Being relatively new to Scottish hills and mountains I opted to take on Ben Vorlich and Stuc a'Chroin as part of a steady build up in difficulty. The route descriptions indicate that there would be several challenging elements throughout the walk.
I parked next to Loch Earn and started the walk through the eastern jentrance to Ardvorlich House, following the track up the slope parallel to the burn. The track is of a good quality and means it is virtually impossible to deviate during the climb. The sun was out and the climb was pretty warm, so I paused to put some shorts on before continuing up the slope. The track runs up to the crossing over the burn near the pool for the hydroelectric plant at the bottom of the hill, becoming a more narrow and uneven path.
At this point the path began to run across the hillside through the heather, slowly becoming steeper until a particularly steep section was reached. At the top of this part there is a short plateau before the final ascent to the summit. The final section took quite a bit of effort, but once at the top the views in all directions were more than worth it. The cairn at the opposite end of the summit ridge allows good views of the smaller hills to the east and down the glen. Another group let me borrow their binouculars to look at the deer resting on the peat directly below.
After a short break I continued downhill towards Stuc a'Chroin. I had been looking forward to a scramble up the face, but there wasn't a clear route to take, so I opted for the more obvious path further to the west. This route was still steep, but allowed me to reach the ridge and continue to climb toward the summit, leaving the secondary top to the left as I went. The approach to the summit was fairly easy and once again the views were worth the effort.
I then descended the way I had come before cutting across to the north to pick up the path around the western side of Ben Vorlich, marked by a line of posts to prevent damage to the surrounding heather. This route was fairly boggy and I found myself ankle deep in mud in places, but this was a better alternative to climbing back up Ben Vorlich to return to my car. The path rejoins the main route before continuing down to Loch Earn again.
Most of the other walkers I passed were only climbing Ben Vorlich, but the extra effort to take in Stuc a'Chroin was definitely repaid by the solitude and the views from the top.