The Cowal Way — shrewdly renamed in 2018 as The Loch Lomond and Cowal Way — runs for 57 miles from Inveruglas on Loch Lomond, through my tent pitched at the five-mile marker, southwest across the Cowal Peninsula, to Portavadie on Loch Fyne. I’ll follow it for the next three days.
After another restoring 12-hour sleep, the wet tent is stashed away and I enter a damp and misty Ardgartan Forest.
The trail climbs through the trees, flanked by pools of water clouded with frogspawn. Midges too — already?
Descending into Glen Croe, I ignore the sign for the Cowal Way to explore a pretty riverside walk, hoping that one of the two downstream bridges shown on the map is accessible. One of the things I love about camping is not having to worry about time. If I lose my way or have to retrace my steps, I can always pitch at an earlier spot than planned or hike into the night.
Beard lichen hangs from every branch, a welcome sign of clean air — not that I have any doubt. The first bridge is blocked with a high fence and marked Private so fingers crossed for the second.
The path leads to Argyll Cabins, with a cafe serving cooked breakfast, before successfully crossing the second bridge, passing a moss-covered ruin and an imposing lochside hotel, and finally rejoining the Cowal Way on a forestry road.
The road makes for an easy start to the ascent up Coilessan Glenn.
Leaving the road, things become more interesting, with a brutal climb into the mist and rain. I’m soon sweating and surprised by a cyclist descending from the cloud, pushing his bike down the hill. He’s the first person I’ve met on the trail.
“I’ll let you into a secret — there are no views up there in the mist.”
Nothing new there then.
A cairn marks the highest point on the trail, but there’s nothing visible apart from a small pool of water. It’s no place to linger as a cold wind blows rain across the open ground. Fortunately, the trail is well signposted across the boggy upland.
The descent to Lochgoilhead is beautiful if a little slippy, with a few fallen trees to climb over or crawl under, snagging my backpack. It’s a relief to drop below the wind.
Loch Goil is gorgeous, a tranquil spot surrounded by mountains. I’m not a fan of holiday homes, hating the idea of being forced to visit the same place every year, but if I were to buy one, this would be a strong contender.
Dusk approaches and I’ve still a fair way to go, climbing once more into the next range of mountains.
The OS map leads me down a road to Lettermay Burn and marks the path along the water’s edge. No chance. There’s no path, just rough ground, water channels and bushes blocking my way. It’s turning dark, so I backtrack and follow the road to a bridge over the burn.
It’s hard to find signposts in the gloom, and one I do find appears to point up a very steep path through the trees on the right of the falls. The OS map shows the trail on the left of the falls, but I can’t find a path into the trees barring my way. Reluctantly, I start climbing up the right side, which is a shame as the Sruth Ban Falls are a highlight of the trail.
Above the falls sits Curra Lochain. There’s nowhere obvious to pitch, and the beam of my headtorch has a limited range, so a lumpy slope of tussocks next to the water will have to suffice. Pitching quickly, careful to avoid the slugs glistening in the wet grass, I soon have dinner ready and watch the geese on the water, nestled between the summits of Beinn Lochain and Beinn Bheula.
A tough day, climbing over 3,600 feet in challenging weather, but the surroundings are wonderful — the wildest section of the trail. I burrow deeper into my sleeping bag and drift off to the sounds of frogs and geese. I’d better check my boots carefully for slugs in the morning.
Walk distance: 15 miles.
Total distance: 4,049 miles.
Quite an adventure! We stayed in Lochgoilhead in 2019 and one day my wife and I walked up to Curra Lochain – we picked a route that ran parallel to the Cowal Way, but a bit further north, crossing the river lower down before following a forestry road up the north side of the glen. We still encountered rough going higher up, though.
Lochgoilhead looked like a lovely place to stay. As usual, the next morning I passed a better spot to pitch at Curra Lochain only 100 feet away. There was even a sign, fallen flat in the grass, saying Cowal Way Rest Area. 🙂
Looking forward to your next report.