📌 Ochil Hills, Clackmannanshire
★★★
Ben Cleuch’s shelter cairn and trig pillar mark the highest point of the Ochil Hills: a chain of grassy summits stretching east from Stirling towards eastern Fife. Only a few wind turbines spoil magnificent views north into the Central Highlands – oh, and the thick haze on our visit! The most direct (and probably most scenic) ascent is from the south, up a long ridge to the minor summit of The Law, preceded by the eyebrow-raising drama of Mill Glen. Returning over Ben Ever forms a satisfying horseshoe route around Daiglen Burn, with a network of paths and tracks taking you back into Mill Glen. From here, you could follow the gorge back down for the quickest way back, but we suggest a slightly messy figure-of-8 loop for a bit more variety (and light conditions for photos) – see the route map below.
📷 Chronological photo guide
Mill Glen 
Quarry in Mill Glen 
Mill Glen 
Rough Knowles (left) & Daiglen Burn, seen from the ascent out of Mill Glen 
The Law south ridge 
Ben Ever beyond Daiglen Burn 
View back to Tillicoultry & the Forth Valley from The Law 
Approaching the summit of The Law 
Looking east across the Ochils from The Law 
Route ahead from The Law to Ben Cleuch 
Ben Cleuch summit 
View south from Ben Cleuch summit 
View ahead to Ben Ever 
Ben Ever’s paltry summit cairn 
Route ahead from Ben Ever 
Views over Clackmannanshire from the descent 
Crags on descent 
Descending back towards Mill Glen 
Descent towards Mill Glen 
Cairn marking where to leave the track for the path into Mill Glen 
Return path east of Mill Glen – also showing the earlier slight scramble out of the glen 
View from the final descent
🌍 Location
📌 Start / finish on Upper Mill Street, 0.5 mi north of Tillicoultry town centre
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NS 914974
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 56.157606,-3.749165
🚌 Bus to Tillicoultry
🚗 Car park / street parking
📝 Key info
▶ 10 km / 6 mi | ▲ 770 m | ⌛ 4.5-5.5 hr
Features: 🌊 Mill Glen ★★★★; △ The Law (638 m); △ Ben Cleuch (721 m, “Torbett” / Donald); △ Ben Ever (622 m)
⬤ Tough | Paths throughout: grassy on hilltops, earth in the glens. A few steep or rocky sections on ascent and descent, perhaps needing the odd hand to exit Mill Glen.
Download file for GPS➡️ Figure of 8 loop (clockwise then anticlockwise): start – path junction at head of Mill Glen, 🧭 NS 912982 – The Law – Ben Cleuch – Ben Ever – track at 🧭 NS 907982 – quarry boundary at 🧭 NS 911978 – zig-zag back to path junction at head of Mill Glen (involves repeating a short part of the outward route) – start via path above east side of glen.
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: Bird of prey circling over The Law; widely-scattered sheep.
Weather: Sunny with clear air on the tops, quite hazy at low levels. Moderate breeze & just above freezing at the summit; snow patches and some frozen ground above about 500m.
February 2018
