Topic: Scotland Day Trip - Ben Lomond? (Read 4298 times)

suspectmonkey · « **on:** July 20, 2010 »

A couple of years ago I made use of Stena Line's "Ikea Day Trip" deal to take my mountain bike to Scotland on the cheap to sample their excellent trail centres. Now Belfast has its own Ikea they no longer do the same deal, but have setup a "Mountain Biking Day Trip" deal in its place.

Rather than cycling, how about using a deal like this to tackle a Scottish Munro in a day? The one that stands out for me is Ben Lomond on the banks of Loch Lomond. Only downer is the 112 mile distance between Stranraer and Rowardennan which is more or less at the foot of Ben Lomond. According to Google Maps its a 2hr 45min drive.

Only reason I suggest Ben Lomond is because it looked pretty impressive when we passed it on the WHW and I think its probably the most southerly Munro making it within easier reach of Stranraer. If you go on a week day the ferry costs a paltry £50 for a car with 4 people - £12.50 each for a Munro cant be bad

I dunno know... perhaps the 3 hour drive each way makes it a bit tricky, especially considering the first boat you can take doesn't arrive until 10.30am. But on a plus point you can take the slow boat on the way home which doesnt leave until 23.30. That realistically gives you around 6 hours to play with on the mountain.

Just a thought

Bit more info on Ben Lomond.

RedLeader · « **Reply #1 on:** July 20, 2010 »

What a top idea - you should get a prize for a plan this awesome.
Why not just pick one closer to Stranraer to kick it off (or boat to Troon)?

(Eternal everlasting dibs on not driving

)

MG1 · « **Reply #2 on:** July 21, 2010 »

Sounds good we passed Loch Lomond on the way to fortwilliam. There are some great looking hills in that area.

suspectmonkey · « **Reply #3 on:** July 21, 2010 »

Quote from: J on July 20, 2010

Why not just pick one closer to Stranraer to kick it off (or boat to Troon)?

Ben Lomond is the closest Munro to Stranraer as far as I know. Looking at Munro Magic the closest mountains would be a couple of Corbett's close to Newton Stewart. I think these Corbett's might actually be in the same place I went mountain biking as it looks very close to the trail centre at Kirroughtree. Its only about 40 minutes max from Stranraer but I've no idea what the quality of walking would be like. Check out the map of Corbett's here and a bit more info about the closest one to Stranraer here.

I'm all for tackling Ben Lomond, but at the same time we could always try knocking off a couple of Corbett's first to see how feasible day trippin' would be. Either way it doesn't look like it will be expensive to try out! As for Troon, I'm not sure if P&O do day trip deals, but worth a look I guess as it pretty much halves the distance you need to travel and means you can get to Ben Lomond in just over 1 1/2 hrs.

suspectmonkey · « **Reply #4 on:** July 21, 2010 »

Potential route for starters?

http://www.munromagic.com/RouteInfo.cfm?RouteID=205

Hound of Ulster · « **Reply #5 on:** July 21, 2010 »

Looking at Loch Lomond, me thinks a weekend away with the canoes on the loch and mountains to stretch the legs would be a good one.

HoU

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Author Topic: Scotland Day Trip - Ben Lomond? (Read 4298 times)

suspectmonkey

Scotland Day Trip - Ben Lomond?

RedLeader

Re: Scotland Day Trip - Ben Lomond?

MG1

Re: Scotland Day Trip - Ben Lomond?

suspectmonkey

Re: Scotland Day Trip - Ben Lomond?

suspectmonkey

Re: Scotland Day Trip - Ben Lomond?

Hound of Ulster

Re: Scotland Day Trip - Ben Lomond?

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