Vivienne Crow climbs Fife’s highest hill
FROM THE ROAD, it doesn’t look like there is an ‘easy’ way up West Lomond. The hill’s steep west face rises almost 300 vertical metres over a distance of about 700 metres. It’s going to be a slog, particularly with an excited terrier in tow. To make matters worse, the wall of grass and heather I’m looking up at is topped by a layer of exposed dolerite. I have been told there is a straightforward way up through this seemingly impenetrable landscape, but I’m struggling to see it as we set off.
Leaving the road and reaching the base of the hill, we pass one of the many massive blocks of sandstone that cling to these slopes. The Bunnet Stane is suspended above the main
outcrop on a slender pedestal in mushroom-like fashion. Beneath it is a man-made cave, probably built as a bothy for shepherds, although local legend tells a more fanciful story involving star-crossed teenage lovers, an angry father and a murder. It is said that the young woman concerned, grieving the loss of her beloved, chose to spend the rest of her days here in what is now called the Maiden’s Bower.
Beyond the Bunnet Stane, the route climbs steeply, but my earlier apprehension proves unfounded – an old path, surprisingly broad, finds a weak spot in West Lomond’s defences, climbing across a grassy bowl in the hillside. It’s not long before we encounter gentler ground and join the path coming up from the Craigmead car park. (At almost 300 metres above sea level, this is a good starting point for those who want a quicker, easier trot up to the highest point in Fife.) We share this section of the route with a few other walkers as we continue to the trig pillar on the 522m summit.
Less than 5km to the east is West Lomond’s twin, imaginatively named East Lomond. Sitting at either end of a moorland plateau, the two conical hills are the remains of volcanic pipes now filled with dolerite. Both enjoy views that include the Ochils, the
Firth of Forth and the distant Highlands, and both are crowned by settlements once occupied by the Venicones, a Celtic tribe who dominated the region between the rivers Tay and Forth. East Lomond, in particular, has provided rich pickings for archaeologists – the remains of stone buildings, an iron-smelting site and a Pictish slab with the figure of a bull carved into it have all been unearthed on the hill.
After descending West
Lomond, we join the constructed Glen Vale path. On the northern side of the burn are more examples of the fantastically eroded sandstone we encountered earlier in the walk. Here, the elements have created a cave and carved the rock into a natural amphitheatre, known as John Knox’s Pulpit. Although he had strong links with nearby St Andrews, it is not known whether the Protestant reformer himself preached here. Covenanters, however, definitely used the site for clandestine religious services, called Conventicles, in the
17th Century.