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Munros: Ben Vorlich, Stuc a'Chroin
Corbetts: Beinn Each, Meall na Fearna
Date walked: 19/06/2010
Distance: 29 km
Ascent: 1950m
Time: 7 hours 30 minutes
Weather: Warm and sunny, with a steady breeze
Visiting the in-laws in Dundee is usually a handy opportunity for me to get out into some of the more southern hills. As I lived in Dundee for a few years, I had already picked off the main hills in the southern Highlands, but the number of worthwhile lesser known hills I had missed was rather large. This route has been on my 'to do' list for months and months now, but until now, I haven't had the chance. In fact, in the interim, davetherave has already posted a very similar report.
On a tight schedule as usual (due to meet friends for a meal out later in the evening), I opted to leave Dundee just after 7 am, and was walking by 8.20, the day already warm and sunny. Sadly, a sign at the carpark in Glen Artney discouraged walkers from parking further up the glen, and added a couple of unplanned miles to the day. Probably could have parked in the turning area further up, but as someone had gone to the bother of providing a decent carpark, this seemed a bit rude.
A spur of Uamh Beag:
My original plan had been to gain the summit of Carn Labrhuinn and follow the ridge N to the un-named 742m summit above Coire na Cloiche. I could see quite a few peat hags on the horizon though, not to mention a few ups and downs, so I decided to stick to the estate track up Srath a' Ghlinne instead, making a line for the ridge when the ground became rockier. Turned out to be a good choice, as the glen was very pleasant, and the walking fast. The ascent from the floor of the glen was mainly on steep, dry grass, with the occasional outcrop, and the views from the 742m summit both towards Ben Vorlich and back down Gleann Ghnoinean were good.
Notice on gate at foot of Strath a Ghlinne:
Strath a Ghlinne:
Looking down on the head of Strath a Ghlinne:
Down Gleann Ghoinean to Mhor Bheinn:
Meall na Fearna and Ben Vorlich from the 742m summit:
Interesting clouds:
From Meall na Fearna back across the 742m summit:
Stuc a Chroin and Ben Vorlich from Meall na Fearna:
Across the peat hags to Ben Chonzie:
More than one source of information for Meall na Fearna makes reference to the ferocity of the peat hags on this hill, but this line of approach avoided nearly all of them, and I was soon on the summit. A steep initial descent, followed by some flatter ground (possibly slightly boggy in more normal conditions) and another steep section brought me down to the pass between Glen Vorlich and Gleann an Dubh Choirean. Given more time, I might have trekked down to the ruin at Dubh Choirean and ascended the SE ridge of Ben Vorlich in full, but instead I went straight for the hillside immediately opposite Meall na Fearna, hitting the crest of this ridge much higher up. There were bands of crags on this face, but an easy grassy break (steep, mind) made this section straightforward. The top section of the ridge had a path, and meandered pleasantly between boulders to the summit. Definitely a ridge to return to sometime.
Summit of Ben Vorlich from the SE ridge:
Looking back down the SE ridge:
I was rather happy with my progress so far, as I still had the tail end of a cold, and wasn't really sure if I would be up for a long walk this weekend. Fortunately, despite leaving a trail of snot and hacking coughs in my wake, the rest of me seemed to be in great form! Spoke to a couple of people on the summit of Ben Vorlich about the Stuc a' Chroin scramble then headed that way myself. One of the reasons I had opted to do the route in this direction was the unfinished business on the Stuc. In my two previous visits, I had managed to miss the scramble on the prow completely, ending up once in a gully overlooking Gleann an Dubh Choirean, and on another occasion following a steep but scramble-free path immediately to the right of the rock. I was determined to find the proper scramble this time.
Tarmachan Ridge and Loch Earn:
Ben Vorlich summit:
West to Stob Binnean and Ben More:
S face of Ben Vorlich:
Prow of Stuc a Chroin:
Meall an t-Seallaidh and Creag Mac Ranaich:
Descended towards the Stuc and followed the path up to the foot of the prow. Initially I thought I had missed the route again, as most of the ascent seemed to be on grassy ledges, with only the occasional need for hands. However, higher up, there were more boulders to scramble over, and the route I took did land quite satisfyingly right on the N summit. Still not sure if I took the definitive route, as there seemed to be an endless number of route choices. I suppose the route just isn't as clearly defined as the likes of Curved Ridge etc.
Scramble up Stuc a Chroin:
Summit from the top of the prow:
Back to Ben Vorlich:
Lochan a Chroin:
Selected a spot out of the wind (did I mention it was windy? I've noticed that lots of other reports from the weekend did. Still, kept me cool) and had my first proper stop of the day, just under 4 hours after leaving the car. Great views to places I haven't seen for ages - Ben Lomond and the Arrochar Alps were clear to see, and Ben Ledi dominated the foreground. Also Ben Nevis visible in the hazy distance. The ridge towards the next target (Ben Each) was looking interesting from here, too, with a few rocky knolls to cross.
Ben Each:
Quickish descent of Stuc a' Chroin and I started traversing the knolls. Typically, my feet were starting to tire a bit here, so it was less enjoyable than it should have been. Still nice though. Final ascent to Ben Each was quite steep, and the path wove in and out between the crags to the summit. More great views from here, very similar to Stuc a' Chroin, but with the added bonus of looking down onto Loch Lubhnaig. The NW Highlands may be unbeatable, but it was a pleasant change to have the central belt as a southern skyline. Haze prevented me from picking out Aurthur's Seat (pretty sure you would be able to see it from here) but the oil refineries of Grangemouth were fairly obvious.
Looking back up the SW ridge of Stuc a Chroin:
Ben Each again:
Looking down Glen Ample:
View back to the Stuc:
Ben Ledi, Loch Lubhnaig:
Across to Benvane:
Leaving Ben Each, I was now on quieter ground again, crossing Meall na Cora on a much fainter path. I had expected this ridge to be quite dull (it always seemed that way looking from Stuc a' Chroin) but it was very pleasant, the NE face of Ben Each and Meall na Caora having a line of broken crags. The feel of the hills on this side was definitely different though - much smoother and more featureless. Descended the end of the ridge to a point just upstream of the reservoir in Gleann a Chroin, where I encountered the only difficult ground of the day - long tussocky grass. This was only short lived though, as I picked up the track at the locked bothy of Arivurichardich. This location had a much remoter feel than the other side of these hills despite being only a few miles from the Edinburgh Woollen Mill strewn streets of Callander.
Looking back to Ben Each:
Gleann a Chroin and Stuc a Chroin:
Across Meall na Caora to Ben Each:
Reservoir at Arivurichardich:
Last look to the Central Belt:
Looking back to Ben Each from the Arivurichardich walkout:
The walk back from here was straightforward, following a steadily improving vehicle track. It was quite long though, and in a way it would have been nice to have got this bit out of the way at the start. Still, good views of Ben Vorlich and Stuc a' Chroin from the bridge over the Allt an Dubh Choirein. Lower down, good views also developed down Glen Artney to the Knock of Crieff.
Uamh Beag:
The Stuc and Vorlich up Gleann an Dubh Choirean:
Here endeth the Highlands - Uamh Beag again:
Back down Glen Artney towards the Knock of Crieff:
Back at the car, I was pretty chuffed with the day, as I hadn't expected to feel good enough to get round the whole
route. Also, for a route covering one of the most popular hills in the southern Highlands, I only met a dozen or so people. All of these bar one were between the summits of Ben Vorlich and Ben Each. On the southern side of the hills, I only passed a lone hiker about 20 minutes before I got back to the car.
Was able to get back to Dundee in plenty of time for the meal out. Even the most daunting ascent of the day (a Chilli and Belhaven Best-fuelled climb through the Hilltown) was taken care of, as we cheated and got a taxi home from the city centre.
