Unfortunately for my last week in Scotland the weather was pretty bad. As I was kinda tired from all the hikes before, that didn't matter too much and it was all about recovering during this week. Well, almost all. :) On my birthday the Scottish weather god was on my side and predicted good weather. And of course I didn't want to miss the chance to celebrate in style up in the Scottish highlands. :) Another recommendation for a good hike was Callander, a lovely village at the edge of the Loch Lomond and Trossach national park and it was the place to be for my birthday hike. Callander was reached by bus from Stirling and when I was at the bus station in Stirling in the early morning, the bus was a bit late. When he arrived about 5 minutes after the planned departure, the driver just waved everyone in without asking or checking for tickets. He wanted to make up the lost time and I felt like in Switzerland where a 5 minutes delay is outrageous. :) Well, for me it was a birthday gift, as the ride was free in the end. Once in Callander I first had to make my way to the start of the hike. My goal of the day was the summit of Ben Ledi and the mountain was unfortunately about 5 kilometers outside of the town. That meant an hour long walk along a nice bicycle/pedestrian path. The weather was good and I enjoyed the walking along the countryside and through a lovely forest.
Reaching the car park at the foot of Ben Ledi, I had arrived at the official starting point. The car park was rather full and it was obvious that I wouldn't be the only one attempting this hike today. After a short break I was on my way and of course what awaited me first was a long ascending slope. Today was about enjoying though and I took my time, walking upwards steadily but slowly. The path was out in the open and I was glad that there also were some clouds, otherwise it would have been almost too hot to walk. Soon gaining some height, I turned around quite a few times as the views got more incredible with every step I took. To one side beautiful Loch Lubnaig and it's surrounding hills, to the other side extensive views towards Callandar and even as far as Stirling. While the scenery was more or less the same for the first hour, it changed once I rounded a bend and Loch Venachar came into view. Together with the Loch the first mountains of the national park appeared as well and once I was upon the ridge towards the summit, I had the full view. It was time to take a break and enjoy this absolutely stunning scenery.
Just because I was on the ridge towards the summit now, didn't mean that it was flat. :) Only when I passed another couple steep ascents I finally was on the summit. And the view from there was even better. Mountains and rolling hills unfolded before me to one side, Loch Lubnaig and the lowlands to the other side. It definitely was worth to come up here for my birthday and now it was time to celebrate. :) For once I had brought a beer with me and a tablet of fudge served as a birthday cake. For one and a half hour I stayed on the peak, drank my beer, ate my "cake" and enjoyed the beautiful view. As I said before: all about the enjoyment today. :) The time was marching on as usual though and too soon it was time to start the descent. I was going down in a loop and therefore kept walking along the ridge. A first rather steep descent later, I had to turn right and started to walk down a more gentle slope. The mountains of the Loch Lomond and Trossach national park disappeared from view and so did almost everything else. The trail there was surrounded by mountains and all I could see was Loch Lubnaig at the end of the descent. Nevertheless the scenery was still very good and it was a nice walk down. Taking another break along the way, I was still in enjoyment mode. :)
Reaching the bottom of the mountain again, it was another kilometer along Loch Lubnaig to get back to the car park. Of course that was not the end, as I had to walk back to Callander the same way I came from. I kinda dreaded this part as I thought it's gonna be a tough walk back. But as the weather was still good, as I carried a light backpack and as it was an enjoyable way, it was not bad at all and I was back in Callander sooner than expected. Taking the bus back to Stirling, I was glad I had the chance to celebrate my birthday with a beautiful hike like this.
Highlight of the day: the extensive views to all sides
This hike is for you if:
- you're looking for panoramic views of the Loch Lomond and Trossach national park
- you're looking for an easy mountain to get up to
- you want to celebrate your birthday up on a mountain :)
This hike is not for you if:
- you want to do a challenging hike
- you don't like to walk straight ahead on tarmac for a couple hours
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