First of all - the path to The Cobbler is not on The Chalets, that was just the closest I could…read moreget. You can park in car park off the A83 just across from that street (The Chalets). Cross the street and you're in! Logistics: The first part of the climb is a steep-ish zig-zag through the trees. It's not too hard, but will get your heart pumping. When you get above the tree line is when things really start to get fantastic. You walk through a magnificent valley filled to the brim with mountain streams, flora, and giant rocks that give the landscape an otherworldly feel. It's just one gorgeous vista after another, and the best part is it's mostly flat! But then...it gets tough. The ascent to the mountain is steep, and you will need serious hiking boots. Don't make the mistake we did. When you get to the fork, go right. If you go left, it is faster, but it's also a perilous climb up a rocky riverbed. If you go right, you will stay on a trail which is both easier and safer to climb. The Cobbler receives rave reviews all over the interwebs, and having tackled it this weekend, I can see why. I didn't even get to see those spectacular views from the top (it was foggy at the peak) and I was still amazed by it. I'd say anyone who is in reasonably good shape and has a pair of hiking boots and a waterproof jacket can do this round-trip in under six hours. This is the day trip to beat all day trips! You will be surrounded by beauty and feel amazing afterwards.

So today was a sunny spring day so a group of us decided to head to the whangie, I'd been before…read moreearlier in the year but it was so icey we had to turn back after only getting half way.. The whangie and Queens view is only 30 minutes from Glasgows city centre in the car, unfortunately I don't think there is any public transport to get there. There is a small car park at the bottom which on sunny days will be busy.. The first part of the walk is the toughest bit, but even then it's not that tough.. It's a lovely walk for walkers of all abilities.. There are parts which you have to be careful and concentrate on, but most of it is easy.. As I said today it's a talkie walk, which means you can chat whilst doing it without needing to catch your breath.. The views from the start are amazing you can see loch Lomond which today looked beautiful and blue.. Once you get to the top you see the actual Whangie.. It's a big piece of rock that has a slice through the middle which you can walk through, it is beautiful, I loved it.. Legend has it that the whangie was created by an angry dragon whose tail smashed through the rock, creating the slice.. It's a really lovely walk and to the top and back down took about 1 1/2 hours..

I CLIMBED A FREAKING MOUNTAIN!!!!…read more Ahem, I'm sorry, I'll restrain myself. Anyway, yes, I climbed an mountain and made it to one of the peaks. Not THE peak but up there. The Scotsman and I took the gondola ride for about 15 minutes at a nice pace up the side of the mountain. This is quite picturesque, through the trees, over the bike and walking trails and over several little streams. It's GORGEOUS. Finally when we disembarked, we were at the Ski lodge area. We looked about and took the path that led to the viewing point. It's a nice path, it meanders some what and gets quite steep. It's not EASY but it's not HARD either. If you're not at least some what accustomed to walking around and up things, don't try it. There are plenty of spots where you can rest and a lovely little cold stream running along the land. Out about 1000' from the trail is a memorial to someone who loved or lived there. May they rest in peace. Once you get to the top, the view is incredible, and there's a sense of accomplishment, or there was at least for me. My knee didn't give out and my friend surprised himself too!

Seriously, go climb this mountain. What awaits you at the top is worth it. The view is absolutely…read morebreathtaking. Not only in this on epic level hike it is also a popular snow sports destination and am everything else outdoors. The entire town of Fort William the readied at the base of Ben Nevis is geared towards the outdoor recreation lifestyle. This make it easy if you forget an item or two in your rucksack.

I am jealous. I am jealous that there are people in this world who can get up every morning and go…read morehere, even if just for a quick morning walk. We visited Loch Lomond on New Year's Day and can I just say it made for the most magical start to a new year for me. I'm floored by its beauty and tranquility and if its the start of the Highlands, holy cow - or rather coo! My tour group couldn't get over how stunning the light, filtered through clouds touched upon the hillsides. The park was clean and everyone did their part to keep it that way. No one was too noisey either. Would love to come back and explore more!

Truly, a magnificent park and one a few untouched by development in Scotland. Jagged peaks and…read moresteep mountain tops punctuate the sky and mark some of the most prestige wilderness areas in the world. I wholeheartedly loved this park and my time exploring it. Going back, I would spend a weekend and camp here to really immerse myself (guess I have a good excuse).

Hi Guys, cycled…read morethrough Scottland from Glasgow to the northern boarder, to the ouder hebridies, to Edinburgh, back to Glasgow, twice. Took the boat from Inverness for return trip to Fort William - 30 years ag (1990/1991). Great experience - without any E-... . Today I am cycling an E-MTB:.. To take a rest we stopped in Fort William for 2 days - but did not rest... I a booklet we rent from university "Mountainbiking in the Scottish Highlands" a tour was described around Ben Nevis. (unfortunately at this time my English has had much room for improvements..... and I did not understand the rating "challening"...... Well, we started at 9 and arrived the West Highland was at 6pm, followed the West Highland way to Fort William and arrived in Fort William at 9pm. the B&B lady was so friendly (and afraid about her house.......) and offered us to wash and cleand our stuff - if we would leave it outside.......... It was really a very nice lady. we have had very good experience with Scottish. On the ouder hebridies we recognized that we needed a post office to collect some money - but unfortunately the only one was located north of the mountains on Lewis or Harris - dont remember which one is the northern one - and a postbus driver invited us to join him on his car and trip to Stokinish. It was such a nice experinece "bloody old English ...." 500times during the 2 hours trip. In the evenig he invited us to join us at legioneers Pub / Club. It was so nice. If I would find some power for the E I would do it again....... Great country, people, weather........(:...).

We did the WHW from 6th - 15th June this year and really enjoyed the hike over the 8 days, the trek…read moreis really good marked and we reached after 154 KM Fort William, I highly recommend to do this once in a life time :-)

Beautiful lake in the Trossachs area of the Highlands. We came on an extremely cold day or we would…read morehave taken a boat tour. Pretty area to hike or bike around. The tiny gift shop has hot tea served by a friendly staff.

If ever I needed encouragement at the mid-point of a challenging, torturously hilly 32 mile cycle,…read morethen catching sight of Loch Katrine was it. The Aberfoyle/Dukes Pass/Loch Katrine loop we tackled was a beautiful, scenic route and any difficult climbs paid off in the abundance of awe-inducing views as we came soaring back down. Loch Katrine was a definite highlight for me. She's a beauty and well-worth the visit whether you're planning on biking, walking or taking a trip on the flagship Sir Walter Scott steamship which we were lucky enough to catch sight of. Cyclists, this whole area in general is just great and this route has been my favourite so far. The hills are tough but coming down them is genuinely breath-taking. I definitely want to return to Aberfoyle again and do all kinds of lovely touristy things. Visiting Loch Katrine will definitely be one of them.

This is a great hike just outside the bonanza of quaint that is Callander. The website given here…read moregives a very exact description of how to get there, where to park, and the hike itself so I'll leave that for you to click yourself and get on to reviewing the experience. Well, it's not as spectacular as the beloved Cobbler, but it's also not as strenuous. It's a steady incline up and up, with some very boggy spots if it's been raining recently (and when hasn't it?). But you are rewarded with fantastic 360 degree views at the top, and lots of places to sit and contemplate. This is a great hike for even the most novice hiker--the path is clear, there are no scary scrabbling spots or perilous gradients, and it only takes about four hours in total. Bring hiking shoes, a waterproof jacket, a hat (it's windy!) and a packed lunch and you are pretty much good to go. This is a very rewarding day trip that allows you to explore Scotland's beauty.

My boyfriend and I purchased a groupon for a day of canoeing and cliff jumping here at Go Country…read more It was a crackin deal, so we figured, why not, let's get some summer activities in before the cold temperatures are back. Sigh. This wee place is great. Not the newest of equipment the wet suits especially were a bit on the well worn side, but the staff are super friendly (and local- we saw them at the pub later that night) and very helpful. We went off with a group of about 25 or so for a wee canoe around loch ard over to some cliffs that were near by. My boyfriend and I were hoping to get a two seater boat, but there was a stag do there and other people who got to them first, so we were plunked in with one other guy we didn't know. His cousin ended up going with someone else in their boat. We were given a crash course on paddling and what to do if we tipped the boats and we were off. The leader of the group followed us along in an engine powered boat, making sure we were all safe and he was able to help if anyone tipped over their boats. Really funny guy, making jokes at those of us who seemed to paddle in circles. Once we got the hang of it, our boat made good time, with me sitting in the middle, probably the weakest out of all of us, it was fun none the less. Once we got to the cliffs, we parked the boats and hiked a bit before we swam across to the cliffs. They started us off with a wee cliff, which my boyfriend and I jumped off no bother. It wasn't until the highest cliff that I loved my life more than I thought and would not allow myself to leap to my death. Haha. It wasn't that high, and loads of people jumped a million times, I just went up, looked down, anxiety set in and I backed away. I got heckled a bit for not jumping, but that's ok. We had a blast none the less. After we'd had our fun, instead of hiking back to our boats, we were given the option of swimming back. I chose to swim, as it's been a while since I've swam anywhere. It was great fun! We paddled back to Go Country and that was that of our day on the loch. It was a lot of fun and should another groupon surface, I'd go back. The prices are a bit high for what you get (without a groupon).

I'd bought a voucher from Groupon for a canoeing and cliff jumping adventure experience. It's been…read morea great introduction, as I'd never heard of Go Country before, and now I know them, I'd definitely want to go back and do another activity with them. The experience was fantastic! A bit mental, but fantastic! We canoed over the loch, parked the boats (or whatever it is you do with boats) on the far shore, and then swam over to the little islands. I thought he was kidding when he said we had to swim, but nope, no joke. Then we climbed the little islands and flung ourselves off from various heights and positions. It was magic. I was really impressed with the whole set up of the place. There were 2 gentlemen dealing with us at the start, and they were really friendly and full of light-hearted banter, presumably to help us feel less nervous about the impending cliff fling. They issued us all with wet suits, spray jackets, life jackets and helmets, and carefully checked that we had everything on correctly. We then had a brief introduction on safety and how to paddle properly, and then off to the canoes! The instructor had a wee motor boat, which was good, as he was able to herd us all together with the boat like a sheep dog guiding its unruly herd, and was quickly able to get to any canoe that was struggling. He had a job on his hands, as in our group there was one canoe team who just could not steer and fell way behind - they ended up getting a lift in his boat, another one who were fighting against the wind with only two people instead of 3 and ended up hitching a lift by clinging on to the side of his boat, one canoe that took on too much water, and he had to give them a bucket to bail out with, and one canoe that tipped over, ditching the 3 people into the loch! And then he had a few people (myself included) who were havering over the big jumps. I must have been to the cliff edge about a hundred times before I finally jumped. This guy was patience personified. The facilities are a basic set up, but this is what you would expect. There are portacabin changing rooms, which are basic but clean, and chemical portaloos. Don't be expecting any hot showers when you're done. The setting itself is beautiful. When we were paddling back to base we had a stunning view of the hills, with Ben Lomond towering in the distance, and afterwards we sat on a bench just watching people and ducks go by on the loch. They have an inflatable water park which looks like it could be a real laugh, and other activities like hamster balling, kayaking, mountain biking, archery, climbing and abseiling and other various outdoor activiites. They'll even hire you everything you need if you want to do camping. Next on my list is gorge walking! They also have an agreement with the McDonald Forest Hills hotel which is directly opposite, so if you're with a group of people, and not all of you want to do the outdoorsy things, some people can choose relax in their leisure suite, or have a massage treatment instead. They really have thought of everything - it's a very good set up and I'm looking forward to doing another experience with them again soon.