West Highland Way – Day 1: Milngavie To Garadhban Forest

I was sitting on our uncomfortable two-seater sofa in our flat in Shrewsbury when Stew casually asked me, ‘do you want to walk West Highland Way?’

‘Yeah’, I said, without looking up.

‘Do you even know what it is?’ Stew was pointing to the television. Our fire stick was scrolling through stunning landscape images and Scotland was one of them.

I shrugged.

No, I didn’t know, but I didn’t need to. A hike? Sounds good! Last time I said yes to one of Stew’s ideas it worked out remarkably well for me and we cycled halfway across the world.

That said, the truth is, as time got nearer to our 96-mile thru-hike I became increasingly nervous. I might’ve cycled 13,000 miles to Vietnam by bike, but did I really have it in me to hike 96 miles with everything I needed on my back?

Glasgow to Milngavie

Glasgow to Milngavie was easy enough. It’s a direct train from Glasgow central and you’ll go direct to Milngavie. From there, you’ll be on the route in no time.

For me and Stew we had one special thing to do before we started. We met our friend, Alex. We’d met on Instagram when Stew and I did our training ride, John O’ Groats to Land’s End, in preparation for our world cycling tour. Alex was cycling at the same time and making it across the country mega fast!

There’s a Costa coffee in Milngavie so we relaxed there, had a chat ad Alex sent us on our way wishing us luck.

And we’re off…Milngavie to Garadhban Forest

Day one of West Highland Way was wonderful. We were treated to bright blue skies and lovely weather.

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. It was the first adventure since we’d cycled to Vietnam and there’s something so special about travelling long distances using your body.

For me a long hike, or cycle, to a destination is so much more invigorating than a circular loop from home and back again.

As we hiked along some of Scotland’s most impressive landscapes I’d stop to take it all in. This is the pace of life that I wished I could live forever.

On our first day we planned to do 15 miles and we intended to wild camp.

Most West Highland Wayers will stop at Drymen which is the nearest town. Drymen is lovely!

When you arrive at the town you’ll see that hikers are really well looked after by the locals. Scattered throughout the entire hike you’ll come across honesty boxes with cold drinks and snacks. Rather impressively, in Drymen some homes even had a small refrigerator or freezer so you can access ice-cold drinks and even ice lollies. The honesty boxes are rather impressive with QR codes and PayPal emails so you can pay digitally.

After 15 miles of hiking, we arrived at a forestry area, Garadhban Forest, and this is where we were going to bed down for the night. For perhaps the first time, ever, Stew and I put our tent up in broad daylight. Usually, on the cycling trip we were pitching tents in the late evening or even at night so it was a real treat to have a day time tent pitch.

Before our pitch, we’d visited a butcher in Drymen and picked up two steaks and a little alcohol to enjoy amongst nature. This was the first time we’d ever cooked something that good on a camping stove, too!

The route from Milngavie to Garadhban Forest

The first 15 miles of West Highland Way are totally flat making it really easy to walk! ⁣The entire hike is perfectly signposted but if you want to see our route, here it is.

Our thoughts on day one of West Highland Way

It’s a lovely walk and the atmosphere is positive.

There are lots of other keen hikers so you won’t be alone for long at all. There’s a nice camaraderie on West Highland Way and you’ll see the same faces as you pass each other throughout the day.

We spent quite a bit of time with a solo female from Lithuania. I will never forget her as she hiked the whole thing in a Deliveroo coat! We also met couples, couples with dogs, men, women, dads and daughters and more!

West Highland Way: Day 1 Gallery

Post written by: Zoe Ashbridge