An Account of Walking the West Highland Way

Links:

Introduction to the West Highland Way
Packing for the West Highland Way
Glasgow
Milngavie to Conic Hill
Conic Hill to Rowardennan
Rowardennan to Inverarnan
Inverarnan to Tyndrum
Tyndrum to Inveroran
Inveroran to Kingshouse
Kingshouse to Kinlochleven
Kinlochleven to Fort William

A Little Information
The West Highland Way is Scotlands first long distance footpath and connects Milngavie in the South to Fort William in the North and covers a massive 95 miles (152 km). The whole way is well marked and footpaths in general are easy going.

Planning & Preperation
How much planning and preparation you do is largely determined by your fitness and how you plan to walk the way. Those wishing to camp will obviously need to carry a larger well stocked rucksack and therefore have a greater level of personal fitness. Remember your not embarking on a arctic expedition, the whole way has been designed to make it as easy as possible…so please don’t take it too seriously.

My advice to anyone wishing backback is to keep your rucksack weight to an absolute minimum. Invest in light weight gear and only take the essentials, a heavy ruck sack will affect your enjoyment and could cause injury. Many people new to long distance walks will actually end up sending gear home as they realise they have simply underestimated how heavy there ruck sack will feel after 10 miles.

Make sure you have a good pair of boots and they are well broken in before you start your walk. Blisters are no joke and could totally ruin the whole journey.

Those wishing to backpack can use a service provided by Travel Lite who offers a baggage delivery service long the whole way. For those wanting to camp but don’t want the luggage, this is an ideal solution.

Carrying your gear on your back gives you complete freedom to stop when and where you want. It gives you the opportunity to experience what I call wild camping, the only way to camp in my opinion.

If I can’t convince you that its worth camping wild for at least a few nights, then don’t worry the whole of the West Higland Way is littered with campsites, bed and breakfasts, bunkhouses, bothies and WigWam shelters.