West Lomond

About West Lomond

Rising as the highest point in Fife, this prominent Marilyn is a volcanic plug with a sharp, conical profile that dominates the local skyline. The steady ascent from the historic village of Falkland leads to a wide summit plateau featuring an ancient hillfort and panoramic views across the Kingdom of Fife.

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Did You Know?

• •The name derives from the Gaelic 'Lomann', meaning a beacon or bare hill, an appropriate title for a peak that served as a significant landmark for centuries across the Firth of Forth.
• •The summit plateau holds the remains of an Iron Age hillfort; while the ramparts are weathered, the defensive positioning provides an unobstructed view of the Tay Bridge to the north and the Bass Rock to the southeast.
• •On the northern slopes sits the Bunnet Stane, a peculiar mushroom-shaped rock formation carved by wind erosion, which features a small man-made cave known as the Maiden’s Bower.
• •While often climbed alongside its twin, East Lomond, this western peak is significantly higher and serves as the highest point in the historic county of Fife.
• •The hill is composed of a resilient layer of quartz-dolerite, an igneous rock that resisted the glacial scouring that flattened much of the surrounding Lowland landscape.
• •Despite its modest height, the summit is often the last place in the region to hold onto winter snow, frequently wearing a white cap long after the surrounding fields have turned back to green.