Bus stops of my life

I think I first went to Arrochar in about 2017 around the time I was getting more into hill and trail running, just before I joined Westies. I first heard about The Cobbler through a friend who regularly enjoyed getting the first CityLink 926 service out of Glasgow to Arrochar to get the first bus back into town after a quick jaunt up and down. You needed to make the round trip from Braeside stores in Arrochar to the famous needle and back, in under two hours. The first time we tried this together I never made it to the top as there wasn’t enough time to get back for the bus, but this may have been the start of my great love affair with this fine mountain.

Over the years I have grown very fond of the area, Argyl has a beauty that is very unique, wild, rugged, vibrant and spectacular. All of this wonderfully accessible by public transport. Aha! This is obviously what I want to talk about.

In my humble opinion, Arrochar, by public transport is one of the best day trips you can do from Glasgow as a hill runner. You have the option of either the bus or train, or both, and with the latter a bike can also be thrown into the equation too. So here are my ten  reasons why you should take public transport to Arrochar for a hill run:

1. Taking the bus or the train gives you over an hour of uninterrupted, downtime, each way. Bliss!

2. For the flickering feelings of excitement of what’s to come by catching glimpses of Ben Lomond across the glimmering water of Loch Lomond in the morning light as the bus heads up the west side of the bonny banks. Then as the bus rounds the corner into Arrochar this is when you catch a glimpse of the iconic peak of the Cobbler in all its glory.

3. You learn good planning skills, figuring out a route, how long it will take, which busses or trains you can take home, best case scenarios, worst case scenarios etc. Its much more of an adventure than the simplicity of driving from A-B in a metal cage.

4. Obviously it is so much better for the planet to travel this way, I’d like to have some fancy carbon saving metric for you but sadly I don’t possess those skills. It is obvious though that fitting 30 people into one vehicle over 30 people in sperate cars is just a much less exploitative way to travel.

5. The variety of running routes available from the Arrochar Braeside stores stop or the Ardgarten stop are incredible. Lovely forested trail runs or gnarly, rocky scrambles.

6. The bus or train timings do allow a wide range of different time frames in which to fit either your micro or macro adventure into. It’s always fun to take a time check on your last peak and weigh up if you have enough time to get to the bottom in time for the bus home.

7. If, and inevitably you will, get stuck in traffic on the way home to Glasgow (if it’s the summer) it is much more bearable being on a bus and not the driver of a car raging at all the people who have the cheek to be out enjoying a good day in the countryside like yourself. Taking the train however, you can avoid this entirely!

8. Nice bus drivers will drop you off at the Cobbler car park, be sure to ask when you first get on. You can stash a drybag in the bushes here so you can get cosy for the journey home.

9. Maybe its just me but there’s something weirdly satisfying knowing you can make a great day work well without having to use a car. Connecting with nature in the way that we do through hill running is a privilege, one way to respect this and ensure a balance is by treading as lightly as we can, where we can.

10. A perfectly timed run allows you plenty time back in Arrochar to enjoy some snacks, grab a coffee or a drink from a local café or simply just sit and take in the views of one of the finest peaks in Scotland!

If you have a special bus stop, hill run combo I’d love to know!