The West Hig
hland Way (Slighe na Gàidhealtachd an Iar) was Scotland’s first official long distance route. It links Milngavie to Fort William – a distance of 154.5km (96 miles) – from the northern outskirts of Glasgow, to the foot of Ben Nevis at Fort William.
The trail was approved for development in 1974 and was completed and opened on October 6, 1980 by Lord Mansfield so becoming the first officially designated long distance footpath in Scotland.
The Route follows the shores of Loch Lomond, passing Ben Lomond, through Strathfillan, crossing Rannoch Moor, past Buachaille Etive Mor to the head of Glencoe, climbing the Devil’s Staircase and crossing the River Leven at the head of Loch Leven before entering Lairigmor and Glen Nevis.
It passes from the lowlands, across the Highland Boundary Fault Zone and on into the Scottish Highlands. Much of the Way follows ancient and historic routes of communication and makes use of Drove Roads, Military Roads and Disused Railway Tracks.
It is managed by the West Highland Way Management Group (WHWMG) consisting of West Dunbartonshire Council, Stirling Council, Argyll & Bute Council, Highland Council and Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority.
Around 30,000 people walk the entire route every year.
The Concept and the Planning
We originally decided to do the walk in 2008 having seen some pictures of a friend and his girlfriend doing the same walk on Facebook. It looked amazing and Tim, always one for a challenge decided that we should do the walk in 6 days which was shorter than Daz and Emma had done it (not that Tim is competitive or anything!). Anyway, the original plan was to book B&B accommodation along the way thus minimizing the need to carry a lot of gear.
After several weeks of research, all the B&B’s & hotels were provisionally booked—that is, apart from one long stretch between Kingshouse and Fort William. The distance between the 2 places is such that it just cannot be done in one day.
After a brief re-think and still the urge to do the walk, we decided that the only way to do it would be to do it “properly”. In other words, to carry our accommodation with us.
It all sounded like an adventure to Keeley especially as she had never done anything like this before. Little was she to know exactly what would lie ahead!
Tim on the other hand (in true military style) set to on the planning of the equipment. We would need a whole new set of lightweight gear; tent, stove, sleeping bag etc etc.
Over the course of the next few weeks, various bits and pieces for the trip accumulated in the kitchen. He even took great delight in cutting off the handles of our toothbrushes….say no more! Tim was well and truly in his element!
Wednesday June 10th – The Start of the Adventure
Having packed everything into our rucksacks the night before (Well, Tim had!), we started our journey up to Scotland mid morning on Wednesday.
It was a pleasant drive up, the weather was lovely and there wasn’t too much traffic.
As we weren’t able to book into the B&B until mid afternoon, we decided to stop off in Powfoot on the west coast of Scotland for lunch. Keeley had been there before many years earlier for a wedding so knew how nice the area was. After having lunch in Powfoot, we continued our journey up to Milngavie (pronounced Mull-guy for those who are not Scottish!). We spent a bit of time looking around the town centre and more importantly at where we would be starting our walk the next day—well, we needed to have made sure that we knew where the start point was so we’d be ready to go. We even walked a little bit of the start through Mugdock Park.
After getting our bearings we then made our way to our B&B for the night—High Craigton Farm on Stockiemuir Road, a 250 year old farmhouse….with B&B accommodation to match! To be fair, it was old fashioned but the owners were friendly enough and they did let us leave the car at the farm whilst we did the walk (one of the reasons why we chose the B&B).
Once settled in the B&B, Tim did what was to become a frequent event of the WHW—check the map! He loved it!
It was a pleasant evening and in an attempt to loosen up the old legs and to take advantage of the nice weather and area, we decided to go for a little car ride (oh, and to find somewhere to eat). As we were driving, we noticed a sign showing a panoramic view—Queens View (named after Queen Victoria who apparently stood here for her first view of Loch Lomond). Never to miss a chance of having a look at something, we ventured up the hill in front of us. It was a gentle bimble up the hill and the views on the way up of Loch Lomond were beautiful especially in the summer late evening sun. The views were stunning, you could see all the way to the Arrochar and the Kilpatrick Hills. Once at the top of Auchineden Hill and of course at the trig point, it was time to venture back down again to find somewhere to eat.
We came across a pub—The Carbeth Inn, an ancient inn which has served the needs of travellers for over 200 years. Sir Walter Scott had the character of Baillie Nicol Jarvie in his 1817 novel Rob Roy describe it as a ‘most miserable alehouse’. Things have obviously improved since then and for years it has provided a warm welcome to climbers, bikers, walkers and the nearby community of Carbeth hutters (people who are entitled to occupy any property within that part of the Carbeth Estate Conservation Area—1920).
As it was a lovely evening, we sat outside and tucked into hearty food and ale as it would probably be our last night of luxury for a few days. After something to eat and drink it was back to the B&B for a good night’s rest…..
Day 1 (Milngavie – Balmaha) click here
Day 2 (Balmaha – Inversnaid) click here
Day 3 (Inversnaid – Auchtertyre) click here
Day 4 (Auchtertyre – Rannoch Moor) click here
Day 5 (Rannoch Moor – Kinlochleven) click here
Day 6 (Kinlochleven – Fort William) click here
A relaxing 2 days click here
Keels 