Via An t-Sron

Overview

Located just to the north of the small town of Arrochar, The Cobbler (2900ft/884m), is probably the most notable and frequented peak in the whole of the Southern Highlands. It is just 100ft from being classed as a Munro, so instead is classed as a Corbett. This however, takes nothing away from the peak and if anything is a finer day’s hike compared to some of its larger neighbours. It’s remarkable jagged outline is clearly visible from Arrochar itself, and this fact alone has made the Arrochar Alps the focal point of climbing in the Southern Highlands since the late 1800's. The Cobbler is the central peak of the three, the others being The Cobbler’s Wife (south peak) and The Cobbler’s Last (north peak).

The summit of The Cobbler is made of a large block of rock which is roughly 25 feet high. In order to attain the summit, one must scale this rock. Due to the exposure of doing this, the majority of people remain just beneath the summit.

The following described route offers a degree of solitude on an extremely busy peak. There is a good path for a large chunk of the hike and no real difficulties will be encountered.

Approx time taken: 4 to 7 hours.

Getting There

From Glasgow take the A82 road via Loch Lomond until reaching Tarbet. Continue straight on (this is the A83 road) for Arrochar, go through Arrochar town centre, round the u bend and park at the car park on the left hand side next to Loch Long. The charge for parking here is currently £1.00 for the entire day.

Route

Starting from the car park (sea level), cross the road to the north and follow the path that zigzags up the hillside until reaching a dirt track road. Go east along this road for roughly 100 yards until reaching a path that again heads north. This path again zigzags up the hillside until it clears onto the open hillside with the peak of the Cobbler very obvious in front of you. Continue north west along the path until reaching the dam on the Allt a’Bhalachain.

Ford the river at the dam and make your way west south west along grassy ground until picking up a stalkers path on the shoulder of An t-Sron. Follow the stalkers path north west until reaching the top of An t-Sron(614m).

Now continue to follow the path north west on a gradual climb, viewing The Cobbler all the way from a not so busy perspective, towards the summit. The path is strong the entire way and only really steepens towards the very last section when navigating westerly through the rocks beneath the south peak. The path rises to bring you next to the south peak and a further ten minutes north west will bring you to the base of the summit rock.

To climb onto the summit proper, you must climb through a window in the summit rock found on its north west end, walk along the broad ledge (about 3 metres) on its south west side and up onto the top at the south east end. The summit can be slippery when wet and the drop on either side is quite big, so be careful.

Now follow a path north west that leads to a bealach between the main summit and the North peak. Continue north west to reach the summit of the North peak.

Both summits offer fine views all around of the Arrochar Alps, with the view along the length of Loch Long being particularly fine.

Descend back to the bealach.

For the descent, there are a few options. You can descend via the route just taken or via the northern path that u bends around the northern peak or east south east down through the rocks and scree. Both descent routes return to the dam and are highlighted in blue on the attached map.

Books & Maps

Books

The Southern Highlands by Donald Bennet
Scottish Hill and Mountain Names by Peter Drummond
Scottish Mountains on Ski by Malcolm Slesser
The Scottish Peaks by W. A. Poucher
The Corbetts and other Scottish Hills by Scott Johnstone, Hamish Brown & Donald Bennet


Maps

Harvey Superwalker Map: Arrochar Alps
OS Explorer Map sheet : 364
OS Landranger Map sheet : 56

Mountain & Weather Conditions

The weather conditions in the Arrochar Alps can change quickly and you should ensure you are fully prepared for all weather eventualities.

Mountain forecast
Avalanche forecast

General weather forecast

Essential Gear

Summer conditions: Backpack, walking boots/trainers, hat, gloves, water, food, waterproofs(your in Scotland you can bet it is going to rain at some point), map, compass, first aid kit, penknife, spare socks, walking poles can be good to ease the jarring on the old knees and your camera.

Winter conditions: All of the above and ice axe, crampons, helmet and rope.

External Links

General

Visit Scotland

Discover Scotland

Undiscovered Scotland

Walk the Highlands

The Scottish Mountaineering Club

Arrochar Tourist Information

Buachaille.com


Accommodation

Tarbet Hotel

Ardgarten Campsite

Arrochar Bed & Breakfast accommodation


Mountain & Weather Conditions

Mountain forecast
Avalanche forecast

General weather forecast

Images

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