Walk This Wayne: 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.