The next morning, after the usual breakfast with porridge (we continue to refuse the typical English breakfast with eggs, bacon, beans and fried tomatoes....), we head towards the region of Loch Lomond, drive along the edge of the Loch Etive and continuing into the A82. The morning is beautiful and we make some photos on Loch Etive with its wonderful colours.

Loch Lomond, about twenty miles north of Glasgow, is the largest British lake, and the park also includes the mountain range of Trossachs where once ruled the famous and controversial Rob Roy, the Robin Hood of Scotland.

We continue to skirt the west coast of the lake for all its 38 km from Crianlarich up to Balloch. It seems that the park encloses all the beauties of Scotland: The forests of pines, the lake, the grass green with bearings of heather and the typical Highlands, we also see a herd of deer grazing among the pines.

Our plan is to spend two days at Loch Lomond to have the time to do some walking tours. Before stopping on the lake we move up to Dumbarton to visit the castle: a fortress that stretches for hundreds of meters on a volcanic hill surrounded by the river Clyde on one side and the River Leven on the other one. After the visit (which leaves us a little disappointed: the castle is not that much of a place to remember), we route to Balmaha on the east coast of Loch Lomond.

In Balmaha we stay at the Oak Tree Inn, a hotel with a brewery, built on the ruins of an ancient and medieval mill surrounded by a huge oak 500 years old (so they say).

Balmaha is a valid starting point for the ascent to Ben Lomond (reachable from the nearby Rowardennan), the southernmost of the Scottish Munros (the hills above the 3000 feet high, goals here in Scotland for the Munro Baggers, the local mountaineers, collecting ascents on peaks above 3000 feet).

From Balmaha it is also possible to reach the Conic Hill, a small hill overlooking the village and from which there are splendid views of the lake itself. For trekking maniacs it is useful to remember that from Balmaha passes one of the better path to discover the Highlands by foot, the West Highland Way, which with its 153 km, runs through splendid landscapes from Glasgow to Fort William. The same Oak Tree Inn offers accommodation for trekkers offering bunk rooms (rooms with bunk beds) at reasonable prices.

Our program include the ascension to Ben Lomond: unfortunately the climb, from Rowardennan to the top lasts more than four hours even if it is not particularly difficult, but the excessive variability of the weather has convinced us to limit ourselves to the ascension to Conic Hill, from where we were able to admire the panorama of the lake, blessed by a wonderful morning sun.

The ascent of the hill, a little more than an hour, offers fantastic views of the lake and the large heath of the Trossachs area that you can admire as you climb to the top. The sides of the hill, literally invaded by sheep and Angus in the wild, are covered with green grass and fantastic purple heather bearings.

After the ascension we decide to visit Rowardennan to admire the Ben Lomond, unfortunately the weather is already deteriorating and the top of the mountain is not visible: our choice for Conic Hill has proven to be wise!.