Ben Venue

About Ben Venue

Rising above the silver waters of Loch Katrine and Loch Achray, this rugged Graham offers one of the finest panoramas in the Trossachs. The ascent through the Great Trossachs Forest transitions into a craggy summit plateau with two distinct peaks, providing a mountain experience that feels far grander than its 730-metre stature.

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Did You Know?

• •The name is most likely derived from the Scottish Gaelic 'A' Bheinn Mhuinidhe', often translated as the 'miniature mountain'. This describes its character: though not tall enough to be a Munro, its craggy, complex profile mimics the appearance of a much larger peak.
• •The northern slopes harbor the 'Goblin’s Cave' (Coire nan Uruisgean), a deep, rocky hollow where Highland reivers once hid stolen cattle. Legend suggests the spot was haunted by 'Urisks'—mythological creatures that were half-man and half-goat.
• •Sir Walter Scott's 1810 poem 'The Lady of the Lake' immortalized this landscape; the hill’s crags and the nearby pass of Bealach nam Bò were key locations in the narrative that sparked the first Scottish tourism boom.
• •The summit provides a perfectly framed view of Ben Lomond’s pointed peak to the west, while to the east, the Wallace Monument and Stirling Castle are often visible on the horizon beyond the Lake of Menteith.
• •It is a rare Scottish hill where you can start your walk near a pier and watch a 19th-century steamship, the SS Sir Walter Scott, setting sail on the loch below as you make your ascent.
• •Given the popularity of the Trossachs, the main path is well-constructed, but the summit plateau remains a complex labyrinth of small crags and boggy hollows that can become surprisingly disorienting in a thick mist.