Scotland Day Walks | Ben Lomond and the Ptarmigan Ridge

[Music] me [Music] morning guys welcome to scotland we got the sunshine and which is awesome just lacing up my boots pack is ready anna's behind the scenes today she's going to be helping shoot some stuff and we are going up ben lomond in a minute i'm going to show you the view around here there are cars everywhere it's very very busy it's probably the second most popular mountain here in scotland it is a monroe so it's over 3 000 feet first most probably is probably ben nevis i've never been up ben lomond before but i've walked past it a few times on the west highland way which just follows the shores of loch lomond anyway let's finish getting ready and then we'll head on up essentially we're being tourists today by doing this mountain but hopefully the views will open up there is still cloud on the summit right now i'm feeling optimistic let's finish getting ready the car park was jammed and it was hard not to feel a little overwhelmed at the scale of the busyness interestingly though there was a billboard detailing about a ben lomond app which could be used by hikers to highlight key points along the trail and navigate the path safely skiddush and skrish deer proof fence and clip i was so excited about the prospects of getting up high it was a beautiful day and it didn't take long for the views to open up over loch lomond below and ben lomond ahead hey look it's owned by the national trust of scotland ben lomond already we're reaping the rewards of gaining higher or gaining height above the tree line obviously loch lomond big lock switching out all around us i can see the long line of people heading up the mountain feel a bit like a pack horse today not my usual scene but i think the weather how it is it's going to be worth it loch lomond is the largest lake in great britain by surface area and hosts 60 islands many of which we could see below whilst the views were spacious and far-reaching i still couldn't help but find myself feeling suffocated okay making good progress uh your friends are in now because definitely feeling overwhelmed with all the people here just very very intense uh people coming up people going down people stopping dogs noise just not the usual scene so it's quite nice to knock out a sense and just help calm my head down a little bit keep pressing on over 30 000 people climb ben lomond each year as it's one of the more accessible monroes in the region the geology of the mountain is dominated by granite and quartzite igneous rocks formed from cooling and solidifying magma i have to say dealing with sort of anxiety this is tough just with all the people here like i come outside for space and there's a lot of people uh it doesn't feel very spacious um trying to just breathe deep and there's a lot of panic in my chest i'm really having to keep pausing and checking in with how i'm feeling it's spectacular here it really is beautiful with the views all around and even the summit in and out of the cloud i know from experience it's gonna be a little chilly up here or up there we've got switchbacking trail uh heading up to the summit as well that ridge it's awesome to be here it's just a very different experience when there's a lot of people okay we're just starting on the steeper stretch now which switched back to zigzags to try and uh alleviate some of the steepness just on the final ridge and then we'll be heading up towards the summit oh look at this they were locking down there big old one over there all right so we just uh up on the ridge now still ascending but as you can probably hear and see the wind is really picking up it's being funneled up the side of the mountain the windward side so if we were down there it'd be quite sheltered but we're not yeah the sun's coming and going patchy cloud and just generally really enjoying this right now actually the people have thinned out because we held back for a while feels much better much calmer see though clouds are coming in there it's gonna be fun see this not okay i'm gonna believe in good spirit that it blew out of someone's backpack uh the view ahead is quite minimal it's always very atmospheric dramatic you know uh i've been in the cloud a lot in my ears being in the mountains so kind of pretty content in a way but it does get my guards up because i want to make sure you stay safe stay warm stay comfortable faster up here and generally winds can pick up and it's just quite easy to have an accident navigation needs to be hot on that at the same time also know as quickly as it can come in you can also clear very quickly it's a good experience to get get in just making sure you're safe with who you get here we go again glimpses of what we might be able to see at the top if the cloud decides to clear oh wow look at that crack i mean that is amazing see the layers there this is stunning as i climbed higher my confidence grew as the views opened out and the crowds began to thin i was less head-led and more heart-led with my feet on the ground loving every minute down there you can see the ridge that's our return path we've got a way to go yet let's finish getting up to the summit oops path is over there quite easy to just forge your own way trying to choose erosion now sticking to the main trail here we go nine seven four officially second monroe for me right at the top just like that and with the clouds swirling around the view is coming and going it is pretty spectacular up here busy but really rewarding to admit to the top i'm pretty pumped about the descend though it looks like a long way down the clouds swirled around as i stood and looked across the mountains which littered the lands in every direction i just couldn't believe my eyes and felt in my heart a deep affinity with the landscape getting ready to start heading down now first little obstacle is this tiny scramble uh so obviously just want to choose the line of least resistance it's going to be lee slippy and safest underfoot my boots are so knackered they have hardly any grips it's going to be interesting uh but yeah let's begin the descent it's a long one filming at the same time is always very interesting when you have one hand the descent was initially very quick and passed by a collection of rocks which clearly showed geological folds and layers wow look at that now that we've come off the summit just getting a bit of peace and quiet i mean all you can hear is the wind it's so atmospheric with the cloud coming and going with you coming and going proper mountain stillness i love the shades of the sun as it dances on the hills it's really it's as poetic as a visual scene can be i think here's our way down there's the path i'm gonna drop down and then along the tarmigan ridge there's a little lock in there and then we drop right down back to the car over there sort of just a case of weaving your way down when it comes to a little scramble like this trying to really just find the line uh that's going to be the least slippery so the most stable anyway it's good here's some of the stepping stones across the boggy ground feeling pretty grateful for them right now it's so amazing just having the wall of mountains in front of us the ridge continuing around the light is so interesting and of course loch lomond is really reflecting the light it's sort of the brightest thing we can see right now brighter than the sky which is getting dark it's full of moisture and actually i wouldn't be too surprised to feel some flecks of rain in a minute but i'm not gonna jinx it sunshine we want i pressed on soon passing a small lochen where i decided to stop for a wee break all right just decided since i carried it up to uh make a brew so we're gonna whip out the uh kettle essentially uh or the stove set up i've got and get some warm liquid it has making good timing on the descent but it's always nice to treat ourselves while sipping my warm brew i looked over loch lomond stretching out as far as that i could see to the north west and the south east of me wow look at that that's a half decent view making good progress on the descent now i got this little brick here or burn even as they're called here and something there's a lot of the sound and running water uh so pretty soon we'll be dropping down into the woods which would be nice and then the final leg of the trail just takes us along the shore of loch lomond actually along the west allen way itself which is going to be very fulfilling to reconnect with um the sky is so playful i keep talking about it but it really is just how the textures of the landscape are constantly changing and it's such a metaphor almost for life like life is texture things are changing all the time we never really know what's coming next and i just love how for me the mountains represent a real breathing space a real thinking space um i can sort of really reconnect with myself connect with god here as well and just get grounded um inspired motivated and it's just nice to use a bit of physical energy as well see the heather here all coming out striking purple all the different types as well got the bell heather ling heather love it love heather the descent was wonderful and really quite easy going allowing me to stop often to marvel not just at the landscapes around me but the little things that lay right beneath my feet here we go got some tree cover that looks like some kind of forest or plantation or something but still progress in the jungle but overgrown this descent is way more foliagy as a technical term than our ascent um definitely think i preferred our heading up with the views i mean on the hot in the heat that we had earlier this is quite claustrophobic and it's really quite muggy actually now that we dropped down out the wind very sticky and sweaty can hear water see if we can see it so rocky oh yeah little waterfall there all right we have a track i'm presuming the cars this way over the bridge i just realized we're on the west island way now so the trail goes off that way i recognize this bridge here we got an honesty box probably not a lot in it these days oh wait wait what is this we have here so basically honestly boxes are on all sorts of different trails around the world and essentially it's stuff that you just you pay the money usually it's donation but the worst time away is so commercialized these days it's like a set amount but it's essentially like trail magic so people bake home goods and you can basically pay money and get snack when out when you're out about on the trail as you can see i get quite excited about it nearby was the ben lomond youth hostel and the landscape around me and in which i trod during the day was officially dedicated as a war memorial in 1995 for those fallen during conflict oh man so we just left the honesty box and check this out this i'm so excited man this here is the west highway sign so this is the sign of the um scottish great trails there's a whole bunch of scottish great trails west highway is by far one of the most popular it's the same time for the great glenway as well just makes me miss the trail so bad so bad don't know where silently twice absolutely love it and if you're interested have a look at my um west silent way documentary links above now good film good walk a little further on and i finally reached the shores of loch lomond itself with its waves gently lapping against the shore almost back in the car i can literally just see the toilet block uh but i've decided can you see this a rope swing someone asked me the other day on patreon do i ever walk by a rope swing the answer is no no i do not what kind of question is that let's go is this not just the best backdrop to end today's walk on loch lomond right here you know the water just kissing the shore over and over we've got the beautiful trees i mean it's amazing i feel proper pump to just walk past a few west silent way walkers as well just so good to have that like momentary connection through the way love it uh guys i've loved today's walk it's been super nice to get up high just um experience ben lomond which i've walked fast so many times now being to the top which is awesome the views were awesome the feeling was awesome it's been wonderful to share it with you thank you so so so much for watching and i just want to say if you'd like to support what we're doing with wild trying to change lives how people get outside for the benefit of mental and physical health please do consider joining our patreon page we can which you can join for as little as three dollars a month all the money goes towards supporting wild and helping to get people outside helping us to showcase beautiful places like this really immerse you in the landscape inspire and empower you to get out for your very own adventures until then guys enjoy your own adventures as i just said wherever you end up and stay wild i'll see you on the trail very soon [Music]

Channel: Abbie Barnes / Spend More Time In The WILD

Views: 22,708

Keywords: Abbie barnes, Thru Hiking, Backpacking, Song Thrush Productions, Adventure, Hiking, Day Hikes, Gear review, Foraging, Walking, Mental health, wellbeing, physical health, Nature, mindfulness, Trekking, National Park, Mountain, spend more time in the wild, travel, trail, community, long distance, national trail, scotland, lake district, snowdonia, dogs, camping, wild camping, expedition, stay wild, ben nevis, west highland way, trossachs, loch lomond, fort william, glasgow, moutain, easy climb

Id: TH7VOj_MXSQ

Length: 18min 11sec (1091 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 15 2020