Читать книгу Not the West Highland Way. Diversions over mountains, smaller hills or high passes for 8 of the WH Way's 9 stages онлайн

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After the gate onto open moorland, the path becomes surprisingly rough, and not even very distinct at first. It tends uphill then bends round left onto the end of Conic Hill.

Small hill side-trip: Conic Hill

Conic is the final leaping-upwards of the Lowlands. It’s a slice of pebbly conglomerate, tipped on edge to form a spiky spine right down to Balmaha. The hill could be (but isn’t) nicknamed as Conic the Hedgehog.

Leave the WH Way as it starts to slant round onto the right-hand slope of the hill, to ascend grassy heather to the summit; or else from the WH Way’s high point, a small path leads back sharp left up to a col and the summit just beyond.

The summit features in the hill list of Marilyns: though only 361m high, it has the required 150m of drop all around it. Most Marilyns have fine views, and Conic’s is a panorama of Loch Lomond. Ahead and below, the hill spine continues as a line of islands across the loch. Conic Hill and its islands are taken as marking the boundary between Lowlands and Highlands. On a clear day, that line can be extended beyond Loch Lomond to the distant Isle of Arran, also split into Lowland and Highland halves.