Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve

Ben Lawers, 1,214 M, Is The Highest Mountain In The Southern Highlands And The Tenth Highest In Britain. The Reserve, Managed By The National Trust For Scotland, Is Known For Arctic Alpine Plants On Lime Rich Rock. A Munro; The Standard Route Is Steep But Not Technical In Summer. · Killin, Scotland

Ben Lawers, 1,214 m, is the highest mountain in the Southern Highlands and a Munro, rising north of Loch Tay in Perthshire. The reserve is run by the National Trust for Scotland and is known for arctic-alpine plants that grow on its lime-rich rock, at their best in June and July. The usual route starts from the visitor centre car park a short way up the hill road from the A827 and is a long, steep, non-technical climb: allow roughly five to seven hours return, and confirm that figure for your own pace. It suits fit walkers with proper boots and some experience of hill navigation. It is not a stroll. Mist can drop within minutes, snow can lie into May, there is no mobile signal on much of the hill, and the top is a broad, bare dome with few features to steer by. Lower down you meet sheep, and with luck ptarmigan higher up; midges bother you near the car park in summer. If the cloud is down, the visitor centre area and a short low walk are still pleasant, but the view, the reason to go, will not be there.

Mountain nature reserve on the north side of Loch Tay in Perthshire reached from the A827, with a National Trust for Scotland visitor centre and car park about 600 m up the road, and a path to the summit, Killin, Scotland, United Kingdom

The hill and reserve are open all day, every day, with no gate; access is by public right of way and Scotland's open access rules. The National Trust for Scotland visitor centre is seasonal, commonly open in the warmer months and closed in winter, with limited days and hours at the edges of the season, so confirm before relying on it for toilets, information or a drink. The car park is on the hill road and can fill on fine summer weekends; the road is single-track in places and can be icy or closed by snow in winter. Daylight is the real limit: in December it is short, so start early. There is no lighting and no staff on the hill.

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