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Ben Vorlich and her neighbour Stuc a 'Chroin
stand on the southern edge of the Highlands and the easiest way to access them
is from the southern shore of Loch Earn.
The pair provide an excellent day out, with fine views to the Ben Lawers range
to the north. Ben Vorlich is a straight-forward ascent while the climb from the
bealach between the two Munros on to Stuc a' Chroin offers some easy scrambling
up a steep, stone-strewn buttress (this can, however, be avoided).
There's plenty of roadside parking at Ardvorlich, the starting point for this
route. Head east along the lochside road from the layby, crossing over a stone
bridge. Turn right once across and go through a set of stone gateposts. A track
runs south from here towards a steading. A sign just before the buildings are
reached points hillwalkers right, back over the burn. Turn turn left a few yards
on, before entering the gardens of Ardvorlich House, and the track rises quite
steeply, running parallel to the burn, to reach a kissing gate. Go through and
continue up the track to a wooden gate and stile.
Beyond this, the way curves right and then left, rising quite strenuously over
open hillside carpeted with bracken. Higher up, another gate with a stile is
passed before the track enters a patch of woodland and fords a small burn. Carry
on up the track and it crosses the burn by way of a rather wobbly wooden bridge.
The track ends here
and a path strikes off over the open hillside. In years past this was a rather
boggy affair, but at the time of writing work is underway to reconstruct it. The
route rises up the right hand side of the southern shoulder of Ben Vorlich, skirting above Coire Buidhe to the west. In due course, the
path bears left, climbing more steeply on to the ridge. A cairn marks your
arrival on the broad shoulder.
Continue south, up the ridge, the grassy slope giving way to a harsher landscape
of bare rock and scree. A couple of zig-zags assist in the sweat-inducing job of
gaining height and a final pull brings you out at a trig point at the north-west
end of the level summit ridge. Around 100 yards along this is a large cairn and
stone windbreak.
To continue on to Stuc a' Chroin, descend over the south west
shoulder of Ben Vorlich, a well-walked path following a line of fence posts down
into the Bealach an Dubh Choirein. From the bottom, the first section of ascent
climbs over a slope scattering with boulders, leading to the foot of a prominent
buttress. If you're a scrambler, the crest offers a fair challenge with a couple
of hard moves. Walkers, however, should head right on the path which rises
steeply over stones and scree, negotiating some hefty boulders to reach a cairn
at the top of the buttress. The summit is about 500 yards to the south of this.
To return home,
descend back to the Bealach an Dubh Choirein, then drop left (north), skirting
right, round the west slope of Ben Vorlich to reach the col between Ben
Vorlich's north west shoulder and Ben Our. Descend north east into Coire Buidhe
to rejoin the Glen Vorlich track near the wobbly bridge.
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WALK FACTS
Distance 10
miles/16km.
Maps OS Landranger
sheets 51 and 57.
Start/parking Ardvorlich on the south Loch Earn road.
GR: 633233.
Grading A straightforward ascent of two
Munros, with the
option of some scrambling on Stuc a'Chroin. Sheep grazing, so dogs on lead. |