Andrew Gannel Hill

Rising steeply above Tillicoultry, this prominent grassy shoulder provides an excellent gateway into the high Ochils. Often tackled alongside neighbouring Ben Cleuch, its rounded summit offers a clear perspective of the Gannel Burn’s deep-cut glen and expansive views across the Forth Valley toward the distant Pentland Hills.

• •The name is likely a corruption of the Gaelic 'Aonach Gaineamhail,' meaning 'sandy ridge.' This refers to the gritty, eroded nature of the slopes descending into the Gannel Burn, rather than the mysterious 'Andrew' of local folk tales.
• •It is most commonly reached via the dramatic Mill Glen from Tillicoultry, a route that climbs past deep-cut waterfalls before the path opens out onto the steep, grassy southern face of the hill.
• •The summit provides an earned perspective of the Firth of Forth; on a clear day, the three bridges at Queensferry and the volcanic plug of North Berwick Law are visible to the southeast.
• •To the northwest, the view shifts toward the Southern Highlands, where the distinctive profiles of Ben Lomond and the Trossachs hills provide a rugged horizon beyond the flat Carse of Stirling.
• •The hill serves as a fine reminder that in the Ochils, 'gentle rolling hills' is a term usually coined by people who haven't just hauled themselves up the relentless 500-metre vertical grass slope from the glen floor.