Ben More – Straight Up the Steep Side from Glen Dochart

The walk

Most people climb Ben More from Benmore Farm on the A85, walking south-east up the mountain, the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park says, and they come back the same way. By our map it is about 6.4 km (4 miles) there and back, with about 1,000 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. The park calls it a challenging climb: the mountain is a pyramid, and its shape makes it steep. From the farm the way climbs all the way to the top, 1,174 metres up.

By car, follow the A82 north from Glasgow for 56 miles, by Loch Lomond, and after Crianlarich take the A85 for about 2 miles to Benmore Farm, the park says. It names no car park for the walk. By our map there is a free car park beside the A85 on the shore of Loch Iubhair, under a kilometre east of the farm road. Citylink's coaches reach Crianlarich from Glasgow in about 1 hour 45 minutes, and the train in about 2 hours. From the station it is about 2 miles on foot along the A85 towards Killin. Once Benmore Farm is on your right, look for a low wooden sign beside the road marked Ben More. Mind the traffic on foot by the road, from the car park or the station: this stretch of the A85 is a 60 mph road with no pavement.

Before you set off, check the mountain forecast, and under snow the snow and avalanche conditions too, as Mountaineering Scotland advises for every trip. Conditions on the hills are often much colder and windier than in the glen, even on a clear summer day, 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: if the battery fails, you still need to know where you are. Leave word with someone of where you are going and when you will be back.

The walk starts on the farm road and the track beyond it, which climbs from Benmore Farm into Benmore Glen. The park's own planning papers call it the track walkers use to reach Ben More and Stob Binnein, and the main way through from Glen Dochart to Inverlochlarig. The farm's hillside is grazed by sheep, the papers say. Keep a dog under close control wherever there is livestock, on a short lead in a field of animals, and never take one into a field with lambs. The park also asks walkers to keep in mind that the owners may be managing deer or farming the land: follow any signs at the start.

The hill path leaves the track not far up the glen and heads south-east, straight up the open slope. Keep to it and do not carry on along the track: the track goes on into the glen and through to Inverlochlarig, not to the top. From here to the summit the path climbs without a break, and it is steep the whole way. Out on Scotland's hills there are no waymarks or signposts and paths can be hard to follow, Forestry and Land Scotland warns, so this is where a map and compass count.

The way up is the place to decide. 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, and no avalanche forecast covers Ben More. 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 has a large cairn, the park says. On a clear day it names the view: many mountains of the southern Highlands, over to Ben Lawers above Loch Tay, and Ben Lui in the west. More means big in Gaelic, and this is one of four Munros of the name, with Ben More on Mull, Ben More Assynt and Bynack More. With Stob Binnein, its neighbour to the south, the hill is a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its rare upland plants. Ptarmigan, red grouse, golden eagles, red deer and mountain hares are all here, the park says. Its page says most walkers go on from the summit to Stob Binnein.

The way down is the way you came, back down the same steep slope with care to the track, and along it to Benmore Farm and the A85. If someone is hurt, dial 999 and ask for the police, the park says, and give an exact location, a grid reference if you can: the police send help, which may be a mountain rescue team.