Meall an Fhiodhain

Perched south of the mighty Stob Binnein, Meall an Fhiodhain is the mountain equivalent of a talented younger sibling living in a shadow. It offers superb, less-crowded views of the Crianlarich giants, provided you don't mind the relentless, calf-burning grass slopes that define the Balquhidder approach.

• •Standing at 818 meters, it is a substantial Corbett that most hill-walkers accidentally ignore while racing toward the more famous Stob Binnein-Ben More massif.
• •The name translates from Gaelic as 'hill of the wooden channel' or 'hill of the runnel', referring to the steep water-cut grooves that define its southern slopes.
• •Its proximity to Balquhidder puts it deep in Rob Roy MacGregor country, though the legendary outlaw likely had better things to do than slog up these particular crags.
• •The summit provides one of the finest vantage points for viewing the southern profiles of the Crianlarich hills, away from the motorway-like paths of the popular Munro routes.
• •The ascent from Inverlochlarig features a 'path' that is largely a polite fiction; you will spend most of the climb playing a high-stakes game of 'is this a trail or just a very persistent sheep's drainage ditch?'