Ben Lomond

**Ben Lomond** (Scots Gaelic: **Beinn Laomainn**) is a muntain in the Scots Hielands, at it's summit it haes a heich o  abuin sea level. The muntain is locatit on the east bank o Loch Lomond within the Loch Lomond an The Trossachs Naitional Pairk. It is the soothmaist o the Munros.

## Geographie
Ben Lomond appears tae hae a conical shape whan luiked at frae the Arrochar Alps nearby but it haes a craggy corrie heich up on it's northren side. The muntain comprises twa parallel sooth-sootheastren ridges: the Sròn Aonaich ridge tae the east and the Ptarmigan ridge tae the wast. At the north o the summit these ridges come thegither an meet at a  col wae Cruin a' Bheinn, a Graham. The summit is gressy and craggy an is merkit bi a triangulation pillar.

## Geologie
Ben Lomond's geologie is maistly makkit up frae granite, mica schist, diorite, porphyry an quartzite. Ben Lomond ligs on the Scots watershed, the drainage divide that separates the watter systems flowin tae the east frae the anes that flow tae the wast.

## Weys o ascent
The maist popular wey up Ben Lomond is kent as the 'tourist peth', a wide, erodit an weel paddit peth that is rouchly causeyed at steeper pairts. This wey up wis creatit on accoount o The Ben bein ane o the maist weel kent muntains in Scotland wae climmers, it gaes up the myld Sròn Aonaich ridge afore gaun abuin tae a steeper section taewart the pynt.

Anither peth follaes the Ptarmigan ridge tae the summit alang a steeper an craggier peth. The Ptarmigan peth is the seicont maist popular wey up, follit bi a third peth that gaes up frae Gleann Dubh.

Awthou the tourist peth is no considert a difficult ane, Ben Lomond can still pruive tae be a challenge tae walkers wioot muckle experience, mair sae in ill wather. The dedicatit Lomond Mountain Rescue Team haes been active syne 1967 assistin walkers an climmers on Ben Lomond as weel as ither nearby pynts.


File:Ben Lomond - summit ridge.jpg|A walker gaun doon the tourist peth, seen frae the summit in Januar 2010.
File:Ben Lomond from Ptarmigan.jpg|The summit o Ben Lomond seen frae heicht up on the Ptarmigan ridge in Januar 2010.


## Fauna
The heich pairts o the muntain haes an alpine tundra ecologie, hame tae species o birds includin peregrine falcons, merlins, rock ptarmigans, red grouse and gowden eagles. A study bi the British Trust for Ornithology fund that Ben Lomond micht hae the maist soothren breedin ptarmigan population in Scotland, follaein the drap in nummers o the populations on Goatfell an the Arran muntains, mibbie as a result o climate chynge.

The muntain area is uised for fermin sheep an aw. The National Trust for Scotland is taskit wae managin the laund, ettlein tae fin a balance atween wildlife conservation an the laund available for fermin.

## Memorial Pairk
The area aroon Ben Lomond, includin the muntain summit, haes been designatit as a war memorial cried the Ben Lomond Naitional Memorial Pairk syne 1995. The pairk is dedicatit tae the fawen o the First an Seicont Warld Wars, an wis creatit oot o the former Rowardennan Estate wae the backin o the National Heritage Memorial Fund. The memorial pairk is managed bi the Naitional Trust for Scotland

The memorial pairk wis officially appent on Armistice Day in 1997 bi the Rt Hon Donald Dewar the Secretar o State for Scotland at the time. Dewar later becam the first First Meenister o Scotland. At the appenin ceremony Dewar presentit a granite sculptur bi Doug Cocker, a Scots airtist wha haed won a competition held bi the Scots Sculptur Trust tae design a permanent monument for the pairk.

## Etymology
The nem *Ben Lomond* is widely greed tae mean "baikon muntain" or "baikon hill". *Lomond* is a Brythonic nem an comes frae the element *lumon* meanin "a baikon" (the relatit Welsh wird *llumon* is frae the same root). This element, that is the origin o the Scots wird lum an aw, can be fund in the nems o ither hills an muntains lik the Lomond Hills in Fife an Pumlumon in Wales. As wae thae hills, Ben Lomond is likly tae hae been thoucht o as a central pynt, likly the meetin-pynt o monie territorial boundaries, whaur a baikon may hae aften been lit.

## References