Ben Vorlich from upper Glen Vorlich. The peak is obscured by the cloud.
Ben Vorlich (Callander)
Meaning - Mountain of the Bay
Summit Location - NN62915, 18911
Height - 986m
Munro Number - 165
Stuc a’ Chroin
Meaning - Peak of the Sheepfold
Summit Location - NN61675, 17423
Height - 975m
Munro Number - 182
Distance - 13.4km
Total Ascent - 1229m
Time - 2.5hrs to Ben Vorlich / 1.25hrs to Stuc a’ Chroin / 2hrs down
Difficulty - 3/5
OS Explorer Map - OL46
Climbed - 2012
Weather - Overcast. Windy. Cold. Wet. Horrible!
The day before this trip I’d made a very enjoyable climb of Beinn Sgulaird in glorious
conditions (see here for report). Perhaps proclaiming the first day of summer wasn’t
such a good idea. This trip felt very wintery.
Ben Vorlich and Stuc a’ Chroin are in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.
It’s in this area where the Highlands meet the lowlands and their relative accessibility
makes them popular Munros. The two peaks are separated by a bealach at over 700m
so you can easily bag them both in one outing. An ascent is possible from Strathyre
to the west of Stuc a’ Chroin but the most common route is to ascend the north ridge
of Ben Vorlich from Ardvorlich on the south bank of Loch Earn.
A good path ascends the north ridge of Ben Vorlich. The route down to the bealach
that leads to Stuc a’ Chroin can be quite boggy and slippery, so take care. Once
at the bealach, you have two options to ascend Stuc a’ Chroin: a) follow the path
zig-zagging up the hill; or b) move to the left (towards the south) onto steeper
rock for some interesting scrambling. I opted for b. The route finding or technicality
of the moves wasn’t particularly tough but some of the rock was quite slippery so
take care if you do the same. If in any doubt, continue on the path.
You could then descend by route of ascent but that would mean re-climbing Ben Vorlich.
Instead you can pick up a smaller path leading from the north of the bealach separating
the two peaks. This muddy route drops into Coire Fhuadaraich before turning right
to contour around the northwest ridge of Ben Vorlich and crossing into Coire Buidhe,
where is eventual meets the path used on ascent in Glen Vorlich.
I didn’t see an awful lot given the poor weather so I don’t have too many pictures
of this trip. You can’t see much in ones I did take anyway!
Route
1 - Park on the roadside at Ardvorlich and enter the estate on the track running
east of the burn. Cross the burn on the bridge and continue on the track up the glen,
which becomes a footpath. Around 1km after the bridge the path forks, take the option
on the right.
2 - You’ll cross a footbridge over another burn and then the path will begin to climb
more steeply onto the north ridge of Ben Vorlich. It’s quite rocky near the top and
seems to get ever steeper but you’ll be by the summit trig point soon enough.
3 - To continue to Stuc a’ Chroin head west and then south from the summit. In summer
you’ll see the way very easily. The going is fairly wet in places and some of the
grass is quite slippery in the wet so take care. Descend toward the bealach at NN62164,
18339.
4 - From here you have two options, follow the path straight up the craggy nose onto
the summit ridge or move to the left to find some more interesting scrambling. See
the text above the map for more information. If in any doubt continue on the most
obvious path, straight up and over the north top (marked by a cairn) and along the
summit ridge to the peak (marked by two cairns and it’s the one on the right).
5 - If you’ve opted to move to the left for the scrambling you’ll find a choice of
lines. Take your pick! I found a route that was not too challenging but some of the
rock was fairly slippery on what was a very wet day. You’ll probably emerge on the
summit ridge somewhere between the north top and the peak. Head south until you reach
to two cairns on the peak (again the real summit is the one on the right).
6 - The quickest route back is to head north to return to the bealach, via the main
path. At the bealach you’ll see a small path dropping to your left into Coire Fhuadaraich.
Descend this, which soon turns to the rights and becomes very muddy where it contours
around the northwest ridge of Ben Vorlich. Once you’ve crossed this ridge the still
muddy path descends into Coire Buidhe in a northerly direction, where you’ll eventually
meet the better path used to ascend Ben Vorlich.
7 - This path will take you back across the footbridge over the burn. Return to the
road by following the reverse of step one.
