West Highland Way
We managed to sneak a 96 mile thru-hike between lockdowns. Stew saw an image of West Highland Way pop up on the tele. He asked me if I wanted to do it and of course, I said, yes!
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We've walked West Highland Way and lived next to the trail. We know this area. Find hotel and camping accomodation for WHW hikers.
West Highland Way was my first thru hike. I was a total beginner and completed the walk in seven days. Here's my beginner guide to WHW.
Before West Highland Way I’d never really hiked. I’d walked plenty and completed some day hikes, but I never imagined I’d enjoy a multi-day hike. Obviously, I loved it and here are some of the reasons why West Highland Way makes for an excellent first hike!
Warning: melodramatic. I said I had the worse 1 mile on the final day, didn’t I? Well here’s how that went…
I knew I loved walking and day-hikes but how much I’ve absolutely loved hiking day-after-day has taken me by surprise. Hiking is, of course, a lot slower than cycle touring. On a bike you can see so much more – 40-90 miles is a pretty easy feat for us now.
Check out our hiking route and hiking statistics for the West Highland Way. You can also download our route for free and use it in your own plans!
100 miles ago I would’ve told you that West Highland Way would have been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but honestly, it isn’t even close. It is however one of the most enjoyable, and most fulfilling things I have ever done.
Neil (@handbikepacking) connected with us on Instagram as we were planning our cycle around the world. He’s literally been with us from the very beginning as we wobbled out of Stew’s mums on our loaded touring bikes to the day we made the devastating decision to end our trip.
Today was an 11 mile hike up Devil’s Staircase and down the other side to Kinlochleven. Devil’s Staircase was nowhere near as bad as I expected, but it was a fairly steep 700ft climb. In fairness my calves were burning on the way up 🔥
No one will be more surprised than we are to hear that we managed 18 miles today. We had no intentions of walking that far and with the weather being pretty bleak we planned to walk 9 or 14 max. It rained from the moment we stepped out of the Tyndrum Inn to the moment we arrived at our glamping pod 🤷🏽♀️
Today was just what we needed after yesterday’s obstacle course: long forest walks, wide open landscapes & steady inclines. I felt like I was walking through an enchanted forest!
Leading with this picture of me with very rosy cheeks is totally appropriate for the day. It wasn’t hilly at all, yet at 9.5 miles I looked like this! Bright red cheeks and oh I was so tired.
We woke up in our wildcamping spot to find 3-4 other campers had joined us! Assumedly others also walking WHW. We packed up quickly ate a porridge and banana breakfast and walked a further 2-4 flat miles. So, West Highland Way is pretty much completely flat for the first 18 miles…
What a great day. It’s nice to connect with nature again knowing that we’re on an adventure or a tour – not just a short walk or run.
It wouldn’t be right to start documenting our hike of West Highland Way without starting with this picture of me, Stew and Alex (@theweegiewheeler) right at the very beginning.
We're at the train station in Shrewsbury, tomorrow we will be in Glasgow about to embark on a 97 mile hike along the West Highland Way. We feel prepared, but we’re not really sure that we have the fitness for this.
We had managed to sneak our West Highland Way in between lockdowns and I can’t even tell you how good it was to connect with nature again.