Dominating the skyline for miles around, the Lomond
Hills separate the Kinross basin in the west from Fife in the east. The two
highest peaks, which are of volcanic origin, are West Lomond (522m / 1712
feet) and East Lomond (424m / 1471feet). The western scarp slope of the
Bishop Hill, which overlooks Loch Leven, rises to 461m (1492 feet) and is
capped by a volcanic sill of quartz dolerite overlying layers of sandstone
and limestone of Carboniferous age. A freestanding column known as Carline
Maggie is a feature of the quartz-dolerite outcrop. The limestone has been
quarried, most notably at the Clatteringwell Quarry and there are numerous
examples of old limekilns. .
The Glen Burn flows north westwards through
Glenvale to join the River Eden at Burnside and the
Arnot,
Lothrie and Conland burns flow south eastwards to enter the River Leven.
Between 1865 and 1914 a number of reservoirs (Harperleas, Ballo, Drumain,
Holl and Arnot) were created in the Lomond Hills to provide fresh water
for the rapidly expanding towns of west Fife. Iron Age remains have been
found on West and East Lomond and a fine example of a hill fort can be
found midway between the two at Maiden Castle.
Included in Fife Regional Park, the hills are accessible from Pitcairn Centre (where park staff are based), Craigmead and East Lomond car parks.
