Over The Hill

As we drove through Callander and onwards along the A84 towards Loch Lubnaig en route to Inverlochlarig intent on climbing Stob a'Choin we commented as we passed, the sign post for Strathyre Forest Cabins that it was also the turn-off point for the start of the walk up Ben Ledi. Little did we know, that a few minutes later we would be pulling into the new National Park Information Area on the shores of Loch Lubnaig, turning around and heading off back towards the Forest Cabins, having changed our plans and decided to go for Ben Ledi instead.

It's a few years since I had climbed Ben Ledi and the first and very obvious change you notice as you leave the parking area and climb the steep track up through what was once dark forest, is that a huge swath of forest has been felled leaving an open vista to the north over Loch Lubnaig and west, ahead of you, an early view of the rocky coires and crags of Ben Ledi's south east ridge as they rise above the lower hillside.

Beyond the forest boundary, the path swings south, in one of those moves that takes you in the exact opposite direction to your intended destination, taking you below the crags and onto the grassier slopes of the south east shoulder before turning sharply uphill, now heading direct for the summit, still some distance away beyond a couple of minor tops along the way. What had been a steady drizzle since leaving the start point, now turned to heavier rain, and quite a chilling wind as we approached the rockier summit area, quite easily identified by the Trig Point, marking this 879m Corbett summit.

Rather than turn around and retrace our steps for the descent, we decided to continue along the ridge, beyond the summit and descend via Stank Glen, an alternative descent which I had never used. And so we headed north west for a short distance before swinging north, down a fairly steep rocky path towards the head of Stank Glen, which materialised out of the gloom as we broke below the misty cloud base and continued our descent towards the fenceline marking the boundary of the small conservation area at the head of Stank Glen.

A fine pathway winds through the conservation area leading to the more heavily forested slopes in the lower glen; at which point the descent steepens as the path narrows and twists through the forest, passing some fine waterfalls along the way, until it eventually emerges just below the narrows of the outflow from Loch Lubnaig, on the LD Footpath and Cycle way created along the line of the defunct Callander to Oban Railway Line.

Given that Ben Ledi was not our intended walk when we started out this morning, this was an excellent walk and a fine day in the hills, Thanks All.