KYQ4: Ben Chonzie

Monday 22 November 2021

Ben Chonzie

Looking north from Ben Chonzie

Monday, 22 November 2021

Ascent: 755 metres
Distance: 13 kilometres
Time: 2 hours 47 minutes

m Ben Chonzie 931m 1hr 33mins

After only the second night of frost this autumn, I headed up to Comrie and the beautiful Glen Lednock that takes you to the start of the walk to Ben Chonzie. I had done this walk twice before on weekday birthdays, it was only a half day walk so allowed me to work as well. I was the second car to arrive at the car park and began to walk immediately, I had driven in my trail shoes, the ground conditions still too benign for boots The walk is not hard, about 4.5 kilometres on a rough track that climbs to 730 metres and then a steeper and slightly boggy path that climbs to the south ridge at 870 metres Thereafter it is a pleasant saunter over the broad grassy ridge following some old fence posts to the untidy summit shelter.

I kept a steady pace, my regular morning walk has kept me reasonably fit so that there is no need for rests. I had reached 800 metres before stopping for some water and to take a few photos. The path was slightly icy and the northerly breeze was a gentle reminder that winter was ahead. On previous visits to the hill, I had been struck by the number of hares but I saw none today and the only bird apart from several groups of squawking grouse was a red kite. Just before reaching the summit the walker who had started ahead of me passed on his descent and we exchanged greetings. He looked to be in his sixties and seemed content with his outing.

On the descent, my right knee began to trouble me on the steeper boggy path but I pushed on. As I reached the track there was a sudden spurt of walkers on their way up. In the next half hour I passed three couples in their thirties, two solo men walkers in their fifties who were both a bit taciturn, a solo woman in her thirties who was enthusiastic about the walk, a man in his thirties wearing enormous headphones and carrying a 60 litre rucksack and another woman in her twenties. I said to her it was quite crowded today and she retorted, yes and its a Monday but with all this home working its really an extension of the weekend. She had a point on my last two weekday trips in March, there had been only hares on the hill. Today there were 13 of us and it was not yet noon.

I kept a good pace on the descent as I tried to beat three hours, the guide book had said 4 hours 30 minutes. In fact I was surprised on getting home and looking at an old log that I was 2 minutes quicker than in March 2009, a couple of months before I retired. It was 12:30pm when I reached the car, the afternoon was mine, no need to go to work.