Walkhighlands

This was a walk to file under 'using winter as an excuse to explore smaller hills you probably wouldn't bother with in summer'.

The drive through Perthshire, past Loch Earn and Crieff has some very attractive hills that don't seem to really register in any of the baggers lists.

We had picked out Black Craig as an interesting looking excursion, that would have been of not interest to the average hill ticker.

After parking at the large layby, opposite the toilets in St. Fillans. We used the bikes to cycle round the head of the loch, to the Southern banks and the start of the walk. We pushed the bikes up the initial rough track before stashing them and making out way across the open hillside.

The going was not as damp as I anticipated and the initial rain soon gave way to some sunshine and good views across the loch. We decide to avoid the ridge, which though interesting, looked fairly craggy. So we opted for the easier option of following an ATV track to the bealach and making the final steep accent to the summit. By this time the air had cooled and there was a light frost on the grass. Taking time to enjoy the views we looked across to Ben Vorlich and the more northerly peaks, now with a dusting of snow on them.

Retracing our steps on the way back we spotted a herd of deer moving across the hillside. Conscious of the shorter days we didn't dawdle and arrived at the bikes in plenty of time to get back to the cars before dark set in.