Ben Lomond: Scotland’s Gateway Peak
You never forget your first Munro. Not because of the stats or the summit cairn, but because something clicks. You stand above the clouds (or the drizzle, or the midges) and realise you want more of this. Whatever this is.
For many people, that moment happens on Ben Lomond. It isn’t the wildest hill or the quietest, but it’s the one that starts things. A gateway, not just to the Munros, but to a lifetime of looking at maps differently.
The Approach: Polished, Popular, and Still Worth It
From the car park at Rowardennan, the main path rises with quiet confidence. No scrambling. No drama. Just a well-made trail climbing steadily through birch and bracken, then onto open moor. The loch broadens behind you. The Arrochar Alps begin to arrange themselves across the water. You pass dogs, day-trippers, and teenagers in trainers. If you're used to solitude and spindrift, it might feel a little too curated.
But something shifts around 800 metres. The summit comes into view at last, standing apart with a proper mountain shape. The wind finds you. The noise drops. Suddenly it feels like a real hill.
That final push is where a lot of people become hillwalkers. Not because they meant to, but because they got to the top and quietly decided they’d like to do something like this again.
Not Just the Beginner’s Hill
Ben Lomond has a reputation. Too crowded. Too polished. Too easy. All of that might be true on a summer Saturday, but it misses the point. The good path and easy access don’t make it boring. They make it available. That’s rare.
There are layers here, too. The Ptarmigan ridge offers a rougher return for those looking to add a little drama. In winter, the hill becomes a different character entirely. Cornices, rime, icy slabs. Full commitment. You don’t outgrow it. You just see it with different eyes.
Plenty of folk come back years later with better boots and different reasons. They bring a friend. They notice the bend in the ridge they missed the first time. They remember how hard it felt, or how good it felt, or both.
The Role of a Gateway
Not everyone starts with Ben Lomond, but many do. That matters. It's an accessible hill that gives people a reason to come back for more. It offers that first moment of height, the realisation that there’s a world up here that doesn’t care what gear you have or what you’ve done before.
It doesn’t need to be your best Munro. But it might be the most important.
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