Distance 5 miles
Height 700m
Terrain Stepped paths leading to grassy slopes with easy paths
Start point Tillicoultry, at map ref 913974
Time 3 to 4 hours
Nearest town Tillicoultry
Nearest refreshment spot Not the nearest, but the tearoom by Yetts o' Muckhart is recommended
THE OCHILS RUN from Auchtermuchty to Bridge of Allan, mostly a high moorland plateau with rounded mossy hills sloping north-west to the A9. Ben Cleuch is the highest point.
To the south of the plateau it is quite another story, for Ben Cleuch is on the edge of the most dramatic aspect of the Ochils, a sudden and dramatic escarpment. A natural break in the earth's crust - the Ochil Fault - caused the land south of the fault to be "thrown" down into what is now the fertile flood plain of the Forth.
The word ochil comes from the very old Celtic word uchil, meaning the high ground. A series of attractive glens breach the escarpment and one of them, Mill Glen, gives not only a through route from Tillicoultry to Blackford, but offers an easy and attractive start to the ascent of Ben Cleuch. Cleuch means gully or defile, a good description of the Mill Glen.
In the second week of January the plan had been for Jimbo, Alan and me to head for the very high tops. It was another day not well chosen: with gale force winds we abandoned that plan. The forecast did indicate that the gales would abate during the day, so Jimbo suggested going to the lower Ochils and Ben Cleuch.
So off we went. Not that Ben Cleuch at 721m should be underestimated for that height translates as 2,365ft, just short of the 2,500ft needed for Corbett status, and with a starting height of only 150ft or so from Tillicoultry the actual climb of 2,200ft can rival that of many a Munro.
Ben Cleuch is the kind of hill that calls people to return, many times for some. It is a combination of accessibility, especially when the Highland roads are bad in winter, and a variety of good ascent routes that are very pleasant and easy going underfoot. Then of course there are fine views from the tops. Multiple ascents of Ben Cleuch seem to be the norm. The most number of ascents I know of is by Tom Bell of Grangemouth who has climbed the hill over 1,500 times. Dave Hewitt has climbed it almost 600 times. A great many ascents have been made by John Ramsay from Falkirk, who is now in his eighties and was first up Ben Cleuch in the 1930s.
You will need Ordnance Survey map 58, Perth to Alloa. The most direct route starts from the west end of Tillicoultry at a small car park at map ref 913974, with the entrance to Mill Glen being well signposted from the A91.
Take the path that crosses to the west bank of the burn, to pass above a working quarry. The stepped path climbs by the burn, crossing and re-crossing many times, and all the while enclosed in what is a defile rather than the more open aspect we normally associate with a glen.
Continue as far as the junction of two streams, the Daiglen Burn, that flows into Mill Glen from the north-west, and the Gannel Burn from the north-east. This is a good turning point in atrocious weather for the stepped path ends here. Steep grassy slopes lead to the open plateau.
Climb north on the spur of land between the two burns on a good grassy path. The way is obvious. The path climbs to the Law at 638m, a route that is often sheltered from the prevailing west wind. However, the Law marks the start of the Ochils plateau and there is no shelter.
The path continues north-west over gently rising ground, following a fence. The terrain is not dissimilar to the plateau walk by the fence posts on Ben Chonzie. The bleak exposed moorland stretches to the top, which has both a trig point and a viewfinder.
The climb to the top is easy. The highest point (just) is to the north of the point that overlooks the escarpment, but most walkers go to the edge, in any case.
The late afternoon lights of Tillicoultry may beckon, and a pleasant circular walk back uses the path by the Gannel Burn, part of the old trade route from Blackford to Tillicoultry. Gently descend east then south-east to pick up the trade route path that stays above the burn, and gives a quick and easy return to the car park. The last section into Mill Glen has a stepped path again.
