Ben Venue is a mountain in the Trossachs

Trossachs

The Trossachs itself is a small woodland glen in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It lies between Ben A'an to the north and Ben Venue to the south, with Loch Katrine to the west and Loch Achray to the east. However, the name is used generally to refer to the wider area of wooded glens and...

 area of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. The name Ben Venue is derived from the Scottish Gaelic

Scottish Gaelic language

Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....

 words meaning "the small mountain". The summit lies approximately 2 kilometres south-west of the pier at the southern end of Loch Katrine

Loch Katrine

Loch Katrine is a freshwater loch in the district of Stirling, Scotland. It is roughly 8 miles long by 2/3 of a mile wide and runs the length of Strath Gartney...

. At the foot of the mountain close to the shore of Loch Katrine is Bealach nam Bò meaning the "pass of the cattle", a reference to the lawless days when Highland cattle "lifters" used the pass to drive stolen herds to their land.

Ben Venue is a popular walk and can be accessed from either Ledard farm track at Loch Ard

Loch Ard

Loch Ard is a body of fresh water in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park of the Stirling District in Scotland. -Overview:...

 or from the car park at the head of Loch Achray

Loch Achray

Loch Achray is a small freshwater loch 11 kilometres west of Callander in Stirling district, Scotland.The loch lies between Loch Katrine and Loch Venachar in the heart of the Trossachs and has an average depth of 11 metres. The south side of the loch is wooded and well served by woodland tracks and...

: both routes are approximately 5 km in length. A sign in the forestry warns that the mountain should not be approached or descended directly to or from Loch Katrine, as the slopes on this side are very steep and littered with dangerous cliffs. Several indistinct paths do exist on this side of the hill however.

Ben Venue has two summits a short distance apart. The triangulation pillar on the eastern summit has a height of 727 m above sea level, and this height is often given as the height of Ben Venue as a whole. However the western summit is shown to be slightly higher, 729 m, on the Ordnance Survey

Ordnance Survey

Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...

's 1:25000 map. From (either) summit on a clear day the view extend to the Firth of Forth

Firth of Forth

The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...

, the Clyde

Firth of Clyde

The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...

 and Isle of Arran

Isle of Arran

Arran or the Isle of Arran is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland, and with an area of is the seventh largest Scottish island. It is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire and the 2001 census had a resident population of 5,058...

 and the Paps of Jura

Jura, Scotland

Jura is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, situated adjacent and to the north-east of Islay. Part of the island is designated as a National Scenic Area. Until the twentieth century Jura was dominated - and most of it was eventually owned - by the Campbell clan of Inveraray Castle on Loch...

. Good views can be seen along Loch Katrine, Ben A'an, Ben More

Ben More (Crianlarich)

Ben More is a mountain in the southern Highlands of Scotland, near Crianlarich. It is the highest of the so-called Crianlarich Hills to the south-east of the village, and there is no higher land in the British Isles south of Ben More...

, Stob Binnein

Stob Binnein

Stob Binnein is a mountain in the southern Highlands of Scotland, near Crianlarich. It forms a twin-peak with Ben More, from which it is separated by the Bealach-eadar-dha Beinn, meaning pass between two hills....

, Ben Lomond

Ben Lomond

Ben Lomond , , is a distinctive mountain in the Scottish Highlands. Situated on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, it is the most southerly of the Munros...

 and the Arrochar Alps

Arrochar Alps

The Arrochar Alps are a group of mountains located around the head of Loch Long, Loch Fyne,and Loch Goil, near the villages of Arrochar and Lochgoilhead in Argyll, Scotland. The mountains are especially popular with hillwalkers, due to their proximity and accessibility from Glasgow...

.

External links

• A full description of the walks can be found at www.incallander.co.uk, walking section