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To cut a couple of tar-mac kilometers we drove up past the Bracklinn falls car park and parked beneath a bundle of shoes hanging from the telephone.
The starting line
As the road turned to track we headed through the Affric-esque orange grasses towards Aruvichardich.
An abandoned building in the sea of orange
The reservoir at Aruvichardich
A glimpse of Ben Vorlich and Stuc a' Chroin
At Aruvichardich we followed the main track into Glen Artney and towards Comrie. At the bridge over the Allt an Dubh Chorein, we stoppped and enjoyed the grandeur of Ben Vorlich, we were reassured that we were half-way at least.
The bridge over Allt an Dubh Chorein
Looking up the burn
A red red rowan at the bridge
An initially promising path follows the burn towards Ben Vorlich but the further we walked the more each foot squelched in the bog - this is worth noting as we have had a particularly dry-spell the last few weeks (it was hard to believe that today though). There is clearly no lack of rainfall around here as the burn has carved out a terrific gorge and a few brilliant pools. The yellow leaves of a well-placed tree gave us a break from the bog-slog we, along with ordnance survey, were calling a path.
A firm track at first...
Allt an Dubh Chorein
The yellow leaf path
Ben Vorlich and Stuc a' Chroin sneaking up on us
Allt an Dubh Chorein - a stunning wee burn
The little of a path we had we lost when we crossed the burn at the second ruin of Dubh Chorein. The main path continues through Glen Vorlich to Loch Earn - one for another day - but we were taking the 'path' through a gap in the hills back to Aruvichardich and the reservoir. With a little help from the map, we regained the path and made steady progress up the hill - even saw a grouse. Soon we were looking south to the Fintry hills from the highest point of the day at just under 600m. From here you could probably follow the hill up to the summit of Stuc a' Chroin and round to Ben Vorlich.
Cross at the second ruin
Going up
It's all downhill from here
The reservoir and Fintry hills
The downhill was in no way glorious but the bellowing of the deer in rut compensated for the sore feet. The openness and quiet of this wilderness only a walk away from where I go to school left me in awe of the world. Back to the car. Fish n chips in Callander.
