u/ClemsonFandango

This subreddit was really helpful in our hike planning so wanted to give a breakdown of our July 2026 hike. Not saying this is the only or best way to do it! But it can be helpful to see how others have pulled off a successful hike!
TLDR - It was amazing. Already looking for our next long distance inn-to-inn walk.

There were just two of us - my partner and I - and we are in our mid 30s. We prepped for about 10 months - overkill but it was fun! - by just walking 3-6 miles multiple times a week with a few longer walks a month. Our longest walk pre-WHW was 15 miles. We actually had no trouble with the mileage on the hike and never woke up sore (which did shock us). The trail was a fair bit hillier, rockier and at times more technical than we had expected. Still very doable, but consider adding in a few hills to training walks!

We stayed in Inns/BnBs/AirBnBs that I booked myself, relying heavily on the 'Accommodation' tab on the AMS website and used AMS for baggage transfer. I booked everything pretty far in advance, but that was probably not always necessary - I am just very Type A. AMS baggage transfer was great! All of the hotels, hostels and BnBs were stellar! We did have an Airbnb in Kinlochleven cancel on us about 3 months out (when the booking had been made 9 months prior), but Bankhouse Guesthouse in Kinlochleven still had a room and it was our favourite room of the hike! So it all worked out!

We hiked in either (inexpensive, mostly non-name brand) athletic shorts, bike shorts and t-shirts for the first 4 days. A reminder that you don't need to be decked out in Arc'teryx to do this! Once we left Tyndrum, we switched to hiking pants (Prana for both of us) and long sleeve dri-fit shirts to protect from midges and make wearing ponchos easier. We both hiked in non-waterproof shoes - him Merrell Moab low tops and me Topo Ultraventures and Hoka Bondi 9s. I wore wool socks everyday (Darn Tough and Smartwool) and this worked really well even in wetter weather - although we never got full, all day down pour. I was recovering from Plantar fasciitis so brought two pairs of shoes most days to swap during the day - this worked out really well for me. We bought poles at Decathlon before the hike in Edinburgh and used Decathlon ponchos. Much preferred the ponchos to rain gear (even though a Scot described them as 'bin bags' during the hike) - they went over our bags for waterproofing and meant we did not have to take off our bags to put them on/ take them off. I used a Gregory Maya 30L and my partner had an Osprey Talon 22. If we did it again, we would get him a 30L daypack as well - just so you can bring rain gear, layers, snacks and lunch. We each carried about 4L of water - 3L camel backs and 1L water bottles. Almost certainly more than most people would carry, but we really like water.

Now the breakdown of the days with mileage and time as recorded on my Garmin watch - because a few days were longer than expected! The caveat is that this is door to door from each hotel we stayed in. I will also give info on lunch since this was a bit of a stressor for me in planning, when it really did not need to be! We always chose packed lunches because we hated the idea of needing to get to a certain distance to be able to eat lunch.

Day 1: Milngavie to Drymen
13.5 miles; 6hours

Lunch bought at M&S in Milngavie before starting
*Could have easily made it to Beech Tree Cafe or Turnip the Beet by lunchtime
*Ate lunch on a bench at Glengoyne distillery after a tasting - which does not require a full tour!

Day 2: Drymen to Rowardennan (hostel)
16.1 miles; 7hours 46 minutes
*Youth Hostel is further than hotel

Lunch bought at SPAR Drymen - opens at 6:30am
*Could have made it to Oak Tree Inn in Balmaha in time for lunch

Day 3: Rowardennan to Inverarnan
15 miles; 8 hours

Pack lunch from youth hostel
*Could have made it to Inversnaid Hotel for lunch (directly on trail)
**There is a new small stand on the trail few miles before Inversnaid with sandwiches and the best coffee we had in Scotland (could have been the low road before it?) - Caliness Cottage Cafe

Day 4: Inverarnan to Tyndrum
12.8 miles; 6.5 hours

Lunch bought at Beinglas Camp shop
*Drover's Inn also offers packed lunch

Day 5: Inverarnan to Kingshouse
19.5 miles; 9 hours, 20 minutes

Lunch consisted of snacks bought at Green Welly, pastries at Real Food Cafe
*Could get lunch in Bridge of Orchy or pick up sandwiches at small shop at Inveroran Hotel (both directly on trail)

Day 6: Kingshouse to Kinlochleven
9.2 miles; 4.5 hours

Packed lunch from Kingshouse, more sandwiches/snacks in the pub there
*Could have easily made it to Kinlochleven in time for lunch

Day 7: Kinlochleven to Fort William
15.8 miles; 7 hours

Lunch from Kinlochleven Co-op

If you're somehow still reading this, I would say a key to our own success on the trail was the slow and steady pace. Due to my Plantar fasciitis, I had to go slow and kept us at a steady 25 minute mile pace. This meant we averaged 2 miles per hour the entire time (as you can see above), including hills and breaks. Some people passed us, but we had a great time and never felt major muscle soreness in the morning. Just to say - everyone has their own pace so it is ideal to find yours and stick to it. You will see we went a bit faster on the last day...the finish line was just too tempting.

Happy Hiking!

Photos from July 2026

July 2026 Trip Breakdown