Myreton Hill , Craig Elsie , Mid Cairn , Bengengie & Colsnaur Hill

Set out for the second time to climb Blairdenon Hill and for the second time had to reconsider the strategy as it was just a step too far. On the way did this circular route and climbed 5 hills and , according to Ian's app we burned 2,800 calories and walked 8.5 miles and all in blazing sunshine - a great day.

We set out from Menstrie to climb Myreton Hill and then move in to the rest of the hills ( took a good 10 mins to find the right place to start). Like many of the starts in the Ochils we set off on a road which zig zagged up in to the hills. On the way there were great views of Dumyat and as I had climbed it last week I took this photo to show the hill from the other side.

We walked up the road until a gate where the path to Myreton turns right at a small fence post. This was a fairly easy climb and we soon reached the top which is fairly unexciting. This picture shows Ian contemplating the next stage which involved descending to the bottom of the valley and then climbing up again - easy when you are the top but much more of a challenge when you have dropped to the bottom and the only way is up!

Found the remains of a sheep - skull only - and couldn't resist a quick pose on the way!

On the journey down we wandered slightly off course - map and directions taking us to a small reservoir which we couldn't see . Just as Ian was beginning to think we had gone completely off course it materialised before our eyes and we knew we were on the right course. I had been keeping to a slightly higher path but the photo gives you a sense of the climb on the other side which was a "lung buster"

Once we had conquered the steep slope , which came with no path , we reached Craig Elsie and were on the ridge - all plain sailing from now on! Stretching out behind me in this photo are Mid Cairn and Bengengie. I had done this ridge recently , climbing up from Alva Glen - the map notes say this ridge is not climbed frequently and I now know this is because there is no easy way to get on to it! When you do , however , the views are great.

At Bengengie , we crossed over the moss to pick up the beginning of Colsnaur Hill and effectively double back on ourselves . This view shows the ridge from the walk up Colsnaur with Bengengie (left) to Craig Elsie (right)

 We now followed the wall which is in the foreground all the way to the top of Colsnaur which stretched out in front of us in an inviting way

At the top , we scrambled down the hill to pick up the path (and gate) where we had turned for Myreton and then followed it back down to Menstrie.

All in all , an excellent walk - I think I'll try Blairdenon from Sherifmuir to see if it any easier to get there!