The West Highland Way (short: WHW) is a long-distance hiking trail in the west Scotland. The 152 km long hiking trail follows old trade and military trails and leads from the lowlands in the Glasgow bacon belt on Loch Lomond, along the largest Scottish lake, across the Scottish highlands to Fort William at the foot of the Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Great Britain.
background
The West Highland Way was established in 1980 and has since become the most popular walking route in Scotland. The path is well developed, well signposted and has no great topographical challenges. Nevertheless, it gives an impression of the loneliness and wildness of the Scottish highlands. At the same time, it stays close enough to "civilization" so that the hiker has the choice of walking the path autonomously with wild camping and self-catering, with overnight stays at campsites, in a hotel or even with accompanying luggage service. The parallel A82 road and the railway line allow access to and exit from the hiking trail, even between the start and end points.
In general, the path is taken from south to north, this follows the logic of an arc of tension. But it doesn't matter in which direction you hike.
Practical advice
The path is well signposted and can hardly be missed. Nevertheless, a map, compass and / or GPS is advisable in order to keep your bearings even in fog or sudden weather changes. A hiking guide can give advice on otherwise neglected, worth seeing places close to the route. Alternative accommodation options for campers are also much easier to find, as are two Bothys on the banks of Loch Lomond.
In general, the West Highland Way does not pose too much of a challenge to the hiker. There is, at least, one wide, often paved path. Occasionally he also uses dirt roads, old military roads / bridle paths or paved roads. Nevertheless, on some stages, especially on Devil’s Staircase and along Loch Lomond between Rowardennan and Ardleish, there should be a minimum of surefootedness (sturdy shoes), as there can be a risk of slipping in wet weather. In unfavorable weather conditions, the sections over Rannoch Moor and Devil’s Staircase as well as from Kinlochleven to Fort William are a challenge due to the lack of weather protection. Stream crossings are built with footbridges or bridges, the otherwise occasionally required fords are not necessary here.
Luggage transfer services offer the transport of larger pieces of luggage, so that the route can be completed without or with only light luggage. Complete packages with pre-booked accommodation are also offered.
The West Highland Way runs for long stretches just a few kilometers from the A 82 and the West Highland Line. Many of the points established as stage destinations can therefore be easily reached by bus or train, and the route can be hiked in partial stages.
The journey will be conveniently made by public transport. Both endpoints are easily accessible by train and / or bus. When arriving by car, it should be noted that there are no dedicated (or even guarded) long-term parking spaces. Parking a vehicle on the side of the road is still possible within the framework of the traffic regulations.
Cyclists will not be happy on the West Highland Way, the path is not at all accessible with touring bikes and even with mountain bikes only to a limited extent. In particular along Loch Lomond and between Kingshouse and Kinlochleven there are steep passages on which you have to push and occasionally even carry the bike over steps.
preparation
Travel planning
The distance of 154 km can be divided into stages of different lengths depending on fitness and motivation. The record for the entire route is 13:41 hours (2017). If you want a little more of the hiking experience, the route is divided into (sporty) 5 to (casual) 10 daily stages, the latter also allows one or the other detour or rest day. Many directions are based on 8 stages.
overnight stay
Both Glasgow and Fort William have some inexpensive backpacker hostels as well Bed and Breakfast, but in summer a reservation is advisable on Fridays and Saturdays. There are accommodations in hotels, hostels or inns at intervals of daily stages. In summer, due to the limited number of overnight stays, we recommend that you book in advance, especially for the sections of the route between Tyndrum and Kinlochleven.
There are also tent sites, often in the vicinity of hotels, which then also offer sanitary facilities, drying rooms, etc. The cost of an overnight stay with a tent at the various campsites is between 6 pounds and 9 pounds per person (as of August 2015). Some tent sites are free of charge.
Wild camping is generally possible (i.e. with restrictions). The east bank of Loch Lomond is a nature reserve, camping is only allowed on designated sites between March 1st and September 30th. Otherwise, the rules of Scottish outdoor codes. According to this, you may not camp near inhabited houses, not even on farmed agricultural areas.
Travel time
Due to the Gulf Stream, extreme temperatures do not occur, but summer is likely to be the main travel time, then it is correspondingly full on the West Highland Way. However, the small mosquitoes typical of Scotland ("Midges") a real nuisance when there is no wind.
Catering
There is a wide selection of food and camping accessories (gas containers) at the starting points. There are fewer shops along the way (pay attention to Sundays if necessary!). However, there are enough shops that you have to store a maximum of three days even with self-catering. The longest section without a shop is between Tyndrum and Kinlochleven. Those who want to stop for a break will find plenty of options along the way for at least breakfast and dinner, and on some stages also additional stops for breaks along the way.
Here we go
- Milngavie. Milngavie, which is still in the Glasgow suburbs, is the southern start and end point of the route. One is marked a few hundred meters from the train station 1 obelisk the beginning, THE place for the hiker's selfie. Milngavie has a wide range of groceries, bakers, camping accessories and more. The path leaves the village to the north, partly following the Allander Water stream and leads through a flat, undulating landscape. Fields, small lakes, a few settlements with overnight accommodation (who needs that after 5 km). A still is waiting by the wayside for motivation.
- 2 Glengoyne Distillery, Dumgoyne, Killearn, Glasgow G63 9LB. Tel.: 441360550254. Lowland distillery with shop and sightseeing tours.
To keep the level there is a short time later:
At the Gartness homestead, the path bends to the west, towards Drymen. There is a campsite just before Drymen
The West Highland Way is 12 miles from Drymen.
- 1 Drymen: In Drymen there are shops, accommodations and rest stops. Behind Drymen, the nature reserve begins with its restrictions on wild camping. The West Highland Way bypasses the village to the east, the terrain rises slightly and the path runs through a lively mix of fields, forests and heathland. After a few kilometers there is a short, crisp ascent on a beaten path to the 1184 foot (sounds better than 361 m) high 3 Conic Hill. Conic Hill is located on a geological fracture zone, called the Highland Boundary Fault, which separates the Highlands in the northwest from the Lowlands in the southeast. The course is clearly visible through some islands in Loch Lomond or in the opposite direction through a prominent edge of the terrain. On the southwest flank of Conic Hill, it now goes downhill to the hamlet of Balmaha on the banks of Loch Lomond. The path requires sturdy shoes when it rains, it can get wet and slippery.
- 2 Balmaha (30 km) is the northernmost "larger" settlement on the east bank of Loch Lomond with a few hotels, an ATM and a village shop that also sells hikers' supplies. The hiking trail continues on or parallel to the road, largely flat along the lake shore, partly through deciduous forests. There are campsites and a hostel within a few kilometers:
- 2 Millarrochy, Milarrochy Bay Balmaha Nr Drymen, Glasgow G63 0AL. Tel.: 441360870236. Price: from £ 7.55.
- 5 Sallochy, Sallochy Bay, Rowardennan, Glasgow G63 0AW. Tel.: 441360870142. Open: open March - October.Price: from 7 GBP.
The still well-developed path reaches the settlement after 44 km
- 3 Rowardennan, some houses on the banks of Loch Lomond. There is a youth hostel, holiday homes, camping facilities and a ferry to the west bank. The public road ends here at a large parking lot. This is also the starting point for climbing the 4 Ben Lomond, the southernmost at 974 m Munro Scotland with a beautiful panoramic view. The WHW continues north along the lakeshore, initially as a forest path, but it soon dissolves. This is followed by one of the most difficult parts of the entire path to walk, which now leads as a path over hill and dale. It's a constant up and down, although the path remains close to the (rocky) lake shore and has no major climbs. The varied views of the narrowing lake, the opposite bank and the forest make up for it. Alternatively, an abandoned forest path leads a little higher up the slope, which is a little easier to walk, but has fewer views in the forest. As far as Inversnaik there is only one shelter, somewhat hidden in the forest, where you can stay overnight:
- 6 Rowchoish. Refuge, somewhat hidden in the forest, right across the path. Unwritten rules apply to overnight stays in a bothy, with which the user should familiarize himself, see The Bothy Code.Price: donation possible.
The hiker will be happy after his own kilometers
- 7 Inversnaid to have reached after a total of 54 km. Inversnaid is a lonely hotel, but can be reached by car (the access road comes from the east Aberfoyle) with a stop and a little off a cheap one Bunkhouse and, for the eye, a waterfall. Ferry to the other bank.
From Inversnaid we continue on a rudimentary path over partially exposed rocks, these kilometers on the otherwise uninhabited eastern bank are also among the most difficult sections of the entire route. One kilometer north of Inversnaid is not far below the path 5 Rob Roy's Cave, once the hiding place of the legendary outlaw. Also very out of the way there is another refuge further north,
Loch Lomond narrows increasingly on its north side, a few kilometers before the end of the lake there is a small ferry that runs on demand across from the Ardlui Hotel. After the end of the lake it goes through farmland on a dirt road in the valley of Glen Falloch on the stream of the same name
- 4 Inverarnan. There is a campsite at Beinglas Farm for hikers with tents as well as so-called "cabins" for hikers without tents. It's also a cozy pub, the Drovers Inn as well as a small but well-stocked shop. You can pay by credit card.
We continue on dirt roads in the narrow valley of the River Falloch, accompanied by the background noise of the busy A 82, the most important traffic axis between Glasgow and the north. It goes continuously uphill, even if never steep. Only when the path crosses the Falloch, the railway line and the road a few kilometers before Crianlarich and runs a little higher on the opposite slope do you gain some distance from the road. At the same time, the panorama opens up to the mountain ranges that accompany the upper Glen Fallon and then, from Crianlarich, the Glen Fillan. The WHW leaves Crianlarich to the east, if you want to spend the night there, you have a short descent into the village.
- 5 Crianlarich, 75 km since the start, has overnight accommodation and refreshment stops as well as a village shop for groceries as well as hikers' supplies from gas cartridges to plasters.
The path, which is well muddy after rain, now climbs a bit steeply on the eastern flank of the Black Craig, before slowly going through reforestation to the valley floor of the River Fillan, which the path bridges near Ewich House. Ewich House is a neighborhood a few hundred meters from the path:
On the other side of the river, the path reaches the ruins of the Kirkton Farm, which also offers rooms
- 6 St. Fillans Priory. Ruins of a 13th century monastery that Robert the Bruce donated in thanks to a skirmish he won against the English. Next to it is a small cemetery.
and continues past the Auchteryre Farm, where you can camp or rent small huts:
The WHW crosses the A 82 again and follows the stream, then it goes through the municipal forest of Tyndrum to a small pond 7 The Lochan of the Lost Sword, in which Robert the Bruce and his fellow combatants, according to legend, got rid of their troublesome armor on the run from the English after a less successful skirmish. Shortly before Tyndrum, the path passes a devastated, uncultivated area - preparation of an ancient lead mine on the slopes above the village. Then the WHW reaches after 85 km
- 6 Tyndrum. The railway line has already branched towards Fort William or Oban (which gives Tyndrum with its few hundred inhabitants two train stations), the roads towards Oban (A85) and Fort William (A82) separate here. There are hotels, restaurants, shops (the last shop for a good 40 km, only in Kinlochleven you can replenish supplies) in this place of transit. But the panorama has something - the high valley of the Glen Fillan is of numerous three-thousand-meter peaks (in feet, so Munros) framed.
The path leaves Tyndrum to the north and leads over well-developed gravel paths or one paved with natural stone Old military road uphill for about one hundred meters and then into the high valley of the Allt Kinglass with the backdrop of the Beinn Odhar, later for a long time the Beinn Dorain on the right. One last farm (also estate), then only the parallel A 82 and the railway line remind us that there is such a thing as civilization. Otherwise a more and more magnificent wilderness opens up the further the path leads north and approaches the Rannoch Moor.
- 7 Bridge of Orchy, 95 km from Milngavie, is next to the eponymous bridge over the Orchy River, a hotel, a couple of holiday cabins and a train station. The hiking trail crosses the railway, road and river and moves away from them, climbing sharply, to cross the northeast ridge of Ben Inverveigh. The secluded inn Inveroran is 4 km behind Bridge of Orchy.
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- 99 km
The way leaves that 8 Loch Tulla öslich lie and runs on the edge of the tree and shrubless, hilly wilderness of the Rannoch Moor. You don't have to worry about the path, it is well developed and has bridges over crossing streams, orientation is also unproblematic, so that it is a pleasure to enjoy this wilderness in good weather with the play of colors of the fauna, interrupted by ponds and some mighty mountains to wander through on the horizon. But: This part of Scotland is not known for good weather. When it rains or storms you are defenseless, no tree, no bush, no wall, exposed to the elements, so that this section is one of the most demanding sections of the entire hiking trail. Towards the end of the stage, the grandiose cone of the Bouchaille Etive Mor, one of the most striking three-thousand-meter peaks in Scotland, gradually comes into view on the left. At a ski area up the slope to the west, after 16 km you reach the secluded, centuries-old inn
- 12 Kings House Hotel. Tel.: 441855851259. Hotel with restaurant and secluded bunkhouse, quite expensive after extensive modernization in 2018. Wild camping possible on the other side of the stream.115 km
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After the Kingshouse Hotel, the WHW follows on dirt roads or the old military road from the 18th century, paved with natural stones, on which the English were able to quickly move troops between their fortresses (such as Fort William, Fort Augustus) against the Highlander uprisings. At first it goes parallel to or within earshot of the A 82 to the homestead 8 Altnafeidh. Then it goes, away from the road, to the north and in a robust ascent, the 9 Devils Staircase to the highest point of the entire hiking trail, 550 m above sea level, 300 m ascent from Kingshouse. When the weather is nice, a magnificent panorama opens up to the mountain range of the Glen Coe to the west and, after the pass, over the mountain range of the Mamores beyond the valley of the River Leven, and the Ben Nevis, which towers above everything, further east the reservoir of the Blackwater Reservoir. Then it goes in a layered descent, first over paved paths, later continuously downhill over forest paths to the village of Kinlochleven, which is at sea level.
- 9 Kinlochleven 130 km. For the first time since Tyndrum, Kinlochleven has a full range of hotels, refreshments, camping, shops and ATMs. The place itself, dominated by an aluminum hut for decades, has little of the charm of a highland town, simple workers' houses dominate.
Behind Kinlochleven, the trail initially climbs steeply again, first through the forest, then later on the south / south-west flank of the Mamores with a view over Loch Leven. For detours, the Mamores offer numerous three-thousand-meter peaks to choose from, and there are also cross-country paths into the upper Glen Nevis. The West Highland Way circumnavigates the Mamores before entering Glen Nevis with a view of the 10 Ben Nevis, which can also be hiked in five extra hours. The path reaches the valley floor on
- .
In the vicinity there is a (often overcrowded) youth hostel, a campsite and, a little higher in the valley, there is also space for wild camping. The WHW then follows the road through Glen Nevis for the last few kilometers
- 10 Fort William after 154.5 km. The official end of the trail is at the southwest end of the pedestrian zone in High Street. Here are a few 11 Benches as a backdrop for selfies.
security
The West Highland Way is safe to walk. It follows at least paved paths so that there are no risks associated with cross-country hikes in Scotland (lack of orientation, boggy terrain, climbing sections). Cell phone reception is not continuous, but over long distances. In addition, the path is very busy (approx. 50,000 hikers per year), which almost always makes it possible to request help quickly.
Scotland is a safe country to travel to. The general crime rate is low. Women traveling alone do not have an increased risk either. There are numerous reports of women wandering alone who have walked the trail.
As everywhere in nature in Scotland, there are risks from the weather. Storms, fog, and unexpected snowfall can make even supposedly easy stretches challenging.
trips
- Over the 117 km long Great Glen Way above Fort Augustus to Inverness.
literature
Web links
- West Highland Way, Official website.
- The West Highland Way, Route description on fernwege.de.
