Ben Vorlich and Stuc a Chroin
Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 7:30 pmWhat a fantastic day.
Drove to the Ardvolich Estate and found the parking place and directions for walkers as highlighted on this website. A good start!
To be honest I found Ben Vorlich quite hard going once you get beyond the Estate and over the styles. The climb just does not seem to stop and underfoot is tricky in places. However, my spirits were kept alive by turning around and admiring views of Loch Earn in the distance.
The path changes from rocky steps to gravel, to bog, back to rocky steps but it is clear and easy to follow. Just be prepared to scramble from time to time.
The summit was reached without too much trouble, albeit from a lack of fitness from yours truly but the views from the top certainly made it worthwhile.
Because of the good weather and the decent pace we had kept hubby was very keen on going on to Stuc a Chroin, which was rather ominous looking to me. However, it was early according to the books, it was smaller than Ben Vorlich!
This is where things went a little wrong. The clamber down Ben Vorlich was not easy especially with how much of the path seemed to be under bog. I found this out the hard way when one of my legs disappeared up to my knees. Hubby stopped laughing after about five minutes and we kept going.
Our big mistake, I think, was following a man and his dog, rather than consult instructions or the map. Indeed we ended up going directly up the side of the hill using hands and knees for most of the way. In fact we came out on the summit exactly mid-way between the David Ferguson Memorial Cairn and the Cairn at the summit (any ideas?). However, we made it and that is all that counts, right?
Again, the views were amazing; we could see the Wallace Monument, Grangemouth, and beyond that, Edinburgh. After a few smug photos and a sandwich stop, we started down.
For the next hour or so, I was no longer loving this walk. The scree path was very tricky and the path around the foot of Ben Vorlich was again very boggy. In fact despite keeping going it did not seem we were getting any nearer to views of Loch Earn.
However more photos were taken and eventually Loch Earn was ahead of us. The path even seemed to get a lot better and eventually we re-joined the route we took going up. Another 30 minutes or so we were climbing back over the styles and we were rewarded with a beautiful rainbow.
Back at home I am tired, sore and I doubt if I will ever wash all the boggy murk from my hands and legs. However I am chuffed to bits at what we achieved and look forward to planning our next ascent. On days like this, I understand how walking becomes so addictive. It was brilliant!
Drove to the Ardvolich Estate and found the parking place and directions for walkers as highlighted on this website. A good start!
To be honest I found Ben Vorlich quite hard going once you get beyond the Estate and over the styles. The climb just does not seem to stop and underfoot is tricky in places. However, my spirits were kept alive by turning around and admiring views of Loch Earn in the distance.
- Views of Loch Earn
- Good path at the start of the climb
The path changes from rocky steps to gravel, to bog, back to rocky steps but it is clear and easy to follow. Just be prepared to scramble from time to time.
The summit was reached without too much trouble, albeit from a lack of fitness from yours truly but the views from the top certainly made it worthwhile.
- Me at the top - Yeah!
Because of the good weather and the decent pace we had kept hubby was very keen on going on to Stuc a Chroin, which was rather ominous looking to me. However, it was early according to the books, it was smaller than Ben Vorlich!
- View over to Stuc a Chroin - Yikes!
This is where things went a little wrong. The clamber down Ben Vorlich was not easy especially with how much of the path seemed to be under bog. I found this out the hard way when one of my legs disappeared up to my knees. Hubby stopped laughing after about five minutes and we kept going.
Our big mistake, I think, was following a man and his dog, rather than consult instructions or the map. Indeed we ended up going directly up the side of the hill using hands and knees for most of the way. In fact we came out on the summit exactly mid-way between the David Ferguson Memorial Cairn and the Cairn at the summit (any ideas?). However, we made it and that is all that counts, right?
- Look, I've done this one and that one over there!
- Hubby with stunning views in the background
Again, the views were amazing; we could see the Wallace Monument, Grangemouth, and beyond that, Edinburgh. After a few smug photos and a sandwich stop, we started down.
For the next hour or so, I was no longer loving this walk. The scree path was very tricky and the path around the foot of Ben Vorlich was again very boggy. In fact despite keeping going it did not seem we were getting any nearer to views of Loch Earn.
However more photos were taken and eventually Loch Earn was ahead of us. The path even seemed to get a lot better and eventually we re-joined the route we took going up. Another 30 minutes or so we were climbing back over the styles and we were rewarded with a beautiful rainbow.
- Our pot of gold at the end of the walk
Back at home I am tired, sore and I doubt if I will ever wash all the boggy murk from my hands and legs. However I am chuffed to bits at what we achieved and look forward to planning our next ascent. On days like this, I understand how walking becomes so addictive. It was brilliant!
Well done on Stuc a'Chroin, not one of the easiest Munros to climb that way, certainly not on your second walk, so good effort. Nice colours in the pics too.