A day walk in the Trossachs taking in the Corbetts of Beinn Stacath and Benvane from Ballimore farm in Glen Buckie
Date: 24 April 2026
Distance: 21.98km
Ascent: 1388m
Time: 6.0hrs
Hills: Beinn Stacath (Corbett, 771m), Benvane (Corbett, 821m)
Weather: Hot, cloudless and near windless
Route: View on OS Maps
The weather forecast for Friday was glorious and though I woke up to a cold haar at home, by the time I'd driven through Doune it had cleared to give brilliant blue skies and warm sunshine.
Initially I'd planned this walk from near Brig o' Turk, approaching through Glen Finglas and combing a circuit of the Mell with an ascent of Benvane to the east. However, despite signage in Callander indicating the road would be open until 9am, at about 8:30am I reached a road closed sign about 4 miles short of Brig o' Turk. Other people were turning around so I did likewise and decided instead to carry on up towards Balquhidder and then turn south down the very minor public road which ends at the farm of Ballimore. This is north of Benvane and would allow me to also loop in the fairly remote and enigmatic1 Corbett of Beinn Stacath which sits on the south side of Loch Voil.
The road up to Ballimore was very quiet and I was the only car in the rough parking area before the bridge signed to Immeroin. In the warm sunshine I was quickly ready and headed off, crossing the bridge and then following a Scottish Rights of Way Society sign towards Brig o' Turk.
There were a few sheep with lambs in the field and the grass was delightful. I crossed the field wall by a sturdy stile and this led to a more boggy and undulating track which kept some distance above the Allt Fathan Glinne. I crossed several side burns which required a bit of up and down but the going was mostly good and in the distance Beinn Stacath was slowly drawing closer2. I could hear a cuckoo down near the river and above me the first swallows of year flew in formation.
After passing below the craggy slopes of Sron a Chonnaidh I crossed watery ground to reach the river which does a few lazy loops through the flatlands. A herd of cattle were grazing but it was enough to wade the river and then circumvent them, heading for the eastern ridge of Creag an Tuill. The sun beat down from a near cloudless sky and as soon as I started gaining height I could tell it was going to be a hot and thirsty day.
As I gained height the views started to open out nicely. To the south the long ridge leading up to Benvane could be seen, a north there were snowcapped hills peeking out - the Munros around Crianlarich. The lower slopes had no sign of a path and about half way up I stopped on a convenient rock for a snack and to apply plenty of factor 50.
Once up onto the rambling ridge the going was easier and a faint path emerged. The Corbett summit could be seen some way off but it was very pleasant walking, a very slight breeze taking the edge off the temperature. This vantage point gave me a good view of the rest of the day's potential rate, returning along the south side of Gleann Dubh and ascending up the steep western side of Benvane. Beyond that hill Ben Ledi could be seen.
After crossing another minor subsidiary top there was a final climb up towards the flat summit. I angled over, mostly following a clear track and soon emerged at the trig point. This enjoyed panoramic views over the hills around Crianlarich and further west towards Arrochar and Loch Lomond. It also had a clear view of the nearby Corbett of Stob a' Choin which I walked this time last year.
It was nice to put the pack down and sit with my back to the cool surface of the trig point. There was hardly a breath of wind and no sign of people besides a couple of high flying aircraft and the detritus of workings to renew the fencing.
After a pleasant break and a ponder over the map to check the next part of the route and my timings for the day I headed off. I was now working my way roughly south along a more loosely defined ridge towards the 687m high summit of Beinn Bhreac, visible some way in the distance.
After briefly visiting a rocky top above the end of Gleann Dubh I walked by the side of a small lochan whose surface showed barely a ruffle. Beyond it Ben Lomond and the Arrochar alps looked good sandwiched between blue sky and its reflection.
Beinn Stacath receded into the distance behind me and in front I started to catch glimpses of Loch Katrine and the southern hills of the Trossachs. A wamp-ing sound caught my attention but I failed to spot the aircraft - it might well have been a helicopter flying below me.
There was a gradual final pull up to the summit of Beinn Bhreac which enjoys a view over the peaty lands which would be my onward route. Handily from here I could spot an argocat track or two wending through the bog and so I descended steeply down towards these.
The slope was desceptively steep but I was able to pick up a grassy gulley that got me down without too much issue. I met one of the tracks and was able to follow this, now heading back eastward. The peat was less bad than it appeared and after avoiding one near sinking I started to regain height, heading up Creagan nan Sgiath.
From here there was a nice angle onto Ben Lomond beyond Loch Katrine.
On the top of Creag nan Sgiath there was another fenceline to follow which took me along another loosely defined ridge with lumps and bumps and the occasional pool or lochan to navigate around. Off to my right I now had a view down the upper parts of Glen Finglas where a track winds its way up the hill.
I was soon dropping down another moderately steep slope to meet the track at its high point where a cairn had been built. This looked out over another peaty bowl, the Moine nan Each, with the track circling around on the high ground and Benvane now visible much closer at hand.
The track took me on a slightly circuitous route but it was much quicker going than the rough cross country I had been doing earlier and without anyone in sight I was soon at the point where the track turned sharply south to head back towards the Finglas reservoir.
Here was the start of my final climb of the day, across a final area of bog and then up the steep western slopes of Benvane. Under the warm sun I stopped once again to refill my water bottle and drink deeply from a cold, tumbling side stream.
The first fairly short pull got my up to the ridge and then I angled my way towards the rounded dome of Benvane's summit. This route somewhat prolonged the climb and the final slopes proved steeper than they had appeared from below so I was very glad to finally make it to the slightly lower western top. From here there were good views in every direction, back across the other hills I'd traversed, down to the Finglas Reservoir and over to Ben Ledi.
Across the shoulder of the hills I could see Dumyat and the Wallace Monument and the Ochils with the Pentlands in the hazy distance.
I made my way the short distance to the true summit of Benvane, marked my a cairn. Slightly beyond it I found a good spot to sit, looking down over almost the entire length of Loch Lubnaig with the busy A82 on the far shore.
I was just sitting down to eat a snack when I noticed a guy had arrived at the top. After not seeing anyone all day it was a bit of a shock. I hadn't seen him coming up the trade route and it turned out he had spent several hours making his slow way over from Ben Ledi, surprised at the rough and indirect going between the two seemingly nearby hills. We had a good chat about hills and routes, meanwhile drinking water and applying more sunshine.
From here it was only about 5 km to the car and I wanted to try and get back down before it got busier in the glen and on the roads back towards Stirling. The route down was pretty much laid out before me, a long ridge running north back towards Glen Buckie.
After an initial fairly steep descent there was then some good going following a well trodden path that wound its way around a few lumps and bumps, crossing the occassional deep bog.
Benvane receded in the distance behind me and towards the end of the ridge the path angled off to the northeast a little more, dropping me steeply but easily down towards the sheep field I had started the day by crossing.
It was then a short hop over the stile, through the field and back across the bridge to the car where there were two other vehicles now also baking in the hot afternoon sunshine. An excellent circuit under beautiful weather conditions.
