r/WestHighlandWay

The Green Welly Stop is for sale! Don't worry, they'll continue trading in the meantime...

Off on the adventure on Friday , that is all 😀

Hello all! I will be starting my WHW experience on September 9th, and I'm going to do it in a leisurely 9 days. I have never done such a long hike, most has been a 2 nighter, though I am not an inexperienced hiker overall. I have made the following checklist for my trip, and would love if I could get some feedback on its appropriateness. Bear in mind I have neither the budget nor the interest to do a "ultralight" backpack, but I do want to cut unnecessary weight if possible. I packed everything in and it clocked at a little over 10kg. I'm mostly worried about clothes overkill; I tend to get hot very quickly, so I'm wondering if a puff jacket might be too much for this time of year. The items with question marks I'm not sure I need.

SLEEPING

• Tent
• Sleeping bag
• Sleeping pad (+ inflating bag)
• Pillow

GEAR

• General kit (knife, rope, repair tape, etc.)
• Small cooking kit (+ lighter)
• Spork
• Gas canister (BUY THERE!)
• Drybag for gear
• Battery charger
• Wall charger + cable
• Water filter
• Paper map?
• Headlamp
• Notebook + pen
• Kindle
• Sunglasses
• Earbuds

CLOTHES

• Base layer
• Mid layer
• Top layer (fleece? Forclaz MT100? Overkill?)
• 2 T-Shirts
• 1 Long trousers
• 1 Short trousers
• 3 Pairs Merino Socks
• 3 Underwear
• Buff
• Flip-flops
• Poncho/Rain jacket
• Waterproof pants
• Trailrunner shoes
• Microfiber towel
• Gaiters?
• Suncap?

FIRST AID KIT

• Compeed
• Smidge (or other repellent like Lifesystems)
• Duct tape
• Paracetamol / Ibuprofen
• Aspirin
• Migraine pills
• Band-aids
• Sleeping pad/tent repair patches
• Alcohol wipes
• Multitool
• Survival blanket
• Nasal spray

TOILETRIES

• Toothbrush + toothpaste
• Deodorant
• Toilet paper
• Trowel
• Hand sanitizer

I am looking at treversing the WHW through January and would appreciate any tips.

I was keen to do it in summer, but frankly I feel the challenge of a winter attempt is much more inticing. I am fairly experienced and have been through Kinlochleven and Rannoch in other trips, but I have never attempted anything like this during winter.

Any help would be much appreciated

Hello again! This is my second post as I work through planning our trip to Scotland next May.

As I mentioned in my last post, we’ll be walking the West Highland Way.

Thanks again to everyone who helped with the itinerary. We’ve pretty much got that portion finalized.

My next question is what to do after the Way.

We’ll have approx. 10 nights after finishing the Way, and we’re trying to figure out how best to spend them. Our working plan is to attempt Ben Nevis from Fort William after we finish, weather permitting, but beyond that we’re pretty open.

A few options we’ve been considering:

-Head to Oban / Mull
-Spend some time on the Isle of Skye + Inverness
-Go north toward Inverness, then slowly make our way backs south toward Glasgow, possibly through Stirling
-Find a couple of smaller villages or towns with a great inn/hotel, good food and pubs, and just settle in for a few days
-Or leave Scotland altogether and spend the remaining time exploring parts of England

We did spend time in London and Edinburgh last summer and would gladly go back to either, but we’re also looking at alternative options this time around. We’re definitely not opposed to revisiting places we loved.

For those who have done the WHW, I’m curious in what you wanted afterwards. Were you still keen to keep exploring the Highlands, or were you ready for a bit of a change of pace?

Any recommendations are welcome. We’re really open to anything!

Also to note: Not completely against renting a car but would try to avoid it if possible.

Thank you!

***edit - should have included interests are!

-hiking / out door experiences
-Unique cultural experiences
-pub culture
-live music
-experience restaurants
-local culture
-history

Hey everyone,

the WHW has been on my bucketlist for quite a long time and we'll finally be able to do it in the last week of march 2027. Since we will be sleeping in hostels/ hotels the whole time, I am not so worried about the weather, but I don't really know what to expect.

I've looked at some pictures of Ben Nevis in March and decided against that because of all the ice and snow... Has anyone here done the WHW in march and could tell me a little about the trail conditions and/ or if any special equipment is necessary? Definitely do not want to be underprepared 😄

Thanks!

Where will we be able to buy nappies and formula along the way? Not picky about brands.

For context, I and my partner plan to hike the WHW from Milngavie to Fort William over 11 days this September with our 1-year-old daughter. She eats food well but is still largely reliant on formula. We’ll be carrying her and all our gear (yes, it’ll be a challenge!) and have booked a guesthouse for each night.

Addendum: thanks all, sounds like baggage transfer is the way to go. Most of our stuff we’ll carry anyway while walking, but it will be nice to have additional evening and rest day clothes, and of course baby gear.

Hi! Hi! I’m hiking from Tyndrum to Fort William in early Sept. Doing luggage transfer. How’s my gear list?

My biggest question is shoes I have a somewhat narrow foot with a slight arch. and I’m pretty sensitive to how shoes feel. I’ve tried several trail runners, including the Brooks Cascadia, and they just aren’t comfortable. Brooks feel the best, but I’ve only worn them on long walks in the city, my feet felt sore at bottom back and just before the toes (I broke a bone in one of my toes 10 years ago)

Should I just wear my Merrill boots? I tend to like boots over shoes.

My current clothing/gear:
North Face DryVent rain jacket
Poncho
Waterproof pants
1 short-sleeve merino
1 regular T-shirt
2 long-sleeve base layers
1 base-layer pant
1–2 hiking leggings
5–6 pairs merino socks
2 quick-dry sweaters
Bug/midge net
Beanie
Waterproof baseball hat
Waterproof gloves
Gregory Jade 28 daypack

Hi everyone,

I want to go the WHW in mid-end September, (mostly wild-)camping for about 7 days. Maybe anyone can help me with some questions regarding wet conditions and what shoes to bring?

1. Should I wear boots or (non-waterproof) trailrunners?

I know that shoes is a very personal matter.. but while I did a few multi-day trips before, I am not an experienced hiker and haven't been to Scotland before. I used my Hanwag leather boots (no GTX) for several years now. In the last years I did dayhikes more and more often in barefoot shoes. Recently I got Topo Athletic Terraventure 5 and I like them a lot, they are light, very comfortable and a lot more stable than barefoots.

I guess, the boots stay dry longer, but once they get wet, they will not dry again while wild-camping. The Topos might get wet almost every day but at least they can drain.

2. How do you handle wet feet over several days in a row?

Waterproof shoes, waterproof socks or do you just accept wet feet during the day and keep one dry pair for camp only?

3. How much mud is realistic on the WHW during that time of year?

Thanks a lot!

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!

I fly to Glasgow tomorrow to start the WHW, aiming to do in 6 days. My fully packed kit will be 12kg already, and the forecast shows light showers. Is it worth packing my goretex gaiters or is it just unnecessary weight for this type of weather?

If anyone has completed it recently, your insight would be much appreciated here.

Edit: I’m waking up to so many thoughtful and informative responses. Thank you all so much for taking the time to suggest options. It is very much appreciated!

Hello and thanks in advance, all! My understanding is that one option to get from GLA to Milngavie is a bus (#500) to Queen Street station and then a train to Milngavie. I'm a Canadian who's not very familiar with your public transportation systems, particularly the rail system. What kinds of payment are accepted on the bus? Do train tickets need to be booked in advance or are they purchased at the Queen Street station? This is for 3 people traveling together on Sat August 22

Is it worth taking a taxi instead? If yes, do taxis need to be booked in advance

For the return from Fort William to Glasgow, is the train the best option? Again, should tickets be booked in advance? (Sun August 30)

Very excited to be returning to Scotland in the first half of Sept and walking a couple 10 mile stretches of the trail. (Tyndrum to Inveroran and Inveroran to Kingshouse) Timing won’t let us do more, though it’s on the list for the future. We are staying relatively nearby and plan to drop a car at the end of each section and taxi to the start. My question is, how far in advance should I book a taxi to ferry us from end to beginning of the sections? We are doing non consecutive days, and might not know which one we are doing until a few days in advance. It’ll honestly depend on the rain outlook. Should we pre plan a bit more for the taxi? Or will booking a couple days in advance be ok?

,

Hi all! I'm planning a 7 day hike in the spring and was hoping to get some feedback on itinerary and where best to place my one hotel night. I'm planning on wild camping five nights and spending one night indoors. My plan as it stands, with Day 4 and 5 being variable, is:

Day 1: Milngavie -> just beyond Drymen

Day 2: Drymen -> Rowchoish

Day 3: Rowchoish -> North of Iverarnan

Day 4: North of Iverarnan -> either Tyndrum (and spend the night) or Bridge of Orchy

Day 5: Tydrum or Bridge of Orchy -> around Kingshouse (spending night at either Glenco resort of Kingshouse if I didn't stop in Tyndrum)

Day 6: Kingshouse -> a bit past Kinlochleven

Day 7: Kinlochleven -> Fort William

If I stopped and spent a night in Tyndrum I would be well rested for the 19 miles to Kingshouse the following day, and could do some laundry (slightly important to me lol) but it would mean a very short day followed by a very long one. If I stopped at Bridge of Orchy and then stayed at Kingshouse or Glenco, I could (probably?) also do laundry and would have a bit of a more even few days. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance :)

Hey everyone!

I’m planning to start the WHW this Sunday, and I’m currently doing a final check of my gear. I am planning to wildcamp and self-catering.

Here’s my packing list: https://lighterpack.com/r/a7gfrg

Is there anything you think I’m missing or anything you’d definitely add (or leave at home)?

Also, what’s your take on trekking poles for the WHW? Yes, no, or “it depends”? I’m still undecided whether they’re worth bringing. What about sunglasses?

Any last-minute tips are very welcome. Thanks!

https://preview.redd.it/xa7ysffwj6jh1.jpg?width=428&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b04d3b00bab351da586c6edf061f6bbcbdd24660

Hi, I'm hoping someone with more experience can help give an opinion. We've only done day hikes when visiting Scotland previously. This time we're hiking 8 days, September 22-29 with baggage transfer and all overnight stays in hotels/inns/etc.

Where we live in the US, we have ticks too, but I'm used to checking/showering/checking without any bites so far. I don't normally use spray if we're on a path/trail.

As we aren't wild camping, should I still use permethrin spray on all our hiking clothes before takeoff? Or at this time of year, will Picaridin each day be enough? We will tuck pants into socks, wear long sleeves and hats, and of course still check ourselves nightly. I already have a tick key on hand from hikes in Maine.

Thanks for any advice on sprays and prevention!