6 Beginner Tips for the West Highland Way
The 96 mile West Highland Way was the first multi-day hike I’d ever done and I did tonnes of research prior to setting foot in Scotland as I frankly am getting older and these days less able to shrug off bad decision making. Below is a list of 6 gold-standard tips that have been tried-and-tested on the trail and should leave you enjoying the hike rather than cursing the heather!
Tip 1 – Grab a trail app and a map.
I used Far Out’s West Highland Way trail guide for £8.99. I found I used it every now and again to check I was on the correct route and also the nearest drinking water source. It runs via your GPS on your phone so even if you don’t have mobile signal or sweet free WiFi from the nearby pub, you can still fire this baby up and know exactly where you are and how many kilometers you have to trudge before dying of thirst. It also has informaion about the trail and user-contributed tit-bits!
Alas, the battery on most iPhone’s lasts as long as The Island Boooooys singing career and so a bit of a traditional map is also required. Luckily, the trail is generally easy to navigate and doesn’t require a library of Ordinance Survey maps. I used the ol’ trail classic Cicerone’s West Highland Way by Terry Marsh which, along with a decent guide to the places you pass through, it has a small pocket map of the whole trail. Bonza! In fact, the more trail that goes under your feet, the more you’ll find yourself reaching for the map over the app.
Tip 2 – Don’t try and walk too far each day!
Along with meeting folks with packs the size of small London apartments on their backs, I also met people who were trying to walk the full length of Scotland in one day. Indeed, I met a couple who had covered my 4-day pace in just 2 days! They were absolutely ruined and I swear on the verge of divorce.
I averaged between 14km-18km a day with a couple of 24km badboys thrown in. This means I could lay-in in the mornings (hey! I have a busy job and I’m on holiday!) and walk at a pace that really allows one to take in what’s around. Case in point, I rested for about half-an-hour on the shore of Loch Lomond and enjoyed the views whereas behind me, a good 5 or 6 groups walked on not bothering to take on the view. This view in fact…
You also don’t feel like you’re racing the clock and any delays can easily be absorbed into your schedule. So walk what’s comfortable for you and it’ll feel more like a holiday and less like a Seal Team 6 mission.
Tip 3 – Bring Cash, ker-ching!
Electronic contactless bunts is all well and good when brunching with your ‘media’ friends in Islington on a Sunday morning but at some places (namely campsites in rural Scotland) cash is king. You don’t have to come on the trail with wads of notes gaffer-taped to your person like a Venezuelan drugs mule but a few notes and coins come in handy for toilets, showers, washing machines, cafe and campsite purchases and honesty boxes.
Tip 4 – Go in May!
Starting off in early-ish May means the avoiding of the dreaded Highland Midges for the majority of your stay. I was lucky enough to only briefly encounter midges once near Loch Tulla and once was enough. You can google how much of a pain they are.
Other benefits of May trekking include pleasant weather (caveat: for Scotland) and less crowded accomodations (caveat: still crowded, spo book in advance where possible).
Tip 5 – For the more sure-footed, take the lower path after Rowardennan!
Travelling north out of Rowardennan, about 600m past the end of the camping management zone sign, the West Highland Way splits and goes either lower and closer to the shoreline of Loch Lomond or circumvents the shoreline and routes higher above it.
Traditionally the lower road is more ‘trecherous’ and the higher road is more of a lesuirely stroll. I’d been told that the lower road needs nothing short of full-on K2 climbing gear, with Sherpas and a GPS with a direct line to the nearest mountain rescue.
In reality, I took the lower road and found it really fun! There’s plenty more work involved: climbing over tree roots, up and down rockery, steep inclines and sometimes having to scootch down stuff on my bum. At some points the path was a little eroded. But generally it was fine and for me the most exciting part of the whole route! If you can do say the Pyg track up Snowdon, then this shouldn’t be a problem.
Tip 6 – Get a water bottle + filter and let nature pour you a pint (of fresh water)!
Water is heavy man, don’t carry it around! Think 1litre = 1kg. I used the Katadyn BeFree 1L and I didn’t get sick once. My mate just drank directly from the source and didn’t get sick once either but my stomach is more vulnerable than a single Love Island contestant and he’s very much ‘of the earth’.
Bonus Tip! – If you finish in Fort William, treat yo’self at Crannog Seafood Restaurant!
Any long, arduous journey needs a nice big reward at the end. Something to keep you going. As you sit on the bench, leaning against the Sore Feet statue wondering if this new end of the WHW is just a cynical trick to get people into the high street, you spy a cute little seafood restaurant perched on an outcrop, poking into Loch Linnhe. Welcome to the Crannog Seafood restaurant!
But it’s not for the feint-of-wallet! At the time of writing (Summer, 2022) mains will set you back £20-£25 but the thought of tucking into a delicious Shetland Salmon washed down with a glass of Picpoul…come on, you’ve just walked 96 miles!
