Ben Ime and the Cobbler. July 2011

Very unusual rock lines.

The summit of Ben Ime (1011M)

Me at the top.



This landscape could resemble the moon!



Looking down on "The rest and be thankful"

The rock at the summit of the Cobbler. (894M)

Me at the top .

Plenty of streams to top up the water bottle.

A lot of today's walk was on paths like this.

The colour of the foxgloves are stunning at this time of year.

"These feet were made for walking"

I DID IT !!As previously reported I failed on my last attempt to climb Ben Narnain and the Cobbler on the same day using my bus pass with no cash in my possession.Well yesterday I surpassed this target on a glorious warm sunny day. Left Ayr on the 6.30AM bus to Glasgow which connected me on to the 8.00 one to Oban via Arrochar where my walk begins. By 9.30 I had my gear on and the real climbing began The first part is a twisty hilly path until you clear the forest. At this point I noted where I went wrong last week when I was heading for Ben Narnain. A big white post stuck in the ground tells you to turn right but I went straight on. No problem this week I was heading for Ben Ime using the tourist route.  Once clear of the forest the path  is a little gentler on the feet until you come to the Ben and  then it rises steeply with a couple of blind summits to keep your mind on the job in hand.Once on the top it was a wee bit misty but thanks to a fellow walker whom I met he was able to point out Ben More, Ben Vorlich ,Ben Vane alongside views of Loch Lomond ,Loch Arklet and Glasgow's own water supply Loch Katrine.Coming back down was fairly easy as it was a dry grassy slope with a fairly well defined path. Once I arrived at about 550M there is a well laid out path with steps to take me up the slopes of Ben Arthur more commonly known as the Cobbler. Once on the summit I spent the time watching two rock climbers whom I had met on the bus earlier abseiling down sheer rock faces.I have done some silly things in my life but launching myself into space off a cliff is not one of them. Later on we were able to discuss together the various points of view on the different sports the conclusion was we all enjoyed what we did and had respect for each other.Leaving the summit behind I headed off back down the tourist route as I felt the scrambling way was a bit unsafe on my own. Took plenty of stops to admire the wonderful scenery along the way, met a few other walkers out just enjoying the day. Once back in the village of Arrochar I sat on a bench at the head of Loch Long looking back up the mountains with a sense of satisfaction at what I had  achieved today. At this point I could easily have gone to the local bar for a pint or three but as I was penniless this was not possible. Bus arrived at 5.40 and once we packed a party of Glasgow pensioners into their seats we were off. Back in Glasgow I needed to spend a penny if you get my meaning well it costs 30P in the bus station so I improvised with a quick detour to  the local branch of Ladbrokes the bookmakers and availed myself of their free facilities. The bus back to Ayr and arrived  home at 9.00 after a most enjoyable day climbing two different mountains in a part of Scotland that I have only recently started walking in. More outings for the famous bus pass are being  planned for the near future.Mission accomplished!