With there being a run of sunshine this week in Scotland, it was time to hit the hills for some walking. This weekend’s choice was Ben Ledi near Callander. I’ve climbed it once before but that time it was up in the clag so not much to see. This time, the weather forecast was for cloud but nothing down at summit level.

Setting of early, I was at the car park for 8:30am. This involved a somewhat nerve-wracking journey over a very narrow bridge. But I was there and with the boots pulled on I set out on the way up. There is a very well made path heading up the slopes of Ben Ledi and I was making good time through a somewhat blasted landscape caused by the Forestry Commission cutting down all the trees on the lower reaches of the hill. Also, looking up I could see the clouds down below the top so at this point it was shaping up to be another day without a view.

But as I climbed higher, the cloud blew away and there were vistas reaching in each direction. On the ascent, I paused for a moment at the memorial to the member of mountain rescue who was killed on duty.

The summit was pretty busy as a number of people had decided to spend the day out of doors. It was still too early for lunch so I headed on to do the full round via Stank Glen. This involved setting out along the ridge line. By this point the sun was fully out and there was visibility to the horizon in all directions. A little haze in the distance but still a fine day and a number of stops were made to take photos.

Deviating a little from the Walkhighlands route I followed a path down a fairly steep slope slowly and carefully. This brought me down in to a slightly boggy area but with some fantastic views back up the slope.

From here there was a rickety stile to cross then a very well made and fairly flat path that took me down though some trees. The sun was beginning to burn now so I was glad of the shade.

Back at the van it was time for some lunch and to get out of the sun. The car park was pretty full by now and it was a little tricky to get the van out of the parking space. But soon I was on the way home after a lovely walk and planning my next trip. And a visit to Boots to get some after-sun creme.

Here’s some photos.