Hiking the West Highland Way

The waves of Loch Lomond hitting the beach near Balmaha are quite high, but nevertheless it is a reasonably friendly day. We had some spells of sunshine, and it hasn’t rained for the past two days. Hiking the West Highland Way has so far been less demanding than we had expected. On the first day, the Trail had still covered a bit of the Lowlands and we had taken time out to visit the Glengoyne Whisky Distillery.

Camping, alas, has recently been forbidden along the southern shore of the lake. This is due to “anti-social behaviour mostly by car-campers” as we read on a sign where an “official wild campsite” used to be. So instead of pitching the tent, we just have some cheese rolls with freshly picked ramsons, and ginger bread with lemon curd. And on we go on the West Highland Way, Loch Lomond still below us.

Just behind the “no camping” line, we encounter three local women on a day hike and have a little chat. Yes, they say, we would find some nice spots for the tent down by the lake. And yes, we say, we think Scotland is great – only it could be a bit warmer!

“You are in Scotland – you know, when we see the sun, we take a picture!”

The three of them get the giggles.

Here comes the rain

That night the anticipated rain sets in and practically doesn’t stop for the next five days until the end of our hike. The West Highland Way leads us along an occasionally steep trail on the northern shore of Loch Lomond. By now we are walking with umbrellas instead of telescope poles. To our surprise, many of the Scottish hikers complain more about the rain than the foreign tourists. We think of last year’s drenched hiking trip to the Lake District, where the British hikers never lost their sense of humour.

In the evening, we meet everyone we saw during the day again! They are all assembling in the Drovers’ Inn, a 300-year old pub that is basically the only house making up the settlement of Inverarnan.

The next day we spend most of the morning wading through deep stinking mud, where rainwater, little streams and woolly cow herds join us in using the vaguely cobbled path. We read that this section of the path was restored with financial aid from the “Caledonian Challenge Team Event”. This doesn’t surprise us – but we wonder how it looked before the resoration work.

There’s barely enough of a break in the rain to stop for a flapjack and Manner Hazelnut Wafers. And quickly, we walk on to the Bridge of Orchy. Although this is signed out large on all the maps, again it is little more than a train station and a pub. In the evening our fellow hikers fervently discuss the dangers of the Scottish wilderness. We seem to detect a certain self-satisfaction in the accounts how many people died last year alone: Yes, all of us survived that rain!

Lots of sheep

Over the following days, though, we don’t really see as much wilderness as we had expected. Admittedly, two or three times we get nearly being blown off the mountain side by strong gales. And sure enough, we are constantly walking against heavy downpours. Nevertheless, most of the time, there is a modern road not too far away from the trail. And to our surprise, the West Highland Way itself is rather level and broad. No wonder, considering that it used to be a trading route for up to 100.000 sheep per year going to the markets in England, and later on a military road.

Due to rain, fog and snow, however, we don’t see as much landscape as we had expected either. Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain, is somewhere nex to us. But we can only guess where it is towering over our last campsite. And clearly, the famous mountain should be opposite that panorama window in the “Ben Nevis Inn” where more hikers (including ourselves) wind up after the trail. Wet, exhausted, and happy, we toast with Nessie’s Monster Mash (a local ale) to having finished the West Highland Way.

Information on the West Highland Way

Hiking the West Highland Way is a demanding outdoor adventure. For one thing, the trail runs 154 km from Glasgow to Fort William – about 5 days of strenous hiking. In addition, there are not many villages or accommodation options, and the terrain can be quite exposed. We used the trailblazer guide, 2013 edition.

For accommodation, we took our own tent and carried most provisions. We did not use the travel-lite luggage service, who do deliver to official campsites as well.

Admittedly, the West Highland Way is one of the big names in hiking trails that many people would like to hike once. But compared to some super popular trails such as the Tongariro Circuit in New Zealand, the West Highland Way is not totally overrun by hikers – it is too long and to demanding for that. Have you hiked the Scottish West Highland Way? How did you experience it? Would you do it again? We would, for sure. And we have enjoyed similar hiking trails in the UK just as much: Read about our fantastic experience hiking the “Hebridean Way”! And about the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path in Wales, where we were lucky with two weeks of good weather. But okay, if you don’t like cold rain, we would recommend more southerly destinations such as El Hierro on the Canary Islands for hiking.

NB: We had no sponsoring for this post about hiking the West Highland Way. We planned the trip alone and paid all expenses ourselves.