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OS Grid ref: NN 28962 04151
Lat/Long: 56.1991430,-4.7585120
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Lots of rain overnight. I was at the top of Rest And Be Thankful
and drove down through the dark and rain to the large car park
before Arrochar on the A83. The charges were £1/hour which is
ridiculous for walkers as we don’t know how long a walk will
take. I had no choice but to drive back along the A83 to an old
blocked turn off where I could leave my car. I walked the 1km
back to the car park and headed across the road and up into the
forest following the tourist zig zag path upwards. The gradient
was quite easy most of the way to so it took a longer walk to
get up to the top of the woods. |
Ben Arthur in the clouds. |
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I eventually emerged onto the open fell and followed the easy
path upwards above the river. I passed a hydro dam on the left
and up ahead The Cobbler partly appeared through the cloud. I
reached the Narnain Boulders and the sun briefly broke though.
Continuing up I reached a branch in the path and turned left to
follow a well made rock path upwards. The route was steady with
mostly made rock steps up to a flattish area where I could see
the path continuing upwards. |
Looking to Ben Arthur from the Narnain Boulders |
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The weather was calm but I suspect It’s just because the
mountain is sheltering me from the wind. As I reached the summit
area I was disappointed that I was still in cloud. The
temperature was sub-zero so no place to hang around. I turned
right to head towards the North peak but didn’t get very far due
to slippery rocks. I returned and headed SW up the climb to The
Cobbler. |
Looking to the north summit. |
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As I got to the high point the clouds blew away and I was
able to get a fairly good view and even down to the A83 road a
long way below. The sun made a brief appearance and looking down
to the swirling cloud below I could see a brocken spectre. |
The Cobbler. |
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It was so brief I didn’t have time to take a photo. I
headed back down towards the saddle and could see what looked
like a good path leading diagonally down the west side of the
mountain. It turned out to be a well constructed route of stone
steps and all I had to do was be careful of the wet stones. Far
below I could see a good path crossing the pass. I reached it
and turned right to start my descent. |
Ben Arthur from the descent. |
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The walking was pleasantly easy and shortly after passing the
path junction I’d been on before I met a young couple walking
upwards. It was now around 1pm and they asked me about the way
up The Cobbler. I explained it was late in the day and they
needed a torch for later. All they had was a map on the lady’s
phone. I left them to it and continued the easy walk back to the
car. |
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