The West Highland Way

Have you ever had the urge to take a very long walk to clear your mind? Perhaps that walk spans multiple days? What if that walk was a magical journey through the Scottish Highlands?

In 2012 we travelled to Scotland for our honeymoon and booked a coach tour to take us to Loch Ness, Glencoe and the Highlands. Making our way back to Glasgow along the scenic A82 through Glencoe, the tour operator pointed out a few hikers following a trail running alongside the motorway. He went on to tell us that he was doing a walk in a few weeks time, a long distance walk spanning 7 days to raise money for charity. My interest was immediately peeked, which really isn’t saying much as it would be rather difficult to find any 7 day activity in Scotland that I would be willing to overlook. I’ll admit a few years passed before I got around to sorting out the walking trail the guide was referring too, but I never gave up the dream of one day completing a multi-day adventure through the Scottish Highlands.

Established in 1980, the West Highland Way was Scotland’s first officially designated long distance trail boasting 154kms (96 miles) from start to finish. Much of the way was built by joining sections of ancient drovers’ roads and old military and coaching roads, some dating back over 300 years. Starting in Milngavie (pronounced Mull-guy), a suburb of Glasgow, the West highland Way takes walkers north into the Scottish Highlands ending in Fort William near the base of Ben Nevis, Scotland and the UKs highest mountain. Every year an estimated 120,000 people walk a portion of the trail, while another 45,000 complete the walk from start to finish. The walk is very safe, even for solo walkers, and you are bound to find new friends along the way as I have. Most walkers take 7 days to complete the full length, but a select group of ultra marathoners race the entire trail each year within a 35 hour time limit. The current record of 13 hours 41 minutes 8 seconds was set by Rob Sinclair in 2017.

As the West Highland Way cuts across country it passes by a number of small villages that cater to walkers. Cafes and pubs offer packed lunches, hot meals and of course whisky and ice cold beer. You’ll even find a few honesty boxes filled with baked goods and supplies. Accommodations are available ranging from tent pitches, glamping huts, B&B’s, hostels and even a few rustic hotels and a haunted inn. Wild camping along the way is permitted, but a section in the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park has seasonal restrictions. At times the path can be paved, cobbled, packed with stone, rock and root, and most of all what goes up must come down, and it always goes back up again. When you are not watching your foot fall, the scenery is filled with mountains, a never ending loch, waterfalls, rivers, burns (creeks), stone ruins, sections of forest and endless blankets of heather and bracken. Highland coos, sheep, roe and red deer, as well as grouse can often be spotted, but you will need to keep a keen eye to spot the ever elusive wild haggis.

While the walk can be difficult and treacherous at times, it is always absolutely stunning and picturesque. Even the most gifted writer would struggle to capture the true beauty of the West Highland Way, and I am in no means a gifted writer. So, instead of attempting to tell you just how beautiful the West Highway Way is, I think it best to show you. These are only a small sample of some of my favourite pictures I took along the way.

For more information head to https://www.westhighlandway.org/ the official website of the West Highland Way. There are also plenty of social media groups and travel bloggers who have endless details about the walk, and how to go about it. Arranging your own walk is easily done, but there are tour operators who book self-guided walks and can handle booking accommodations, baggage carriers and your return from Fort William if you wish.

I have been fortunate enough to walk the Way two times (and counting), and followed the same 7-day itinerary. I have tented, glamped and even stayed in a hotel. My own bookings were easily done and I used the following for baggage carrying and accommodations. I have nothing but good things to say about these businesses.

https://gingerroutes.com
https://drymencamping.co.uk/
https://www.rowardennanhotel.co.uk/
https://www.hostellingscotland.org.uk/hostels/rowardennan/
https://beinglascampsite.co.uk/
https://tyndrumbytheway.com/
https://www.glencoemountain.co.uk/
https://blackwaterhostel.co.uk/

My 7-day itinerary:
Milngavie to Drymen
Drymen to Rowardennan
Rowardennan to Inverarnan
Inverarnan to Tyndrum
Tyndrum to Kingshouse
Kingshouse to Kinlochleven
Kinlochleven to Fort William

Map and Elevation sourced from – https://www.westhighlandway.org.