The West Highland Way is a 95 mile walking route that takes in some of Britain's most spectacular scenery, in the northwest Scottish Highlands. Beginning in the town of Milngavie (pronounced "mull-guy") just north of Glasgow, and finishing in Fort William (the "gateway" to the northwest Highlands), the route crosses Conic Hill, hugs the shore of beautiful Loch Lomond, then climbs to Glen Falloch and its gentle waterfalls before reaching Tyndrum. From Tyndrum the route joins an 18th century military "road" to the Bridge of Orchy, and the true granduer of the highlands becomes a greater presence with dramatic hills looming above the path. From the remote Bridge of Orchy, the path crosses Rannoch Moor (a huge expanse of open moorland) before climbing Devil's Staircase out of the Pass of Glencoe, site of the notorious massacre of the Macdonald clan in 1690. From the top of the "staircase," the walker is rewarded with spectacular views to the north at the summit; if clear, Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain, is visible among the hills. After a long descent into the former aluminum mining town of Kinlochleven, the route makes a final ascent to higher ground with the Mamores towering above just north of the path. Before reaching Fort William, the Way passes through forestry plantations that open to reveal tantalizing glimpses of Ben Nevis (at least, to those lucky enough to see it free of cloud!). Ambitious walkers should arrange to stay a second night in Fort William, which will allow (weather permitting) an ascent of Ben Nevis.

The route poses virtually no navigational challenges, with excellent signposting and waymarking throughout and few or no alternative footpaths to cause confusion. The walk is relatively easy in that it involves only modest elevation gains and losses; that said, it seemed more difficult due to the very hard walking surfaces. Two days along Loch Lomond's eastern shore involve tricky walking over slippery rocks and tree roots, while the wider tracks and old roads are quite hard on the feet. Take well broken in boots, plenty of clean socks, and Compeed to avoid or treat the inevitable blisters!

Before starting the West Highland Way, we spent three days visiting Glasgow's many interesting sights, especially those associated with the architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh. We highly recommend our accommodation in Glasgow's attractive West End: the Kirklee Hotel. Any exploration of Mackintosh's work should begin with the excellent tour of his earliest major commission, the Glasgow School of Art. (If time allows, an excursion to one of the premier private residences designed by Mackintosh, Hill House, is also a must.)

Our intention had been to follow the alternative and more challenging "Highland High Way" routing on two of our seven days on the West Highland Way: first over Ptarmigan and Ben Lomond (on day three), and later over Stob Ban and other Mamores (on day seven). Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate, and we judged it unsafe (and certainly unpleasant) to seek the higher ground as planned. The West Highland Way route nevertheless offers many pleasures and spectacular views in all directions. We've promised ourselves a return trip one day to tackle the higher level route! (For more information, purchase a copy of "The Highland High Way" by Heather Connon & Paul Roper, published by Mainstream Publishing.)

We carried the guidebook, "The West Highland Way" by Anthony Burton, jointly published by Aurum Press and the Ordnance Survey. Like all their walking guides, this includes relevant extracts from the OS 1:25000 maps that cover the route. This route is so well waymarked, however, that a guidebook is nearly superfluous; we used it mainly for interesting background about each day's walk. (For those interested in walking the alternative Highland High Way, however, it is essential to carry the OS Outdoor Leisure Maps 38 and 39).

Walkers are advised to book their accommodation well in advance, since several stopping points along
the way have very limited choice. Also, because the dreaded midge (a tiny flying insect that bites, similar to the mosquito) plagues western Scotland in summer, the path is most heavily utilized in spring and fall creating even greater demand for accommodation. We recommend that walkers refer to the excellent official website for the West Highland Way, as it provides extensive information about the walk, accommodation, and services throughout.

AMS Rucksack Transfers offers a door-to-door baggage transport service for walkers, which enables much more comfortable walking with only a light daypack. AMS also offers an accommodation booking service. The pleasures of walking unencumbered by a heavy pack cannot be overstated, particularly when it is already necessary to carry raingear each day. AMS is the only firm to offer a door-to-door service on the West Highland Way, and they were supremely efficient; our bags always arrived before we did! We were very pleased with their baggage transport service, and recommend AMS highly.

For another account of the West Highland Way, see Jennifer Ward's webpage.

To view a photo diary of our walk, click on each day of the journey below. (Also see our account of the
Dales Way in Yorkshire, which we walked before the West Highland Way.)
 

Day 1 (Milngavie to Drymen, 12 miles)
Day 2 (Drymen to Anchorage Cottage, 9 miles)
Day 3 (Anchorage Cottage to Inversnaid, 13 miles)
Day 4 (Inversnaid to Crianlarich via Inverarnan, 14 miles)
Day 5 (Crianlarich to Bridge of Orchy, 12 miles)
Day 6 (Bridge of Orchy to Kinlochleven, 21 miles)
Day 7 (Kinlochleven to Fort William, 14 miles)

Write to us:  (gowalk@pacbell.net)