Ben Lomond

Start at Rowardennan car park and cross the vehicle track to a roughly 1 m-wide path through the woodland. After gates and a forestry track, the trees thin and the route opens onto grass, heath and the broad hollow of Coire Corrach. The path steepens in zigzags, then eases briefly on Sron Aonaich, the ridge's "nose", before climbing again. The last 300 m is steep and stone-pitched, and the final approach runs close to the crags of the northern corrie. The way is clear, but it is a hard mountain walk rather than a long stroll. The Ptarmigan Ridge alternative is steeper and rockier, especially high up; the ordinary path is the better first choice unless you already know what you are taking on.

The summit is a rocky, grassy ridge marked by an Ordnance Survey trig point erected in the 1930s. Loch Lomond and its islands stretch away below, with the Arrochar Alps and the Cobbler to the west. On a very clear day you can pick out Arran, the Paps of Jura, Mull and Ben Nevis. The name is usually read as "Beacon Mountain", from the Brittonic word llumon, although nobody knows whether a beacon was ever lit here. Look for the less dramatic history as you walk: more than 40 seasonal shielings have been mapped on the hill, and the path still crosses traces of an old pony track built for early-1800s tourists. The surrounding slopes form a National Memorial Park, designated in 1995; a circular stone sculpture by Doug Cocker stands beside the loch a short walk from the car park.

From Drymen, follow the B837 through Balmaha and along the east side of the loch to Rowardennan. The route is a dead end, and the car park can fill on popular days, so do not rely on finding roadside space. There are portable toilets at the car park and a water station at the path start. There is no local shop; the nearby hotel and youth hostel serve breakfast and evening meals, but bring anything else you need for the hill. Dogs are welcome only under close control and should be kept on a lead around grazing livestock and wildlife. For the best summit photograph, include some of the foreground rock or the trig point with Loch Lomond and its islands rather than shooting only at the distant hills: it gives a phone photo the scale that makes the climb make sense.