The Cobbler

The signed walk starts across the A83 from Succoth car park, beside a fox carving. A broad path climbs in wide zigzags through the trees. At a bench, turn left onto a forestry track, then right onto the next path uphill. The trees thin and views open over Loch Long toward Ben Lomond; after another short wooded stretch, the path comes out beside a stream and a small hydro dam.

The gradient eases as the route follows Allt a’ Bhalachain across open ground. Large stepping stones cross the side burns before you reach Narnain Boulders, a heap of huge rocks that climbers once used as sheltered sleeping places called howffs. Glasgow workers and climbers were already travelling here in the 1930s to practise on the local rock. The boulders make a natural rest stop and a clear landmark before the harder climb. At the fork above them, keep right into the valley; the lower branch is for the separate loop descent.

Look right for Yawning Crag on Beinn Narnain, then watch for a small lochan before the path junction. Turn left for the Cobbler. A long run of stone steps climbs toward the ridge between the North and Central peaks. The upper way is less built and becomes rough, with rock underfoot, but it follows the hillside to a small summit plateau.

Continue around the northern side to the North Peak and its small cairn above a large overhang. From there, look back toward the central peak: its hole cuts through the rock and frames the sky. For a photo that explains the summit, include the cairn and overhang with the central peak’s opening behind it. The central needle scramble is a different, exposed undertaking; reaching the plateau and North Peak does not require climbing through the hole or onto the ledge.

Use the western Succoth car park off the A83, just west of Arrochar; it gives the easiest woodland access. Cross the road to the fox carving to start. Forestry and Land Scotland parking passes are not valid at Succoth, so follow the lot’s own terms. There are no shops or cafés on the hill; the nearest toilets, shops and cafés are in Arrochar village. Buses from Glasgow stop in the village, and Arrochar & Tarbet station is about a mile and a half from the car park by forest path.

This is a long, steep ascent over uneven ground, not a groomed summit path. The North Peak’s overhang and the central pinnacle have serious drops, so keep to the northern summit route and well back from exposed edges. Streams are crossed on stepping stones, and the upper rocky section asks for steady footing. If you want a shorter outing, Narnain Boulders are a natural turnaround before the steep steps, though that leaves out both peaks.