Ben A'an - Scotlandguides

Height: 1300 ft
Distance: 4 miles
Difficulty: Moderate to hard.
Total Time: Allow about 3 hours.
Navigation: The paths are clear and well-walked.
Starting Point: The Ben A’an car park, just beyond the Trossachs Hotel (NN510070).
Public Transport: None that I know of.

This is a short and very steep climb to the summit of a mountain overlooking Loch Katrine. Despite its height, the views from the summit are spectacular.

Drive out of Callander, heading west and take the A821 road to Brig o’ Turk and Loch Katrine. Drive past Brig o’ Turk until you see a church on your left-hand side.

Just beyond this is the Trossachs Hotel on your right-hand side, and a car park on the left-hand side of the road with signs for Ben A’an. Park the car here (NN510070).

The summit of Ben A’n, and the steep path
(on the far right-hand side of the photograph) to the summit.

Cross the road and head up the steep rocky path as it climbs steadily through a forest of pine trees. Take care here if the weather is or has been wet, as the tree roots can be slippy. The path climbs up steeply for a while, crosses a wooden bridge, then levels off, meandering through the forest.

The path crosses a couple of streams, then starts to head upwards again, finally leaving the trees and coming to the start of an extremely steep path leading up to the summit. There are rocky steps up the first part of the path, which make the ascent relatively easy, but the path changes to rough earth and loose stones as the path becomes steeper.

Just before the summit a path splits off to the left, but stay on the main path as it levels out to give you spectacular views of Loch Katrine. Pause here to catch your breath and take in the views before heading up the last few feet to the summit.

From the summit you get views down Loch Katrine to the Cobbler and Ben Lomond, as well as stunning views back to Loch Achray and Loch Venachar. On a clear day you can even see the Campsie Hills and Dumgoyne.