West Highland Way

The West Highland Way (WHW), the first trail to be officially designated as a long distance route, winds its way through a huge variety of magnificent landscapes  on its‎ 95 mile course between Milngavie (near Glasgow) and Fort William. The scenery is in places almost painfully beautiful: grand crags and purple hillsides above glens; and famous bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.

The Way is demanding, but not a miserably tough enterprise.‎

Western Scotland has a huge variety of weather at any time of year, so always come ready for unpredictable weather.

 Much of the Way follows old drovers' roads, the green ways which networked the Highlands, along which the highlanders drove their cattle to the markets of the Lowlands. These are a precious national asset. Other stretches follow old military roads, which were build by the Hanoverians ‎as a means of suppressing the Highlands after the '45 rebellion.

You can walk the WHW in 6 days, although this would be a bit of a slog and not leave much time for exploration. Better 7 or 8 days.‎ You can walk it south to north (most people do and a bit easier), although north to south for some sun  and wind) on face is also popular.

Day walking sections of the WHW is very practicable, as it often meets roads. Your choice of day walks would depend on your aspirations, energy and determination. Most would agree that days 5 and 6 are the finest walking when all factors are taken into account.

Walking south to ‎north, if you are aiming to do the Way in 7 days, the stages are as follows.

Day 1 - Milngavie to Drymen‎

A gentle 20km escape from the outskirts of Glasgow to near the foot of Loch Lomond. Not the WHW's most thrilling day, but a good leg-stretcher in gentle farmland.

Day 2 - Drymen to Rowardennan

A more demanding 24km rolling route near the famously bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. Gorgeous scenery and rich wildlife.

Day 3 - ‎Rowardennan to Crianlarich

A long and demanding 32km day which leads steadily into the wild grandeur of the Highlands, although this is a section which can be done over two days by those wanting a more relaxed approach. Half the day will be beside the beauties of upper Loch Lomond, thereafter climbing Glen Falloch (unfortunately in the company of the A82, so significant noise pollution, and the railway line to boot), for a substantial part of the way on an old military road.

Day 4 - ‎Crianlarich to Bridge of Orchy

This 21km stretch winds up beautiful Strath Fillan to Tyndrum, often in lovely open forest, taking in the scanty remains of St Fillan's Priory on the way. Thence a climb up a narrow, steeply dramatic glen takes you over the east-west watershed and down into the wide, flat-bottomed, gorgeous Auch Gleann with fine, conical (iconical?) Beinn Dorain ahead. A lovely tramp along on an atmospheric old military road gets to, eventually, to Bridge of Ochy. You are, unfortunately, in the aural if not always visual company of the A82 road the whole way - and the railway line, a real dampener for wilderness lovers.

Day 5 - Bridge of Orchy to Kingshouse: Rannoch Moor 

A 19km crossing of the fringes of the remarkable Rannoch Moor on old drove and military roads to the head of Glen Coe. ‎

Rannoch Moor is outstanding by any standards, a ‎high empty plateau of hill and moorland and bog, with grand highland mountains in the background, riven by burns and littered by delightful little lochs. The valley of the River Ba, at its heart, is meltingly beautiful on a good day, and sinisterly so on a bad one. Along with Days 5 and 6, the best the WHW has to offer.

Beginning at Bridge of Orchy on the busy A82 road just below where Loch Tulla empties into to the river Orchy, you cross the river on a fine old military bridge, and have the choice of rounding the ridge ahead on a minor road (for slackers), or of climbing steadily through pretty woodland then up a grassy hillside to a really beautiful viewpoint on a ridge of Ben Invereigh, with exceptional views even by the marvellous local standards of the nearby mountains and across Loch [Tulla towards Rannoch Moor; then descend to meet the road again at Inveroran and round the end of beautiful Loch Tulla.

Then it is long stretch of rough-cobbled old road, which was built under Telford to replace the deteriorating older military road. This involves 2+ hours of gentle climbing and crossing undulating lake-sprinkled moorland. The first hour or so is interesting and attractive enough, but the visual fireworks begin as the views open up over Rannoch Moor: on a good day you can can gaze eastward for miles and miles across moorland, bog and lakelet to distant blue ridges. To your west is the thrilling hole that is Coire Ba, surrounded by cliffs and grassy hillsides. Marvellous.

You eventually reach a ridge-top and descend steadily down the flanks of steep Meall a'Bhuirdh to the brilliantly sited Kings House Hotel.

See more on this walk here, including William Mackesy’s account of walking here.

‎Day 6 - Kingshouse to Kinlockleven via the Devil’s Staircase 

This section illustrate the WHW’s strengths and weaknesses. The first (missable) hour traverses a flank of upper Glen Coe on an old military road, in staggering scenery but never out of earshot of, and sometimes right beside, the endlessly busy A82 road.

The trail then turns north, up a long hillside of grass and heather which becomes the not wildly demanding zig-zag known as the Devil's Staircase. The road is by now a minor blot on the huge and wonderful glen. From a low pass in the ridge, you are gazing on a new landscape to the north, across the deep Leven valley to a wonderful series of ridges and summits, scooped back into fine corries. Behind them looms the high, bleak, flat top of one of Ben Nevis' close neighbours. You descend gently on a good path, winding around the mountain sides for some way. To the north-east, a long, wide, high, treeless valley appears, with the beginnings of huge and strange Rannoch Moor at its far end and a shallow-looking reservoir in its bottom. The trail then enters sparklingly pretty birch woods, and joins a steep track in the woodlands, dropping pleasantly enough to Kinlockleven village. A relatively easy 14km.

See more on this walk here, including William Mackesy’s account of walking here.

‎Day 7 - Kinlochleven to Fort William 

A long (22+km) but fine day, much of it approaching then following the lovely, lonely, hidden Lairig Mor glen on another stretch of old military road. A final crossing of hills takes you to Glen Nevis and the final walk-in to Fort William. Bravo!!

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Our friends the Oranginas walking group from the Netherlands have also walked the famous trail. Here’s what they had to say:

“Thousands of walkers, endless information on the internet…..it must be the exceptional beauty of the Way. We started our trail at Crianlarich, leaving behind Milngavie (Glasgow) and Loch Lomond. There is a train connection between Glasgow and Fort William, the end of the West Highland-way. So, in fact you can start everywhere, the train follows the route. A well way-marked trail.”

THANK YOU ORANGINAS! See their full account here