Despite the proximity of Loch Lomond and its ‘bonnie, bonnie banks’, the feeling of remoteness when up with the buzzards some 2,156ft above sea level is powerful.
Beinn Dubh (Black Mountain) is at the start of a horseshoe ridge that encircles Glen Striddle with an easy ascent rising from the village of Luss.
However, it’ll take you a while to climb it, simply because you’ll have to stop repeatedly to admire the view over Loch Lomond, Ben Lomond, the Arrochar Alps and the rest of the Trossachs.
Once you've scaled the peak, you can carry on along the horseshoe to Mid Hill or descend the way you came.
See more of Secret Britain.
Binevenagh, Northern Ireland: Lava-hewn crags and cliffs at the end of one of the planet's great railway journeys
Our Secret Britain piece today takes a look at the view from the top of Binevenagh in Co Londonderry.
Jason Goodwin: The £9 million-per-pylon removal programme has begun, and it's already revealed bizarre secrets
Our columnist writes about the unsuspected secrets revealed by a project to rid our prettiest skylines of electricity pylons.
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The real name of a 'ghost' rainbow, the first ever omnishambles, and golf on the moon: Country Life Quiz of the Day 20 February 2025Some real brainteasers for you in our Quiz of the Day. Good luck!
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Tom Parker Bowles's favourite recipe: French onion soupThis dish is no mere Gallic broth, rather pure bonhomie in a bowl — a boozy, beefy, allium-scented masterpiece that cries out for the chill depths of winter
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St Patrick’s Chapel ruins, Heysham: The mythical Lancashire ruins with a heavenly viewAnnunciata Elwes takes a look at St Patrick’s Chapel ruins, a Morecambe Bay landmark.
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Suisnish, Isle of Skye: The atmospheric ruins of a Clearance villageBeauty now reigns in a tragic spot where hundreds of villagers suffered during the Clearance
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Covehithe beach, Suffolk, where the cliffs crumble like cakeThe most eroded beach in Britain has a post-apocalyptic feel.
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Clydach Ironworks, Monmouthshire: Ruins in the gorge that inspired ShakespeareAn oasis of quiet now stands where the steam hammers thudded at this Welsh ironworks, in a river valley that may have moved Shakespeare to write A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
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Royston Cave, Hertfordshire: A mysterious site full of sacred energyOur Secret Britain series continues with a Hertofrdshire cave whose true nature remains unknown.
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John Bunting War Memorial Chapel, Scotch Corner: The painstaking transformation of rubble to War MemorialAnnunciata Elwes celebrates the effort that turned a derelict house into a memorial.
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The Garden of Cosmic Speculation: The surreal space where Lewis Carroll and Willy Wonka meet Capability BrownSurrealism, philosophy, nature and gardening come together at the Garden of Cosmic Speculation, as Annunciata Elwes explains.
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The Airman’s Grave, Ashdown Forest: A touching and little-known memorial to victims of war and fateA wartime tragedy in East Sussex's Ashdown Forest is among our Secret Britain picks, as chosen by Annunciata Elwes.
