Ben Vorlich and Stùc a' Chròin from Callander

Near the southern end of Callander's village centre, a sign points northwards to The Crags, Bracklinn Falls and Golf Club. The road is narrow and not suitable for caravans or motorhomes.

Follow this road uphill, passing Callander Golf Club and the Callander Crags car park, then keep left by the Bracklinn Falls car park.

Continue to the end of the public road, around 3km from Callander, and park in a rough area beside a fork in the road.

From the parking area, head past Braeleny Farm 1 and continue northwards on a fine estate track, which provides easy going for the first 3km of the route. An unusual memorial is passed along the way.

Around 2km into the route, the track reaches a point where two burns meet 2. A bridge here was washed away during storms in 2004, with two replacement bridges finally installed around 20 years later. Cross the first bridge, turn right and cross the second, then continue uphill on the track to the buildings at Arivurichardich 3.

By the second building, leave the track, turn left and pick up a faint path heading northwards. Cross a fence and continue towards the south-east shoulder of Stùc a' Chròin. At around 600m 4, leave the path and head due north to a dip 5 on the shoulder, then descend over pathless grassy ground into Gleann an Dubh Choirein.

Ford the burn 6 flowing through the glen. Although a bridge is marked here on some maps, none exists, and wet feet are likely when crossing. In spate, the burn may be difficult or impossible to cross. Once across, begin climbing the grassy south-east shoulder of Ben Vorlich.

The slope gradually steepens and a faint path forms higher up, which can be followed onto Ben Vorlich's gravelly summit crest. An untidy cairn is reached first, with the summit trig point 7 a couple of minutes further on, separated from the cairn by a slight dip.

From Ben Vorlich's trig point, follow a line of fence-posts westwards. As the fence-posts turn sharply south-west, a path develops alongside them and descends to Bealach an Dubh Choirein 8.

Cross the bealach and continue to the foot of Stùc a' Chròin's rocky northern face. A direct ascent involves an easy scramble over boulders and loose ground, with occasional stretches of path to follow. Above the scrambling, continue to the cairn on Stùc a' Chròin's minor northern top 9, where a memorial plaque is embedded in the cairn.

For an easier alternative avoiding the scramble, from Bealach an Dubh Choirein pick up a path heading west-south-west, initially losing a little height before crossing grassy ground to the foot of a steep but straightforward slope. Climb this to gain the crest of Stùc a' Chròin's north-west shoulder at around 850m, then turn south-east and continue towards the cairn on the minor northern top 9, or perhaps more southerly to by-pass it.

A faint path follows a line of fence-posts southwards along Stùc a' Chròin's crest to aim for the main summit and its two cairns 10.

A couple of paths leave Stùc a' Chròin's summit. One heads westwards past a cairn towards Beinn Each, while a fainter path heads south-east and this followed for the return towards Callander.

This path follows the mainly grass-covered crest of Stùc a' Chròin's south-east shoulder, without difficulty, to rejoin the path left earlier in the day 4 below the dip on the shoulder. Retrace the outward route past Arivurichardich and Braeleny Farm to the start.

Around halfway along Loch Lubnaig, a long lay-by lies on the north side of the road beside the entrance to a house. Between the lay-by and the entrance, a right-of-way signpost indicates a path heading into woodland towards Glen Ample.

Follow the path until it joins a track, then continue for around 1km to cross the Eas an Eoin 11. Leave the track and pick up an obvious path heading eastwards, climbing through heathery ground alongside a line of fence-posts to reach the summit of Beinn Each 12.

From Beinn Each, the well-defined path continues northwards along the undulating crest, crosses Bealach nan Cabar and approaches Stùc a' Chròin 10 from the south-west.

Held annually in early May, the Stùc a' Chròin hill race is a popular and well-organised event. The demanding, marked course covers around 22km with some 1500m of ascent, with the fastest runners completing it in a little over two hours.

The route starts from Strathyre and initially climbs on forestry tracks. Beyond the end of the track, a rough and faint path climbs steeply before the ground levels and becomes marshier, with a line of fence-posts followed towards the minor summit of Meall Mor.

The race route skirts around Meall Mor to a dip 13 before dropping steeply through thick heather into Glen Ample. After crossing the watershed 14, the route joins the approach described above, climbing to Beinn Each 12 before continuing over Bealach nan Cabar to Stùc a' Chròin 10.

On the return, runners retrace the ridge, but instead of climbing back over Beinn Each, take a slanting line 15 down into Glen Ample. From the watershed 14, the outward route is retraced, with the steep climb back out of the glen providing one of the toughest parts of the race, before a long run on forestry tracks returns to Strathyre.