Geograph - photograph every grid square

In the name of this hill, "Bowie" represents the Gaelic "buidhe", meaning "yellow". The hill's name is locally (and properly) pronounced [bui] (in IPA notation), and not like the surname "Bowie".

Likewise with Dumbowie Hill (a few miles away, on the edge of Dumbarton), as reflected in the name of the fort, NS4275 : Dumbuie Dun, on one of its two summits.

Ben Bowie, shown in the present picture, also has two summits (see NS3382 : Summits of Ben Bowie); my impression was that the southern one, shown here in the foreground, is marginally the taller; however, it is hard to tell, and the OS map makes them the same height(*). The summit area is a good vantage point from which to view Glen Fruin, which this photo shows receding into the background.

The hill lies on a ridge associated with the Highland Boundary Fault; see NS3482 : The summit of Gouk Hill for more information (that item also discusses the earlier names of Ben Bowie and nearby hills).

The photo also shows some daffodils that have been planted on the hilltop. Beside the flowers are two grey stones and a pinkish stone; on the skyline, directly behind the latter stone, is a distant peak flanked by two slightly taller ones. From left to right, those peaks, which are the most distant ones visible in this photo, are Beinn Lochain (NN1600), Beinn Tharsuinn (NN1601), and Stob na Boine Druim-fhinn (NN1602).

Down in the glen, below those three mountains, it is also possible to pick out (see the "more sizes" link) some light-coloured buildings, part of NS3185 : East Kilbride Farm.

(*) At the time this picture was taken, there was an error, which was easy to miss, on the 1:25000 map: it showed three spot heights of 313 metres on the hill, but, of these three, the one furthest to the south-west lay outside of (and downhill from) the bold 300-metre contour line. The error appeared on my printed map, and online, but by 2016 the online map had fixed the error (the third spot height is now 293 metres); newer printed maps will also include the correction.