Conic Hill — Attraction in Great Britain

This is not an ‘easy walk’. Don’t listen to the Scots who describe this as a wee hill, they’re having a laugh. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not impossible, but it is challenging.

There’s a free car park, a visitors centre, and a toilet at the foot of the walk and the first section is a lovely stroll through a Disney style forest. Towards the end of this section there are some half wooden stairs. So far so good. Up you go to this cute little wooden turnstyle that keeps the sheep out of the forest.

Things get a bit harder from here. There’s stairs. Lots of stairs. REALLY STEEP STAIRS! They go up and up and up, then there this sort of section where you pull over to let the hikers coming down past. It’s a little narrow so try not to fall off the side of the mountain. Luckily most people on this walk are polite and considerate so it’s not too dangerous. Then you get to a slightly less steep area with rocks as semi-stairs and wet, slippery gravely incline. You go up this for a bit and it gets a little less steep, and if you’re walking with other people this is where someone in your group will inevitably say, “Well at least the steep bit is over.” No. It is not.

You get to the top of the first small hill and look around, the view is already incredible, you’ll think to yourself, “I’m exhausted. Maybe this is enough…” but some super fit people will JOG past and ignite your competitive nature and you’ll decide to go a little further.

So up you go, up more steep half wooden stairs, more rocks pretending to be stairs, and more slippery gravelly incline. What a hero. You’ll stop frequently to take in the beauty of Loch Lomond glistening in the distance, the tiny sheep on faraway hills, the birds-of-prey hovering nearby as they hunt mice… but really you’re stopping frequently because you have a stitch in your side and you can’t seem to breathe properly. As you get to the point where you’re wondering how much further can this nonsense go on, you come to another flat area. Rest here. Because it only gets worse.

This last bit is the final ascent. Google maps says it’s only 150m or 3mins. Sure. But I’m pretty sure one of us was screaming the whole 3 minutes and it was probably me. The path is a bit sketchy, there’s mud, it’s slippery, there’s rocks, they’re loose. And it is STEEP. If you’re lucky like me though, you’ll have a nice strong tail wind that picks you up off your feet slightly so you feel like you’re going to be blown off the mountain.

And all of a sudden you’re there! The top of Conic Hill.

It’s an incredible 360 degree view. The landscape is stunning, the sky is stunning, and the ferocity of the wind is stunning. We may have gone up on a windier day than normal because I could feel the wind trying to rip the eyelids off my eyeballs and it was so strong I could practically sit on it as it held my weight. Amazing. Take a bunch of photos then notice the storm clouds are approaching fast. Get off that mountain top!

Crouch low as you descend from the peak, it’s even hairier on the way down and harder to see with path you took up. And the mud is deep. Hightail it down those stairs. Down, down, down. Watch your knees and ankles. You’ll pass some hikers on their way up and you’ll want to warn them about the wind, but you won’t, because why ruin the surprise? This will generate some nice bad karma for you and it will begin to hail. Yey!

You’ve reached that first hilltop again and there are families and small children wondering why you look so haggard. Ignore them and play with the amazing dogs that somehow have much less mud on them than you do. Keep going down. Stairs, stairs, loose gravel, stairs. It’s much easier than on the way up. And then you’re back in that lovely Disney style forest taking photos of the low sunbeams streaming through the trees. Well done you.

In all honesty we charged up in 45 mins and got back to the forest in another 35 mins. And as hectic as it felt, I thoroughly enjoyed the hike and would recommend it. Allow 2-2.5 hrs for a more...

Conic Hill over looks Loch Lomond and the views on a clear day are frankly stunning.

There is dedicated car park in Balmaha with a visitor centre where you can go to the look. Across the road is a little convenience store where you can get provisions for a picnic atop Conic Hill!

The car park is quiet big at a guess maybe 100 spaces, but due to popularity at busy times of day you will have to keep circulations till find a spot - the car park is free.

There is a really nice clearly signposted trail up Conic Hill and it will take you about 40 mins to get 75% to the top where there is a wide level plateau where many people are content to stop as the views there are amazing. To travel the last way does involve some tight steep paths and it can be very windy atop.

Conic Hill is really worth a visit for that stunning view- but clear...

Standing at 361m at its peak, it's not a very hard trail to go but the ascent to the peak is quite steep and a bit challenging. With the right equipment, it's quite easy.

The views on the top is immaculate and superbly beautiful, especially at nice weather. Also during winter, snow can br laying around but not that thick and with inexpensive equipments, the hill can be hiked. The huge Loch Lomond can be seen from the top and offers spectacular view of it. The Highland Boundary Fault can also be seen from this hill and it really shows the line between the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland, amazing!

I took the route from Drymen which uses the West Highland Way trail. It took us 3 hours from drymen (with the pace of a group of people), and it was a nice long walk before ascending at the east side...