Eyeglass’. I wimp out and settle for just standing next to the craggy tower. But it’s far from a disappointing alternative. The views across Loch Lomond are so mesmerising, you’d never believe Glasgow is just an hour away.
