Conic Hill Trip. Loch Lomond. Always Far From The Madding Crowd.

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With the gradual easing of restrictions and recent permission to go further afield I decided a day out on Conic Hill would suit me fine. At only 361 metres or 1,184 feet it's not a particularly big hill but it was an overcast murky day in the Scottish Highlands and the higher peaks were in the clouds.. There was also a chance it would rain as the two month long sunny weather of Spring had been replaced  by a similar long run of cooler unsettled conditions.

                                                    Raindrops on a leaf. Natural Jewels.

Conic Hill sits on the edge of the Scottish Highlands at Balmaha with fine views over the southern half of Loch Lomond and its 23 islands. Another reason for picking it was that I'd checked online first to see if it was open after recent reports of traffic jams and police moving visitors on in the nearby crowded Trossachs area so I did not want a longer drive only to find the car park full... or out of bounds... or visitors unwelcome. The car park at Balmaha is also very large, with space for almost one hundred cars at a guess so a safe bet for getting parked as one thing I have noticed is a steady year on year increase in tourists with car parks increasingly full earlier on in the day.

Out on the water Loch Lomond at Balmaha was fairly quiet and serene, just a few private boats moving on the surface and a few privately owned kayaks paddling around as I do not think the hire places were open yet by the looks of it.

By contrast the hill and village appeared totally packed with visitors. like a closer to home Skye, and I was lucky to get a space in the car park, despite its size, by 10:00am - only half a dozen vacant spots remaining. I set off up the hill with 1000 others- almost like an Irish religious pilgrimage mountain. I enjoyed the crowds for a while but the novelty soon wore off so I found my own less frequented path up the hill, away from the mass ascent.

One benefit of following this less trodden route was the variety of alpine plants still thriving on the more deserted slopes. Moss Campion here.

Purple Bell Heather. After the initial early Covid 19 experience of a much quieter world with most folk staying indoors the reverse seems to have happened throughout the last month. Probably with families not fully at work or school yet, no holiday breaks abroad, and a pent up release of energy plus a somewhat false feeling that the worst might be over.... means there's more people than ever out and about. That's what I've noticed anyway. Cycle tracks and canal paths are far busier than pre covid levels, twice as many joggers, cyclists, and folk walking than ever before and roads and car parks back to being really busy. I almost miss the first two months of  Covid when you could glide through a silent, near empty cityscape or parkland setting and feel like you were living in a post apocalyptic world. The last few humans left alive. A unique experience I have to admit, as a sometimes natural loner, I secretly enjoyed.  Nature was and always has been my main 'support bubble' in life so I was scarcely affected by the pandemic or not seeing anyone for months on end.

And nature did seem to thrive... so I did as well...

It's the getting back to normal thing I can't handle very well :o)

A microlight over Conic Hill.                                      Far from the Madding Crowd.

Microlight Pilot.

 Crowds ascending Conic Hill. Loch Lomond Islands below.

For me, still proudly keeping my 50 metre distance well apart from humanity, I was remembering another past era.... one where I first explored the twenty three islands of Loch Lomond in my newly purchased kayak. A wonderful archipelago that was as captivating to me then as any Greek island tour. Each new trip by myself or with friends opening up a little more of this secret world every time. Islands full of wonder and mystery... discoveries of fallow deer herds swimming between islands, Australian wallabies, an island pub, (Oh, joy of joys!) , feral goats living like smelly outlaws, a mail boat, a deserted summerhouse, fantastic, mature deciduous woodlands, various game trails, sandy beaches, a nudist colony,  a prison island, an island with a dungeon on it, a castle island, ancient crannogs, occasional ospreys, buzzards and golden eagles spotted overhead , an inquisitive seal at one point...far from the nearest salt water habitat, and a dozen fondly remembered camping trips long before the National Park took it over and put restrictions down. Even free diving occasionally on my own with a mask, snorkel, and wet-suit in my hasty ill advised youth, discovering yet another realm under the surface of caves, secret fish movements, and deep currents.

Tour boats like this one here are fine but with your own kayak or boat you can explore anywhere, or could then, and the sheer joy of discovery on each new trip was a great feeling. Easily the equal of any exotic trip abroad yet only an hours drive away from Glasgow and £40 paid for the kayak. The long distilled chapter in Autohighography about these islands was fun and very easy to write about as I had so much material to draw on in reality and so many great trips to look back on. Just wish I could discover them all again, anew, with fresh eyes, or capture that youthful innocent zest and energy for life a second time round but that would be asking far too much. I've had my slice of heaven already and cannot complain. 

The start of the magical archipelago of islands from Balmaha.

Some of the island chain seen from Conic Hill.

Cruise Boat on Loch Lomond.

Blue Hydrangea.

Kayakers setting off to explore the islands.

The first and original service industry at work. When you study nature closely it also operates with mathematical precision at every turn.

Tom Weir at Balmaha. Outdoor TV presenter, Writer, Rock Climber, Scottish and Greater Ranges Mountaineer and Naturalist.     1914- 2006.

A beautiful song and stunning video that seems to capture my feelings perfectly. A true modern classic that deserves to be far better known than it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meaDDLtBH5c