Beinn Dubh

While I’m still not entirely positive how to properly pronounce it, Beinn Dubh was an exhilarating hike up above Luss. The views over Loch Lomond were spectacular, even on a blustery, rainy day.

The hill partly obscured by a cloud is Conic Hill, which we climbed earlier this year!

The hike began (for us) in the Luss car park, we followed the fairy trail over the A82 and took a right at the kissing gate and headed through the sheep field. While a certain toddler was saddened to not see any sheep, there were plenty of “gifts” from them in the muck. Ahem.

Once through the field, we passed through a small “deep dark wood” (name that book) where I found £10 (something you probably won’t find every hike, but hey, never know!) and came out the other side to stunning views over Glen Luss. Glen Luss is always worth a drive as well, as certain points have spectacular views towards the Loch. It’s a one track road and really accessible, as long as you don’t have a caravan!

The remainder of the hike is quite straightforward - just keep heading up the hill on the sometimes mucky path. We made it up as far as the first peak of the hill, but two cranky toddlers meant we needed to head back down. The trail is rather slippy heading down, but good gear will help that. Walk Highlands recommends 3.5-5 hours. It took us a good 2 hours to climb up to the first peak, but I was also carrying one toddler and the other one was plodding along and jumping in muddy puddles.

Heading down, we were greeted with this incredible view of Ben Lomond and a rainbow. Obviously, there’s a pot of gold on Ben Lomond, but it’s getting too cold in the year for us to tackle it now. Hopefully next spring or summer we’ll try to hike it!

Unlike Conic Hill, Beinn Dubh was quiet and felt very remote, even though the village is at the base of the hill. The views are stunning and the views from the top look even more spectacular, so I look forward to climbing it again and reaching the true summit! I found the path to be quite muddy and slick at times, so definitely be prepared. If attempting it during the winter, crampons, ice pick, and the other necessary gear are recommended.