Carleatheran
Carleatheran, Gargunnock Hills. Section 26.
Height - 485 metres. Map – OS Landranger 57.
Climbed - 3 April 2011. Time taken – 3 hours.
Distance – 8.5 kilometres. Ascent – 470 metres.
Trip Report Details:
The Sub 2000 Marilyn, Carleatheran, is part of the Gargunnock Hills, so for this ascent I parked in the village of Gargunnock, just south of the A811 Stirling to Drymen Road. Thereafter I walked to the east end of the village and followed a tarred road south to a gate, the first of several. Beyond this gate I passed a house with two male and several female peacocks wandering through the garden.
After passing through a further two gates I came to a water treatment works and beyond that a short area of forest. At the south edge of this forest and a fourth gate (if I have counted correctly) a ‘T’ junction was reached where I took a right turn. This led to the crossing of a burn below a small waterfall.
Beyond the burn I headed uphill following marker posts which led through a gap in a stone dyke and some gorse bushes. The path appeared to continue west but I left it to visit the waterfall, Downie’s Leap. Here a St Andrew’s cross flag had been tied to a nearby tree.
I took a couple of photographs then walked along the north side of a barbed wire fence until I saw a break in the crags. The fence was awkward to cross not just because of the barbed wire but the wooden fence posts weren’t very stable. Once over this fence and through a gap in an old stone dyke, I followed animal tracks as I worked my way through these crags.
I now had views north across the Carse of Stirling to Callander and east to the Wallace Monument. More animal tracks were followed over some wet ground until I reached a fence which led south to a gate. However vehicles had made the area around the gate a quagmire so I crossed the fence instead. Once clear of the bog an All Terrain Vehicle track, occasionally wet and boggy, was followed to the summit cairn and trig point of Carleatheran. As well as the views mentioned above I could see Stronend, which I climbed earlier in the year, and Earlsburn Reservoirs with its nearby wind turbines.
Once I had a coffee break I returned roughly by the same route. The occasional showers became more frequent some of hail.
Photos taken on walk.