My favourite place by Kerri Watt, singer-songwriter
Where is it?
Conic Hill, Balmaha.
Why do you go there?
It’s my escapism. I love to take a sunrise hike in the spring and summer and be the first to the top. The views of Loch Lomond are spectacular and always inspire me.
How often do you go?
There was a time I would go at least once a week when I lived close by. Now I try to make it up a few times a year - always on my birthday.
How did you discover it?
My dad took me to Conic Hill for the first time when I was getting into hiking a few years ago. We would take the popular route starting at Balmaha and go up the same way we would come down. I then moved to the village of Drymen close by where I discovered the back route up.
Starting in the village, I’d head up Stirling Road and join the West Highland Way. I would do a full loop up the back, over the peak, down the front to Balmaha and all the way back along the road to Drymen. It’s a stunning route and at my fittest, I used to love trail running it.
What’s your favourite memory?
My sister and I went up on a particularly busy day one summer. Parts of it are single track and we weren’t in the mood to go slowly behind tourists, so we tried to take a short cut.
We had no idea where we were going and somehow ended up surrounded by Highland cows, so far off track that the only way to reach the road without turning back was through a family’s back garden.
Luckily, they saw us and were very kind to let us sneak through. It was a great day of adventuring with her and a treasured memory.
Who do you take?
My husband and I fell in love with hiking together about eight years ago. We got engaged at the top of Ben Lomond, which was a close contender for my favourite place and only a bit further along the road.
So, he’s always my chosen companion when hiking but we also have friends who come to visit from all over the world and Conic Hill is usually at the top of my list of activities when hosting.
You can get a nice lunch or ice cream at St Mocha or the Oak Tree Inn when you return to Balmaha post-hike, so between that and the views, it’s usually a hit with visitors.
Sum it up in five words.
Challenging. Inspirational. Rugged. Beautiful. Scenic.
What other travel spot is on your wish list?
There are so many parts of Scotland I’ve yet to visit. A couple of years ago, I set out to do the North Coast 500 in August. Because it was summer, I went completely unprepared for the wild storm we were caught in. All our camping stuff was soaked after the second night.
We had to turn home, which was so disappointing. I’d love to try it again and maybe take a campervan with the whole family.
Follow Kerri Watt online @KerriWatt or visit kerriwatt.com
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here