Ledcharrie to Balquhidder via Kirkton glen
Route: Kirkton Glen, Balquhidder
Date walked: 07/02/2024
Time taken: 3.5 hours
Distance: 9.5km
Ascent: 460m
What's that you say?
A day without high winds?
No rain?
Woohoo!
This one was a bit awkward, needing two cars, but thankfully my friends decided they could put up with me long enough.
They all deserve medals.
They really do.
So off we trotted, dropping one car at Balquhidder and parking the other at Ledcharrie in the small layby on the westbound side of the A85 at NN 50640 28263.
From there, we walked west along the verge of the A85 for 150 metres and turned left to head through the farmyard, reaching the gate at NN 50622 28078.
We then followed the obvious track uphill through multiple gates until the track ran out at the weir (NN 50902 26097).
About 20 to 25 metres before we reached the weir, we took the less distinct path off to our left that continued uphill (initially headed south-southeast).
The path wasn't too bad, it was almost like a well worn quad bike track.
Unfortunately we were only on this path for 200 to 250 metres, there was a post marking the path that we wanted.
It's pretty easy to spot.
It's a post.
With an arrow on it
However, benefit of the doubt and all that, if the visibility is awful I suppose it could be missed.
It's somewhere around NN 50986 25881.
If we had missed it then we needn't have worried, as the well known comedian used to say "there's more."
As you'll see from the photos there was a light dusting of snow and, for the life of me, I couldn't find the path associated with this first post.
So we stayed on the other path for another 50 metres until I realised (according to the app I was using) that we were heading away from the path we needed at 45°.
And now for a brief intermission...
I know, I know, phone apps are the work of the devil and I'm stupid / dangerous / downright evil for using them but c'mon ... they're absolutely wonderful.
Also may I make it absolutely clear that I had a map and compass with me too.
And now back to the main feature ...
Right where was I?
Oh yes, 50 metres further on we tracked NE for 20 metres to find the path we wanted. Even with the snow, it was clear and obvious.
From here it was pretty simple, we stayed on the path (indistinct and / or a bit boggy in places).
The marker posts were pretty far apart but helped keep us on track (although they're far enough apart to give us a bit of relief when we spotted the next one).
Ultimately we were aiming for the V in the hills ...
The path continued up through the V and skirted the edge of Lochan an Eireannaicah.
We then continued on into the bit that never fails to evoke a "wow."
The path started to descend towards Kirkton Glen and reached a basic step over stile at a fence around NN 51934 24025. From a distance the stile looked to be on its last legs but it was quite solid.
The path then crossed a ford at around NN 51985 24036 before curving to the right to head down into the trees.
Around 400 metres after negotiating the ford the path deposited us onto a track in Kirkton Glen.
We now had a choice; to take the left-hand, central or right-hand option.
We chose the central track as that was the most direct route back into Balquhidder.
At the time we did the walk, even with the recent high winds, there were no trees down across the track. The few we did see had come down nowhere near the route.
I'm assuming the easternmost track was also clear given that we saw logging vehicles on it.
I can't comment on the condition of the westernmost track.
For reference the central track that we took passes through NN 52979 22766.
The eastern track passes through NN 53220 22855.
The western track passes through NN 52858 22756.
Both of these tracks have options to rejoin the central one before Balquhidder.
It wasn't a long walk but the second car at Balquhidder was a welcome sight
All in all a nice walk with good company
Viable alternatives to using two cars might be to do a "there and back" walk up to Rob Roy's putting stone from either Ledcharrie or Balquhidder.
Alternatively, you could leave a car at Ledcharrie then extend the walk by 2 miles to reach Mhor84 at Kingshouse. Then take the 7:08pm citylink bus (only one bus a day) to Crianlarich (booking advised). You'd be gambling that the driver would stop at Ledcharrie for you though.
Just a thought.
A day without high winds?
No rain?
Woohoo!
This one was a bit awkward, needing two cars, but thankfully my friends decided they could put up with me long enough.
They all deserve medals.
They really do.
So off we trotted, dropping one car at Balquhidder and parking the other at Ledcharrie in the small layby on the westbound side of the A85 at NN 50640 28263.
From there, we walked west along the verge of the A85 for 150 metres and turned left to head through the farmyard, reaching the gate at NN 50622 28078.
We then followed the obvious track uphill through multiple gates until the track ran out at the weir (NN 50902 26097).
About 20 to 25 metres before we reached the weir, we took the less distinct path off to our left that continued uphill (initially headed south-southeast).
The path wasn't too bad, it was almost like a well worn quad bike track.
Unfortunately we were only on this path for 200 to 250 metres, there was a post marking the path that we wanted.
It's pretty easy to spot.
It's a post.
With an arrow on it
However, benefit of the doubt and all that, if the visibility is awful I suppose it could be missed.
It's somewhere around NN 50986 25881.
If we had missed it then we needn't have worried, as the well known comedian used to say "there's more."
As you'll see from the photos there was a light dusting of snow and, for the life of me, I couldn't find the path associated with this first post.
So we stayed on the other path for another 50 metres until I realised (according to the app I was using) that we were heading away from the path we needed at 45°.
And now for a brief intermission...
I know, I know, phone apps are the work of the devil and I'm stupid / dangerous / downright evil for using them but c'mon ... they're absolutely wonderful.
Also may I make it absolutely clear that I had a map and compass with me too.
And now back to the main feature ...
Right where was I?
Oh yes, 50 metres further on we tracked NE for 20 metres to find the path we wanted. Even with the snow, it was clear and obvious.
From here it was pretty simple, we stayed on the path (indistinct and / or a bit boggy in places).
The marker posts were pretty far apart but helped keep us on track (although they're far enough apart to give us a bit of relief when we spotted the next one).
Ultimately we were aiming for the V in the hills ...
The path continued up through the V and skirted the edge of Lochan an Eireannaicah.
We then continued on into the bit that never fails to evoke a "wow."
The path started to descend towards Kirkton Glen and reached a basic step over stile at a fence around NN 51934 24025. From a distance the stile looked to be on its last legs but it was quite solid.
The path then crossed a ford at around NN 51985 24036 before curving to the right to head down into the trees.
Around 400 metres after negotiating the ford the path deposited us onto a track in Kirkton Glen.
We now had a choice; to take the left-hand, central or right-hand option.
We chose the central track as that was the most direct route back into Balquhidder.
At the time we did the walk, even with the recent high winds, there were no trees down across the track. The few we did see had come down nowhere near the route.
I'm assuming the easternmost track was also clear given that we saw logging vehicles on it.
I can't comment on the condition of the westernmost track.
For reference the central track that we took passes through NN 52979 22766.
The eastern track passes through NN 53220 22855.
The western track passes through NN 52858 22756.
Both of these tracks have options to rejoin the central one before Balquhidder.
It wasn't a long walk but the second car at Balquhidder was a welcome sight
All in all a nice walk with good company
Viable alternatives to using two cars might be to do a "there and back" walk up to Rob Roy's putting stone from either Ledcharrie or Balquhidder.
Alternatively, you could leave a car at Ledcharrie then extend the walk by 2 miles to reach Mhor84 at Kingshouse. Then take the 7:08pm citylink bus (only one bus a day) to Crianlarich (booking advised). You'd be gambling that the driver would stop at Ledcharrie for you though.
Just a thought.
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MRG1
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