Gaelic meaning :
Height :
Walk distance :
OS Map :
Difficulty rating :

Ben Chonzie

Summit approach on Ben Chonzie

Gaelic meaning : Mossy Mountain
Height : 3,054 feet
Walk distance : 7.75miles
OS Map : Crieff, Comrie & Glen Artney
Difficulty rating : 2 out of 5


Ben Chonzie (pronounced Honzie) sits alone at the head of Glen Turret and is the highest point in a large area of high heather covered ground.

At 3,054 feet it's a small Munro and one that is pretty straightforward to climb, gentle to moderate inclines and a decent path most of the way up make for a steady ascent.

I had a great day to climb this little mountain and set out early on a glorious Sunday morning to try out my new birthday present, my long sought after handheld GPS !

After just over an hours drive I turned off from the picturesque little village of Comrie and after 15 minutes or so pulled in at the start of the walk, parking at the farmhouses at Coishavachan I started up the vehicle track towards Glen Lednock.

Park opposite the farm houses at Coishavachan 

Not far into the walk you'll pass a little dam where the path turns off to the right, the incline steepens slightly and the path becomes slightly rockier but is still manageable and very easy to follow.

Once past the dam the views open up and some familiar sites start to come into view as Loch Earns Ben Vorlich appears.

At last! I get to see the summit of Ben Vorlich

At this point the incline steepens up a bit more and the vehicle track can be seen zig-zagging up the side of the mountain, still no sign of the summit though !

 

The path will eventually split in two directions when you reach a small cairn. The path to the right maintains the quality of the vehicle track, but that's typically not the path you have to follow. The path to the left quickly becomes quite boggy and at times is difficult to discerne. It was at this point I found myself harassed by every walkers nightmare . . . another walkers dogs ! Stick with what there is of the path which will keep rising and you'll very soon spy a line of fence posts follow these as they head of at a right angle then these basically lead the way to the summit.

Once at the summit (easily distinguished by the huge sheltered cairn) you can take in some stunning views in all directions, particularly of the Lawers range.

Chonzie was an enjoyable day out and is a suitable walk for most people, certainly popular and rivalled Ben Lomond for human and canine traffic!

Glen Turret

Here's the profile of the walk I took :

And here's the route :

Meall nan Tarmachan

Gaelic meaning : Hill of the Ptarmigans
Height : 3,422 feet
Walk distance : 7.5 miles
OS Map : Ben Lawers
Difficulty rating : 2.5
Meall nan Tarmachan is perhaps more famous not for it's beauty or height, but for the challenging Tarmachan ridge that runs North to Creag an Lochain.

Meall Nan Tarmachan is part of the Lawers range and sits West of the more renouned Ben Lawers. It's a relatively straight forward climb and has a pretty high start point so isn't too much of a challenge.

I set out early on a pretty dreich morning with the weather forecast promising a slight improvement later on in the day. Arriving at the car park slightly further up the road from the Ben Lawers visitor centre (now closed) the weather hadn't improved much. 

Car park just after Ben Lawers Visitor Centre

The truth that every Munro bagger needs to face up to is that Munro's are in Scotland, so good weather is never guaranteed, but with the old saying  "If you don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes and it'll change" in my head I set of for what would be an interesting climb.
The Path is well maintained and easy to follow. Once you set off from the car park head along the road (Past the Ben Lawers Nature sign) then look for a path that heads of to the right about a quarter of a mile along. It's easy to miss so keep your eyes peeled.

Dam beneath Loch an Daimh

Follow the obvious path and eventually you will come to a 923 metre minor summit, I passed a few people on the way down who were confused and thought this was the summit proper.

Trixy little minor summits' !

Carry on over this and decend for 100 metres or so, cross the style and head over the boggy bealach until you reach the foot of the summit proper.

Handy!

Now the real climb begins, you will soon reach a steep and rocky gully with some substantial and slippery stone steps cut into them. Take care on these as they are a potential hazard, the gully is around 50 metres so not huge but it's steepness led for a few stops to ehm . . . take in the view !

The view !

Once through the gully you are almost there, follow the path then take a left at the plateau to reach the summit proper. It was at this point I decided to head back down. I had gone up hoping to cross the Tarmachan Ridge but the much promised improvement in the weather never materialised when I was there, in fact it worsened and the winds were some of the worst I'd experienced while walking. Faced with an 80 metre long and 1 metre wide ridge traverse I decided the weather had won and headed back down. The ridge will have to wait for another day . . . .

Meall Corranaich with Beinn Ghlas and Ben Lawers in the background

Here's the profile including the ridge :

 And the full route :