BEN VORLICH & STUC A'CHROIN

[EACHANN AN DOIRE]

I climbed Ben Vorlich last Saturday (23 April) but the weather was awful – very low cloud, windy and miserable. On top of that my friend Lee was feeling a bit ill (Probably shouldn’t have been out at all) We got to the top of BV and turned tail and went back the way we came – too scunnered to even think about Stuc a’Chroin.

Lee looking sorry for herself last week.

However, not before I vowed to come back; for even in these conditions I could tell this would be a really good walk on the right day.

So I did come back today, a week later, leaving Lee behind with the mistaken view that she had something better to do! Silly person. (Incidentally, this was the day of the Stuc a’Chroin 5000 hill race – so called because it involves a total ascent of about 5000 feet. The course record for this 5000 ft. ascent and 22km distance is 1 hour 59 minutes! Not for me thank you!) The weather was almost perfect - a fine sunny day, albeit very windy.

The route notes on the Walk Highlands web site are as usual pretty spot on. However I would strongly recommend a wee detour through the “Hill Garden” of Ardvorlich House. Just as you take the track out the back of the grounds of the house you’ll see a signpost pointing to the left and into the woods. The path immediately splits east/ west. I took the east side and kept to ways closest to the gorge; very steep sided in places and at this time of year filled with colours and scents of rhododendrons and azaleas. The path has a few little bridges over tributary streams until you come to the main bridge over the burn near the top of the gorge. I stopped there for a few fond moments and in my mind went back to boyhood days spent guddling in burns, building dams and gathering frog spawn in a jar.

From here I took the upper path which soon emerged from the wood about a hundred yards from the hill track and the recommended route.

The section from the summit of Ben Vorlich down to the beallach and then the scramble up the prow of Stuc a’Chroin was the highlight of these mountains for me. The scramble looks worse than it is.

Then on the way down I found a wee spot completely sheltered from the wind to have my lunch. I even managed to doze off for twenty minutes. What a blissful day. Lee – you don’t know what you missed.

(Views from these hill tops: Stob Binnein & Ben More; Ben Lawers etc.; Ben Lomond and the other Ben Vorlich; The Wallace Monument and much more)

Here are the best of the rest of the photos.....

Ben Vorlich in full view as soon as you emerge from the Hill Garden.

Stuc a'Chroin from Ben Vorlich

Summit of Stuc a'Chroin from the Donald Stuart memorial

Stob Binnein & Ben More

[skuk007]

Glad you finally got to do these two in a day. Did you find the route up the scrambly bit of Stuc a'Chroin ok?

[EACHANN AN DOIRE]

Yeah - although the trace of a path up seemed quite feint it was somehow quite easy to follow. I feel sure even if I had strayed I would still have found my way to the top. The scrambling was fairly easy and there's no real exposure as such. Also I could always see an escape route to my right. If you haven't done it already I would strongly recommend it.

[rockhopper]

Great stuff and what a difference a week makes !

The section from the summit of Ben Vorlich down to the beallach and then the scramble up the prow of Stuc a’Chroin was the highlight of these mountains for me. The scramble looks worse than it is.

Often seems to be the case in these sorts of routes - looks bad from a distance but once you're on them it's OK.