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The plan for today was a circuit including Ben Ledi and Benvane from Brig o’Turk in the Trossachs. I parked in the small car park at the end of the public road leading up into Glen Finglas (NN 531 074). This 12000 acre estate is owned by Woodland Trust Scotland ,who are working to restore the historic woodpasture and protect the ancient trees still growing in this once royal hunting forest .
From the carpark I headed uphill on the good road through the woodland with views opening up along the length of the reservoir , after 2km turning left up a track which leads up into Gleann Casaig.
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- Looking up Gleann Casaig to Benvane
Height is gained quickly and before long it was time to turn off the track (NN 544 098)and aim straight for the summit ridge of Ben Ledi . This was a pleasant enough tramp up through heather and soft snow which gave way to scree as the ridge was neared . Once on the ridge it was a short climb south to the summit , a fantastic viewpoint .
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- View back to reservoir and Ben Venue
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- Summit ridge
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- South to Campsie Fells
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- Ridge leading N
The wind was bitterly cold so I kept moving and followed the fenceline north along the widening ridge towards Bealach nan Corp ,meeting the first walkers of the day coming up from the popular Stank Glen route . At this stage I was having to juggle camera batteries , keeping one in an inside pocket to defrost while the other one struggled on - I didn’t think it was that cold today but I’ve never had to do that particular trick before !
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- Lochan nan Corp and Ben Ledi
Passing the bealach a short ascent leads to Lochan nan Corp , lochan of the corpses , so called because a funeral party carrying a body over the hill crossed the frozen loch and were drowned when the ice broke under their weight .
After a quick stop for a bite to eat and a hot drink I set off again , the line of metal fenceposts making navigation easy. These run from Ben Ledi to the shoulder of Benvane following the highest ground , though it looks like they head through some pretty serious swamps- not a problem today with the hard frost .
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- SE towards Stirling
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- Back to Ben Ledi
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- Onwards to Benvane
The ridge rises and falls , crossing a few patches of peat hags before turning west then north again for a final steeper section leading to the summit . Lovely views to be had here , Ben More and friends looking fine to the north , Ben Vorlich to the east above Loch Lubnaig .
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- View N to Ben More
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- Ben Vorlich ,Stuc a Chroin and Beinn Each
The descent from Benvane is straightforward , following the south ridge to Sron Achaidh na h-Airde , easy enough going , just a couple of bands of crags to look out for before passing through three gates lower down to reach the reservoir north of the Allt Ghleann Casaig bridge .
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- Descent ridge
From the reservoir a good road leads back to the car park , this was empty when I set off but was packed when I returned , a popular spot . A nice circuit though maybe boggy outside of frozen winter conditions , Glen Finglas on its own is definitely worth a visit . Very quiet on the wildlife front today , plenty of fox and hare prints , everything else in hiding .
