Ben Arthur

(The Cobbler)

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

This edition is copyright © The Editors of the Gazetteer for Scotland, 2002-2022.

It has taken much time and money to make the six-volumes of Groome's text freely accessible. Please help us continue and develop by making a donation. If only one out of every ten people who view this page gave £5 or $10, the project would be self-sustaining. Sadly less than one in thirty-thousand contribute, so please give what you can.

Use the tabs on the right of this page to see other parts of this entry

Ben Arthur or The Cobbler, a mountain on the NE border of Cowal, Argyllshire, 2¾ miles WNW of Arrochar village. Flanking the northern side of the mouth of Glencroe, it overhangs the head of Loch Long, and figures grandly through vistas and gaps of the neighbouring mountains. With an altitude of 2891 feet above sea-level, it presents a shattered peaky crest, rising in bold relief against the sky; and, as seen from the E, shows a sharp fantastic outline, fancied to resemble that of a shoemaker at work. It is both difficult and dangerous of ascent, being often enveloped in mists or clouds; but when scaled by a daring mountaineer on a clear day, it rewards him for his toil by one of the most extraordinary prospects to be anywhere seen in Britain, over a vast bewildering expanse of mountains, glens, and lakes.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer