After a long few months at uni and a break in the weather, I was fairly desperate to get out and about but didn’t really have the time to organise a big hill trip. Instead, we opted for a short jaunt up Conic Hill – where I hadn’t been since my West Highland Way trip in April 2017. A small hill, but with amazing views!

[December 2018]

More often than not I’m up as early as possible on hill days, so reaching the car park at Balmaha around 1100 was a very alien thing to do. Nevertheless, the car park was empty besides a couple of cars, the air was crisp and cool and there were very few clouds around – a perfect winter’s day really.

The walk up Conic Hill was not a difficult one, beginning from the car park in Balmaha along a forestry road before turning off following a signed path for the hill.

Not far into the walk, a large number of wooden steps are reached on the path that were definitely a lot easier this time around without a huge pack on having already ascended the other side of the hill on the West Highland Way. The views around us grew more spectacular with every bit of height we gained and thankfully there weren’t a huge amount of people around.

The walk to the summit was not a long one and taking our time we reached the summit in around 40 minutes. We certainly could not have asked for a better day to be out and about after a long and busy few months at uni, so it was nice to contrast the hustle and bustle of a busy Glasgow with the relative peace and quiet of a wee hill near Loch Lomond.

After taking plenty of photos and enjoying the peace and quiet, we could see a few larger groups starting to make their way up the path towards the summit – our queue to leave! We headed back towards the car park by simply retracing our steps and reached the car in no more than 20 minutes or so.

This cracking wee hill is definitely one to do to kill a couple of hours and enjoy some great views of the surrounding hills and mountains. Although, it’s probably best to avoid it in the height of summer as, along with Ben A’an, it can get pretty busy!