Ben Cleuch - The Ochils
Fionas: Ben Cleuch
Donalds: Ben Cleuch
Date walked: 04/08/2023
Time taken: 4 hours
My friend Ian and I were fortunate to have another reasonable-weather-Friday. Last week it was south to Broughton; this week north to Alva and the Ochils. I had walked this circuit, and variations of it, 3 or 4 times in the past so I knew the ascents were pretty steep and relentless and the descents much the same. Hills not to be underestimated. We parked in the good-sized car park in Woodland Park just east of Alva and headed west on the good path through the forest to Silver Glen. Then it was up the steep stony zigzags and up the track to the point where a grassy path led up more steeply on to the top of Ben Ever. The views over to Ben Cleuch and down over the small towns and River Forth were well worth the effort.
We headed down and then steeply up again until a flatter section just before the summit cairn and trig on Ben Cleuch. The veiws were extensive: all the way to Ben Lomond, the Crianlarich Munros, north to Ben Chonzie and all the way to distant Berwick Law. Here, we sat for a while to have lunch but we didn't linger long as a cold north wind meant it was time for fleeces and hats. Originally, we had thought about heading over Andrew Gannel Hill and maybe even King's Seat Hill, as I had done previously, but I think we were both feeling the Thursday gym session in our legs (at least I was) so we opted for a descent over The Law into Mill Glen. I have to say that this is not an easy stroll out: it's steep and some of the sections of the path are very loose. The final section to reach the 'Nature Trail' was particularly steep and this trail seemed endless with its crossing and recrossing of the burn. One section had actually been washed away and there were a few awkward steps to negotiate. It was quite a relief to reach a small garden at the bottom where there were some benches for us to sit and finish our lunch and rest our tired knees for a while. Then, it was just a case of following the footpath beside the golf course for a mile or so back to the car.Click to mark this as a great report. Register or Login free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
Comments: 1
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rob munbett
- Activity: Hill Bagger
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