Ben Chonzie – Up the Invergeldie Glen to the Fence Line

The walk

The usual way up Ben Chonzie starts in Glen Lednock above Comrie, at Coishavachan by Invergeldie, and comes back the same way. By our map it is about 12.7 km (8 miles) there and back, with about 700 metres of climb. Allow about 4 to 5 hours, more with stops, in poor weather or under snow, and leave plenty of daylight for the way down. A track climbs the glen of the Invergeldie Burn onto the moor. Then a boggy hill path climbs to an old fence line and follows it to the summit, 930 metres up. No public body publishes this way, a distance or a time for it. Other ways up come from Loch Turret to the east and from Glen Almond to the north; this walk keeps to Glen Lednock.

By car, turn off the A85 at the western end of Comrie, following the sign for Glen Lednock, and follow the narrow road up the glen for about 4½ miles. By our map the walk starts where a track leaves the road at Coishavachan, just south of Invergeldie. There is free parking on a grass verge beside the road there, by our map. It is small and can be busy on summer weekends and holidays, so arrive early and leave the track and the gates clear. The road is single-track all the way up the glen. No source read names a bus to the start, or toilets at it, so plan for none: Comrie is the village below the glen.

Before you set off, check the mountain forecast, and under snow the snow and avalanche conditions too, as Mountaineering Scotland advises for every trip. The weather can change quickly, and the hills are often much colder and windier than lower ground, Forestry and Land Scotland warns. Wear good walking boots and carry warm, waterproof clothing, plenty of food and drink, and a torch in case the day runs long. Carry a map and compass and know how to use them, and do not rely only on a phone or GPS. Mobile signal on the hill is not to be relied on. Mountaineering Scotland advises registering for the emergency text service before you go: text 'register' to 999 and follow the reply. Leave word with someone of where you are going and when you will be back.

The track runs north past the white houses of Coishavachan and through a gate, then up the glen of the Invergeldie Burn. It crosses the burn by a bridge and climbs more steeply through more gates. Higher up it drops to cross back over the burn below a small dam, then climbs the other side. Keep on the main track where it forks, and it climbs out onto heather moorland. By our map a small burn crosses it here with no bridge, on stepping stones. Soon after, a track goes off to the left, to the north: keep on up the broad southern slopes. A dog that chases wildlife, birds or livestock must stay on the lead at all times, Mountaineering Scotland says. Ground-nesting birds are most at risk from dogs from April to July.

About 4½ km up, by our map, before the top of the ridge, the hill path leaves the track on the left at a right-hand bend, by a small cairn. Keep to it: the track goes on east across the moor, not to the top. The path is boggy, crosses a small burn with no bridge and climbs steeply. Higher up it passes old stone grouse butts and a line of old metal fence posts. Then it turns sharply right along the broad ridge to the summit.

The top of Ben Chonzie is a broad, featureless plateau, and in low cloud walkers lose their way on it. Out on Scotland's hills there are no waymarks or signposts and paths can be hard to follow, Forestry and Land Scotland warns. This is where a map and compass count. If the cloud is coming down, the wind is rising or anyone is tiring, turn back: Forestry and Land Scotland asks walkers to turn back if they get tired, or if anything looks unsafe. Under snow it is a winter mountain, for walkers with winter skills, an ice axe and crampons. No avalanche forecast covers Ben Chonzie. The Scottish Avalanche Information Service forecasts six other areas, from Lochaber and Glencoe to the Cairngorms and Torridon. That is no sign there is no risk here.

The summit is 930 metres, by the Database of British and Irish Hills, with a large stone shelter on the top. Ben Chonzie has its part of Perth and Kinross to itself: the nearest Munro, Meall Greigh, is about sixteen kilometres to the north-west. Loch Turret and its dam lie on the Glen Turret side of the hill. The north side, in Glen Almond, is Auchnafree Estate, a working sheep farm and managed moorland. It asks for dogs under strict control in lambing time, April and May, and as little disturbance as possible to ground-nesting birds in May.

Deer are stalked on Scotland's hills, and stag stalking may now take place at any time of year, Mountaineering Scotland says. The first three weeks of October are the busiest, and hinds are stalked from 21 October to 15 February. Most stalking is on weekdays, and often there is none on a Sunday. In the busiest weeks, keep to well-known routes and ridges. No owner of the Glen Lednock side publishes its stalking dates. Auchnafree says its own deer management is busiest from September to February.

The way down is the way you came, back along the fence posts, down the hill path to the track and down the glen to the road. In cloud, check the line with your map and compass before you leave the top. In an emergency call 999 or 112 and ask for Police and then Mountain Rescue, Mountaineering Scotland advises. Give your location, ideally a six-figure grid reference and a named feature.