Hiking the West Highland Way
I just completed the West Highland Way, a renowned 96-mile hike through the Highlands of Scotland, in six days. The trail took me across moors, alongside lochs, through villages, and over mountains. It was an amazing experience.
Many people complete the hike while staying in accommodations every night, but I decided to carry a full pack and wild camp. Scotland has comparatively permissive laws about camping when compared to the US, and this freed me from needing to do much planning besides booking flights and packing gear.
Day 1 (Milngavie to Conic Hill)
I started this morning at my hotel in Glasgow City Centre and caught an early-morning train to the trailhead.
As far as scenery goes, this was the least interesting day. Unlike every other day, it was spent entirely in the Lowlands, so I was mostly seeing fields, pastures, and houses. Still beautiful, but nothing amazing. The most interesting place along the day's hike was the Glengoyne distillery. I've seen their scotch on shelves, but have never tried it, so I picked up a couple of mini bottles to try at camp. Quite good!
At around noon, I stopped at the Turnip The Beet Cafe and had a pie, some soup, and a latte. It was delicious!
Because the terrain was so flat, I completed 17 miles this day. This was important, because on Day 2 there was a large area where you're not allowed to camp without a permit (which I didn't have) so I needed to make sure I could get past that.
My muscles were totally fine at the end of the day, but unfortunately I had already developed some large blisters on my heels. I kept them taped up, but they still hurt for the next couple of days. By Day 4 they either got better, or I just got used to them, or muscle soreness was distracting me. Either way, they stopped being a big deal.
I set up camp right before Conic Hill. Funnily enough, I learned that a couple of other hikers had to be rescued after becoming violently ill by drinking water from the same river I had drunk from. Supposedly the other people had filtered the water, but I filtered and chemically (with an AquaTab) treated or boiled all the water that I drank. I assume that's why I was okay, but I don't know for sure.
Day 2 (Conic Hill to Rowchoish)
After a quick breakfast, it was time to conquer Conic Hill. It's actually not much of a climb to the top, and the view I got of Loch Lomond and the Highlands was breathtaking. The way down was a little more fatiguing, which held true for the rest of the hike. I work out enough that my muscles had no problems, but my knees and feet were not used to the impact of descending.
After Conic Hill, I stopped at the coffee shop for some lunch: a sausage roll, a steak pie, some soup, and a latte. Quite the feast! There was also a little shop there where I picked up some more blister patches.
The rest of the day was hiking along the shores of Loch Lomond. For me, this was the hardest day. My feet still hurt, I had quite a distance that I had to cover, and the weather was very temperamental. It was too hot, too cold, rainy, and at one point I got hailed on. Then, when I got past the camping restriction zone I discovered that the trail was diverted to take the high road instead of the path for a couple of miles. Along this route there were just no good places to set up camp until I got back onto the actual trail.
I ended up finding a beautiful spot right along the shores of Loch Lomond, but I was very tired when I got there. I remember considering, that night, whether I should book a couple of nights at a hotel for a break somewhere along the route. Thankfully, that didn't end up being necessary.
Day 3 (Rowchoish to Crianlarich)
This day I made it to the north shore of Loch Lomond and started hiking into terrain that really started feeling like the Highlands.
The second half of the hike along Loch Lomond ended up being rather difficult terrain. There was lots of scrambling along rocks, which was unfortunate given the state of my feet at this point in the hike. Around noon, I made it to the Inversnaid Hotel, which was a very welcome break. They allowed me to take my boots off and walk into the hotel restaurant. It was wonderful to get a break from hiking in the rain.
I also hiked way further than I had intended today. Due to poor planning, I didn't realize there was another camping management zone after Loch Lomond. Basically, I had the choice of paying to pitch up at Beinglas Campsite or hiking until I made it past this zone. I very nearly picked the former, but there were so many people there that I didn't fancy my chances of getting good sleep. Plus, it was such a boring place to camp. Instead, I hiked another few miles and ended up at the top of a mountain with some sheep.
Day 4 (Crianlarich to Bridge of Orchy)
I awoke expecting to see a bunch of people on the trail, but it was pretty dead. Suddenly, it occurred to me that most people on the trail tend to stay at the same locations. Since I was wild camping 3-4 miles further up the trail, nobody had made it this far yet. Thus, my morning was very peaceful!
The 8 miles to Tyndrum went by pretty fast. A lot of the trail wound through commercial forests. The parts that had just been cut down looked pretty bleak, but I really enjoyed walking through the rest. Scottish forests are so dense and lush.
Along the way the trail passed through a farm that had Highland cows. It was my first time seeing them in person. They're so adorable!
At Tyndrum I stopped at The Real Food Cafe and got some fish and chips. It was really nice sitting down to eat knowing that most of the day's hike was already over. The food was pretty expensive, but it was well worth it.
After that, I stocked up on supplies and started the hike up the valley to Bridge of Orchy. The wind on this section was quite intense; I was really having to lean into it to make progress. Thankfully, I had all afternoon to do just 6 miles, so I was able to pace myself.
Bridge of Orchy isn't much more than a hotel and a train station. I was originally planning on hiking past it and then making camp, but I discovered that right next to the hotel there was a designated area for campers. I had spent the last three nights in remote areas, so I decided to change it up and stay there. It was good to change things up, but it was definitely the worst place that I camped. In retrospect, there were also some excellent spots for wild camping only a few miles up the trail too!
Day 5 (Bridge of Orchy to The Devil's Staircase)
I started the day with breakfast at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel. While eating, I read about the time a passing train had gotten stuck in deep snowbanks and left people stranded at the hotel. All in all, it was a good start to my favorite day of the hike.
After a bit of climbing, I was established on the old military road that takes hikers through the Rannoch Moor. This was the most remote and beautiful part of the hike. In all directions you're completely surrounded by mountains, and besides the trail there really aren't any signs of human development. One thing I especially loved was the way the trail stretched out in front of me for miles. I found it very peaceful seeing a section of trail way out in front of me and knowing that it would be 30-60 minutes before I'd make it there.
At the end of this segment, there was a ski resort where I stopped for some food and had a lovely conversation with someone I met there.
Most people were setting up camp at this point in the trail, but it was still early afternoon so I pressed on. I ended up making it to the top of The Devil's Staircase, which marks the highest point in the whole hike. A short distance from the top, I found a decent spot to make camp. It was a bit close to the trail, but only a handful of people passed through while I was there (again, it makes a huge difference if you set up camp a few miles past the hot spots). I loved this location, and it was definitely the most beautiful view of the whole trip.
Day 6 (The Devil's Staircase to Fort William)
I didn't start the day expecting to finish. I still had about 19 miles to go and the hike down to Kinlochleven really took it out of me. When I got to the village I picked up some supplies because I was expecting to camp for another night. Then, I grabbed some lunch at a sandwich place. The cashier there proceeded to convince me that I could finish that same day. I'm glad I talked to her!
The section after Kinlochleven was also stunning. Much like the day before, the trail stretched out for miles and miles of wilderness, only broken up by the occasional ruins of an old house. It was also pretty empty because of where I had started out my day, so it was especially remote.
However, the last 7 miles were a bit of a drag. The scenery was still nice, but it became so much less dramatic all of a sudden that in comparison it looked ugly. That said, it was fun seeing Ben Nevis again after summiting it a couple of years ago! Otherwise, the only other part that was particularly fun was talking to another hiker during the last descent which made that miserable section go by a lot quicker!
At around 17:00 I shuffled the last couple of miles along the road into Fort William and made it to the end!
I find it hard to believe that I was only on the trail for 6 days, because it was so full of memories. It was not always fun. Between the blisters, the rain, the hail, and some sore muscles I had plenty to complain about, but it was all worth it! The Highlands are a wonderful place with lovely people, and this was a great way to experience it all.
