Over The Hill

As with any linear walk, a little logistical planning is required to get vehicles set up at each end of the walk; and so, we actually started out at the end of the walk at Ardvorlich, leaving our cars and boarding a mini-bus to take us around to the start in Glen Artney. Now we were set to start walking, albeit a little further along the road than originally planned, as, not having to actually park the mini-bus we were able to drive right to the end of the public road before being dropped-off, thereby saving ourselves a 2km walk along the tarmac road from the official parking area alongside the remote church in the glen.

There is some fine walking and great views to be had as you walk through Glen Artney, initially on the well graded track which, if followed to its end, continues all the way to Callander. However, we departed the track a few metres before the bridge over the Allt an Dubh Choirein and on into Gleann an Dubh Choirein heading north west through the bracken on a grassy track aiming for the ruins at Dubh Choirein, a wonderfully peaceful spot nestling right at the base of the south east ridge of Ben Vorlich.

Leaving the ruins behind, and once you have negotiated a small area of peat hags, the south east ridge rises at a fairly steady incline with grassy slopes for all but the final short rocky climb to the southern top of Ben Vorlich, at 984m, and marked by a small cairn. Along the way, the views from the ridge are impressive as you look deep into the glens on either side, through which a very large herd, probably in excess of 200, deer was spotted.

A short walk along the very eroded summit path takes you from the southern top to the Trig Point at 985m, the true summit of Ben Vorlich. The weather since the outset had been very hot and dry, with an almost dead calm, it made for good walking conditions, but the down side was that a high level haze hung over us blocking almost everything from view, even it's immediate neighbour, Stuc a'Chroin was just a black mass, with no definition, and Loch Earn, far below was just about visible through the haze.

However, we settled down on the summit and enjoyed the solitude and the rare opportunity of taking a leisurely lunch in good weather, before striking off down the steep and very eroded "tourist" path for the descent into Glen Vorlich and alongside the tree-lined Ardvorlich Burn for our return to the shoreline of Loch Earn from whence we had set out on our mini-bus ride earlier in the day.

A fine walk, great weather, apart from the haze, and good company - Thanks David