Beinn Eich
Beinn Eich may be dwarfed by its bigger, better-known neighbours, but a climb to its summit has plenty to offer, reckons Keith Fergus.
Sitting near the craggy Arrochar Alps, and overlooked by the ever-popular Munro of Ben Lomond in the Loch Lomond And The Trossachs National Park, the Luss Hills are vastly underrated but grant superb walking with wonderful far-reaching views. Bounded by Glen Fruin in the south and Glen Douglas to the north, this lovely range of hills reaches its high point of 713m on Beinn Chaorach.
Glen Luss is perhaps the most scenic of the local glens, its name from the Gaelic ‘lus’ meaning herb. A long but scenic road leads through Glen Luss to the base of the 703m Beinn Eich. The glen has close links to one of the most lamentable chapters in Scottish history. In 1747 the blackface sheep was introduced to Glen Luss and their ability to thrive in such an environment was immediate. And so began the calamitous Highland Clearances, where families were driven from their homes (and, for thousands, their country) by landowners to make way for the more profitable sheep.
Beinn Eich commands a central position within the rounded Luss Hills and a path, which can be muddy on the lower reaches, rises steadily up its eastern shoulder all the way to the summit. When up high the ruggedness of the upland topography, scored with deep v-shaped passes, wouldn’t look out of place in the Lake District, and a series of exceptional views extends across Loch Lomond to the Lowlands and towards the Southern Highlands.