Ben Vorlich with Ben Our

Ben Vorlich is a very popular munro in the Southern Highlands. Often it is combined with Stuc a’Chroin by those want to tick off as many munros as possible. However, a much more satisfying route can be had by combining it with the lesser frequented Ben Our and then ascending by its north west shoulder.

This is a high level walk and you must be properly equipped for hill walking. The ascent route does not follow an obvious path so navigation skills will be required.

  • Distance: 11 km / 6.8 miles
  • Ascent: 1000 m / 3280 feet
  • Terrain: Grassy and heather pathless hillside for ascent. Constructed path for descent of Ben Vorlich.
  • Start / finish: Ardvorlich House, South Loch Earn road NN 633 231. Considerate roadside/verge parking available but gets busy.

Route Map

Route map Ben Vorlich with Ben Our

Start from Ardvorlich House on the South Loch Earn road where signs point you up the driveway and around the house. Once away from the house the landrover track starts to wind its way up the hill through a wooded area.

After crossing the third fence/gate/stile strike off up hill to your right towards Ben Our. This first section on grassy slopes is pathless so make your own way up the hillside keeping left of the rocky outcrop. The lower slopes may be covered in bracken later in the Summer but this soon clears to a grassy hillside. Higher up short cropped heather takes over with a few peat hags as you start to approach the crest of the hill.

Once on the crest, the ground improves and a feint path can be followed to the summit cairn of Ben Our. The path continues southwards beyond the cairn to reach another rise in the ground also topped with a cairn. The path then descends slightly to reach a coll at the foot of the north west shoulder of Ben Vorlich.

Head directly up the hill in front of you on a feint path until you reach the 850m contour point. Here the path bears right around the side of the hill to join the Stuc a’Chroin path on the south west shoulder. The final approach to the triangulation pillar and then the cairn is made on this path.

Return to the trig pillar and pick up the obvious descent path to the north. This is the munro baggers route to the summit and is likely to be busy. It’s also a rather unpleasant manufactured path that is both hard on the feet and sore on the eyes! The initial descent is somewhat steep but the gradient soon eases off and the walk back out to the road is straightforward.