Arrochar Alps

The Arrochar Alps form a rugged mountain group around the upper reaches of three sea lochs—Loch Long, Loch Fyne and Loch Goil—in Argyll and Bute. The nearest villages are Arrochar and Lochgoilhead, both lying within the Cowal Peninsula west of Glasgow. The range belongs to the Grampian chain yet feels close to the central belt because of the A83 trunk road that cuts through the heart of the area. Two protected landscapes overlap here: Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park and Argyll Forest Park. A railway station at Arrochar and Tarbet links walkers directly to the trailheads. Walkers come for the variety of peaks listed among the Munros, Corbetts and Grahams, each named in both Gaelic and English. Beinn Ìme, the highest at just over 1,000 metres, dominates the skyline above Loch Goil. The Cobbler, or Ben Arthur, is famed for its distinctive summit tor and the steep scramble required to reach it. Glen Croe, Hell’s Glen and Glen Kinglas offer the main glens that lead into the high corries and ridges, while the Rest and be Thankful viewpoint at the head of Glen Croe is one of the most photographed spots in the southern Highlands. Beyond the summits, the lochs themselves provide calm reflections of the surrounding crags. Loch Goil is the most sheltered, its waters bordered by steep slopes that funnel into the narrow pass of the Rest and be Thankful. Loch Long stretches eastward towards Tarbet, where the railway meets the shore. Forest tracks and old drovers’ roads wind through the lower glens, passing through Ardgartan and Succoth on the way to the lochside hamlets. From the summits on clear days the view stretches from Ben Lomond north to the peaks of Arran across the Firth of Clyde.