Planning to hike the West Highland Way in Scotland? This comprehensive 9-day itinerary covers everything you need to know for walking the full 96 miles from Milngavie to Fort William while staying at charming inns along the route. Discover scenic highlights, daily distances, essential tips, and cozy accommodation recommendations in this detailed guide for hikers seeking a comfortable and memorable experience on Scotland’s most iconic long-distance trail.
We just got back from hiking the West Highland Way in Scotland and had the best time. I started sharing bits and pieces of the trip on Instagram and had quite a few people interested in the trip breakdown and planning. So, whether you are curious about long distance walks in general, love photos of the highlands or are seriously considering walking the West Highland Way, welcome.
A bit of the backstory on how this 96 mile walking trek came to be. My husband and I rented a car in Scotland about ten years ago and drove to remote castles to explore. I fell in love with the Scottish countryside and knew I wanted to go back. Well, as my 40th birthday was approaching, I wanted to do something epic. I found the 96 mile route, The West Highland Way, and decided that it would be perfect for celebrating my 40th. So, that's what we did and now I'm sharing about the trip (spoiler: it was beautiful and we want to do more long distance walk trips now)!
What you'll find in this West Highland Way post:
- Trip planning service recommendations
- Our itinerary and what we would consider changing
- Exact ACTUAL mileage for each day
- Food recommendations
- Tips for planning
- Gear recommendations (if you are doing a bag service/lodging like we did)
- Miscellaneous tips: from foot care to midges to apps for tracking, fitness prep, and more
West Highland Way Scotland Walking Trip
Trip planning service recommendations
I looked at a lot of recommendations for how to plan for the West Highland Way. I'm a huge planner and never use planning services or travel agents but for this trip, I felt like it would be better to have some experts plan and book all the accommodations and bag transfer services for us.
We booked our West Highland Way hike through Gemini Walks and had a seamless experience. We started off with a booking for three people (a year in advance - best to book early for the best accommodations!) as our son was going to go with us. We dropped to just my husband and I about four months out from the trip. They handled the accommodation changes for that and didn't make it a big deal.
What Gemini Walks does: they give you your itinerary once you choose how long you are walking for (most people do this walk in 6-8 days but we decided to do 9 walking days), arrange all accommodations at each stage, arrange baggage transfers (a company picks up your luggage each morning and takes them to your next overnight stay so you can just hike with your day bag), sends extra information for where/when to get sack lunches/laundry services as well as recommendations for dinner and when to make reservations. We paid just over $1250 per person for the 10 day trip through them, which included their service, the baggage transfer service, all accommodations and a full breakfast each morning.
You could probably save a bit of money by booking everything yourself but, honestly, they are professionals and know the best places to stay and are there if you run into any problems. I would absolutely use them again instead of trying to pinch pennies to save a bit. It was 100% worth it.
Our West Highland Way Itinerary Over 9 Days
We went with 9 days of walking and 10 overnight stays for the trail. Before we get to the trail part of the trip though, I will say that we flew into Glasgow two days before the walk started. We stayed overnight in Glasgow one night and explored the city for a day and a half. Then, on our second day in Glasgow we took the train to Milngavie which is the start of the trail where we had dinner and spend the night.
West Highland Way Route Itinerary
- Train from Glasgow to Milngavie for an overnight stay
- Day 1: Milngavie to Drymen (12+ miles)
- Day 2: Drymen to Balmaha (7 miles)
- Day 3: Balmaha to Rowardennan (8 miles)
- Day 4: Rowardennan to Inverarnan (14 miles)
- Day 5: Inverarnan to Tyndrum (13.5 miles)
- Day 6: Tyndrum to Inveroran (9.5 miles)
- Day 7: Inveroran to Kinghouse (9.5 miles)
- Day 8: Kingshouse to Kinlochleven (9.25 miles)
- Day 9: Kinlochleven to Fort William (15 miles)
- Day 10: Train to Glasgow
Before we get to the day-by-day hike, let me start with a few Glasgow recommendations and then what we would consider changing for the start of the hike.
We stayed at Native (booked through Expedia) in Glasgow and it was in a central location. I would definitely stay there again. The room was lovely and so was the reception. They were more than willing to hold bags for early check-in and also late check-out.
While we were in Glasgow, we did lots of walking, eating, and shopping. We'd recommend doing the whisky chocolate distillery tour at Clydeside distillery. The pairing of whisky and chocolate for someone (me) who is not a big whisky drinker was super fun and informative.
We loved high tea and lunch at Hidden Lane Tearoom. Everything was so good there but they've won lots of awards for their scones and they were out of this world. I would recommend making a reservation here but we were able to snag one the day before so didn't have to do a lot of preplanning. Also, the block around Hidden Lane Tearoom is full of little antique shops, vintage stores and individual maker shops. It was my favorite to explore.
There's lot of shopping in Glasgow and food, but the only other place we'd highly recommend that we visited was the Scottish Design Exchange. It's a shop inside a mall on Buchanan street (super popular street with all the shopping) that has 300+ Scottish makers portraying their art, handmade goods, etc., for sale. It's awesome and I'd definitely recommend going in there.
..alright, back to the West Highland Way hike. Let's go!
Getting to Milngavie (Start of West Highland Way)
To head out to get ready for our hike, we didn't prebook tickets but just showed up at the train station to get tickets from Glasgow to ride the train out to Milngavie. This is where we would spend the night before starting the trail the next morning. I would consider (if you are an early riser) staying this night in Glasgow and having fun in Glasgow instead of going to Milgnavie (it's a sleepy little town with not the most awesome accommodations but was totally fine, too). The kicker here is that you would need to make the bag drop time (the bag transfer service has set times for each location) to drop off your luggage before starting off on the hike). Just something to think about but we would consider this as a change; but again, what we did was fine and there are food options in Milgnavie for dinner (breakfast was included in our stay).
*Food Tip: No need to order or find a prepared lunch for the first day of hiking, stop at Turnip the Beet for a great lunch!
Scotland's West Highland Way Hike
Day 1: Milngavie to Drymen (12+ miles)
We started the hike at 8:15am from our lodging. The hike was pretty flat and easy all day. We visited during lambing season (late April) so got our first up-close views of the little lambs. That was probably our favorite part of this day of the hike.
Throughout this hike, you are constantly opening gates and following the trail through pastures so you are really close to all the animals. I could share fifty photos of little lambs because we have a bunch. They were everywhere.
We prebooked a Scotch tour and tasting at Glengoyne distillery, which is about a 3 hour walk from the start of the trail. They do not have a tasting room so if you want to stop here, you have to book a tour (and you need to do this in advance). We booked the 11:30 tour because I figured that would be good for timing for where it was in the mileage for the day. The tour lasted about two hours and is about ½ mile detour off the trail, but it's an easy detour. If you love whisky, then do this but if you are indifferent, then I'd skip it.
We continued on the trail after the tour to Turnip The Beet cafe. It was about a mile past the distillery and came highly recommended. We loved the little stop. I had the ham and cheese croissant and it was delicious but they had Indian food and other treats, too. It's right on the trail with a cute outdoor seating area (as well as larger indoor seating area). Anyways, stop here... it was one of the best lunch stops we had.
The last two miles of this day were a struggle as you climb some hillier roads. It was pretty but we were getting tired by the end of it. We got checked in at our bnb by 4pm.
I had booked dinner reservations a few weeks before for the Clachan Inn at 6pm. You'll need a reservation here and it's one of the only restaurants in this area so I'd recommend it. It's right in the center of the village so where you are staying in Drymen will be really close.
We loved our stay at the bnb here (I'm not sharing exact details because I don't want to take business away from Gemini Walks). The owner was just lovely and breakfast was good!
Luke tracked each day through All Trails and I tracked through my Oura ring. I thought I'd share our stats for each day to help with your planning! The All Trails view has the map and includes just the hiking portion whereas, my Oura ring accounts for all activity that day. I will say, I think Oura over-estimated the steps but it does give you a bit of insight so I wanted to include it.
*The mileage listed in the heading for each day is start of the trail head to end of the trail head but doesn't account for little wanderings off the trail, elevation gains, bathroom breaks, food stops, rest stops, and to/from lodging. My Oura ring data is showing all the things. Hopefully, both of these will help you understand what is involved in taking on the West Highland Way adventure!
*Food Tip for tomorrow: If you leave before 9am on your hike, plan on grabbing a late lunch when the hike is over tomorrow at St. Mocha.
Day 2: Drymen to Balmaha (7 miles)
We started this day around 9am and knew we would have an easier day because we were only slated for about 7 miles. The first half of this walk was super easy and pretty. The terrain changes from walking through fields to a woody forest for a bit. It was slightly overcast and so pretty when we hit the trees.
You then meander through or by some sort of gravel road and then you get to a smaller path by fields again with a stream (p.s. don't filter water from this stream, filtration doesn't filter out all the farm animal waste).
After this section, you start hiking up the backside of Conic Hill. It's a slow elevation change but I could see it being really tricky if it was raining or just wet in general. Lots of gravel and bigger rocks to navigate around and on as you climb.
Once you get to the top of the climb, you see beautiful views of the loch. This view was definitely one of my favorites from the whole West Highland Way!
Once you head to the front, you can climb the stone pathway (that never ends going up or down!) to the top for an even better view. We actually decided to skip this as the stone pathway is no joke and we wanted scones/coffee =).
The decent off of Conic Hill is really hard and takes forever. Be prepared for it to take a toll on your knees.
We got done around lunchtime and headed to St. Mocha Coffee right on the pathway of the trail. Before our trip, I made a dinner reservation at Oak Tree (as this is the only place in the area to eat). It was typical pub fare and was fine but not amazing. Also, we had breakfast here as this was where we spent the night.
*Food Tip for tomorrow: If you leave before 9am on your hike, plan on grabbing a late lunch when the hike is over tomorrow at The Clansman.
Day 3: Balmaha to Rowardennan (8 miles)
Our schedule allowed for another easy day so we set out at a leisurely pace after breakfast. We knew we could make it to Rowardennan for a late lunch so we didn't pack a lunch.
Lots of this walk was around the loch which made it so nice.
We saw a group of women wild swimming with wetsuits and what looked to be individual buoys attached to them. I love getting to see people doing normal everyday life things but in a way that's slightly different than I'm used to.
Almost everyday of our hiking included stretches that looked like next photo. There's definitely a trail but there's some rock scrambling to it, too. We used hiking poles most days at least part of the day.
I knew there was a swing by the water somewhere on the trail and was so excited to come across it.
At the coffee shop that we stopped at on the previous day, we chatted with a nice Scottish couple after they asked if I was going to make it (I might have been a little stiff looking as I was getting up from the chair). Anyways, through our discussion, we learned that they were in town from Edinburgh to do a little bit of gardening at their cottage that they rent out. They said it was right on the trail and guess what?! We passed it and it's the cutest!
This day was pretty easy. A little bit of incline but a rather easy day. We got to Rowardennan by 1pm (perfect timing for lunch!).
It seemed like most people stopped at the adjacent restaurant, The Clansman, for food and then kept going to the campground and/or to wild camp just a bit further down the trail. We were happy with our decision to stay overnight but could have combined this with either the day before (that would have been a really hard day though) or part of the following day (which there is an option at about the halfway point to split that mileage).
We weren't disappointed to stay, but there was a good portion of the day, that was just used chilling at the restaurant, admiring the views and chilling in our room. If you want to hike the WHW with less days (most people do 7 it seems like), this stop would likely be combined with the previous day or attached to part of the day tomorrow.
*Food Tip for tomorrow: Order a packed lunch at Clansman for the next day if you have the same itinerary as we do.
Day 4: Rowardennan to Inverarnan (14 miles)
About a mile into your trip, you will come across the cutest honesty box at Ben Lomond Cottage. It's STOCKED with food, goodies, and miscellaneous supplies. Digital payment and cash are both accepted.
Depending on what research you've done for this trip, you may or may not know that you have an option for how you do the next 4ish miles of the walk. You can take the high route or the low route by the loch. The low route is harder (and sometimes treacherous if there's been heavy rain) but has better views whereas the high route mainly follows a small gravel road uphill. It hadn't rained recently so we chose the low route.
The low route is much harder but if you think you can do it, I'd definitely do it and would choose to do it again myself. The amount of up and downs across boulders was a lot but there were a few waterfalls and you could take mini breaks by the loch.
Pace yourself but also, it's a long day, so keep moving. There's lots to explore on this route and there's perfect opportunities for a dip in the loch, too.
When the road comes back together, there's an old settlement and also a bothy (where wild campers or day hikers can stay the night or take shelter if needed) to check out.
About ½ through the mileage for our day, we arrived at Inversnaid where there is a hotel. You can grab coffees, refill on food, and use the bathroom. I'd recommend a stop here but don't stop for too long because you still have a hard 7ish miles to go.
You've got ups and downs around the loch for a few miles.
You continue around the loch for a few miles and then come to the end of it. It's a popular spot to take a dip if it's a nice day.
As you keep moving, the terrain changes a bit.
A few miles later, you will come to another bothy that faces the water.
Keep walking at this point, only a few miles to go. It's a hard day, but worth it.
We finally made it to Inverarnan. We didn't book dinner at Drover's Lodge until we arrived but we stayed there so they typically will hold a table for you if you are staying. If you are staying at the campsite a few minutes away and want to eat at Drover's, I'd get a reservation a few weeks earlier.
*Food Tip for tomorrow: Order a packed lunch at Drover's Lodge for the next day if you have the same itinerary as we do.
Day 5: Inverarnan to Tyndrum (13.5 miles)
We didn't take as many pictures today but it was still scenic but maybe not as dramatic as some of the other days.
We walked by a river for parts and did a bit of elevation as well as walking through woody areas. In one of the woodier areas, we sat down and had a picnic lunch. I think it would have felt otherworldly if it had been raining, but as it was, it was just pretty and nice.
About a five minute detour off the trail (400 meters to be exact), we visited the Artisan Cafe, which is right before you get to Tyndrum (maybe thirty minutes before). I'd recommend stopping here for a coffee and cake.
The cafe is in an old church and it's a popular place with locals. It was a really lovely stop with good food and drinks as well as some cute things you can buy.
Once you get to Tyndrum, there's a few options for cafes as well as a shop, the Green Welly Shop, that you can get outdoor clothing/equipment and souvenirs. Lots of people raved about Pat, the massage therapist, that is also located right off the trail. We didn't book a massage, but I think it's a great idea and it sounds like she gets a lot of trail people who book with her.
*Food Tip for tomorrow: Plan on eating lunch tomorrow at The Bridge of Orchy Hotel (it's about 7 miles from Tyndrum right on the trail).
Day 6: Tyndrum to Inveroran (9.5 miles)
As we got a bit out of town on this day, we came across people wild camping at the river base. It may not look like it's a trek to get down there, but I was so impressed. You can see the white tent in the photo below. This whole area was really pretty. I could *almost* (but not) be talked into wild camping in that spot.
We chatted a bit this day with two Scottish men that were walking the trail. One was busy taking photos and then later realized that he dropped his phone somewhere. We ended up meeting them later on and he said he got really lucky and when he called the phone, a few guys from Holland picked it up and were bringing it with them. That type of thing (hospitality? friendliness?) seemed to be a normal thing between hikers. It was nice.
The one slightly negative thing of the whole trip, for me, so far, was that we hadn't seen highland cows. So, my day was made this day because we walked through a pasture with them.
On the trail, you open and close cattle and animal gates often. The trail winds through all kinds of pasture lands so we've had lots of chances to see highland cows but they just didn't cross our path until now.
Ten years ago, we crossed pastures with them while exploring old castles and it was such a core memory for me. Scotland, to me, is highland cows. =) Anyways, we stayed in this area with them for a good thirty minutes just enjoying them and taking photos.
I didn't have any huge expectations or wants for the trip other than to hopefully make it to the end and to see highland cows so, by day six, we were feeling good!!
The walk from Tyndrum to the Bridge of Orchy was an easy one. It seems like a lot of people like to stay here overnight as this is one of the only larger hotels with lots of services along the trail. We are glad we went further on this day but more on that in a second.
We got to the Bridge of Orchy before they started serving lunch so decided to have coffee and sconces. The menu for lunch eventually came and it all looked so good so we followed our snack with lunch and Luke got a flight of beer. It was nice to relax inside and be waited on and we knew we just had an easy three miles left on the trail for the day, so we weren't in a hurry.
After a two hour snack and lunch break, we continued on with our hiking. Honestly, this was a great fit because our bellies were full and we had energy to hike some elevation to Inveroran.
It's not a crazy 2-3ish miles but it would have been harder to spend the night at Bridge of Orchy and then hike the elevation immediately in the morning.
We got to Inveroran early afternoon and were greeted with the MOST charming outdoor area. If you are hiking through, they have a bar and also a grab and go shop but if the weather is good, take advantage of the tables, chairs, benches, etc., around the hotel.
Luke and I got checked in and then we grabbed books to go sit outside. It was so enjoyable.
As far as dinner and breakfast goes, probably both were the best and our favorites of the whole trip (other than the scone and tea room in Glasgow). The hospitality and the general coziness of the inn was so cute. We didn't prebook dinner but, again, we stayed here so if you were wild camping, I'd definitely look at booking a dinner reservation.
*One thing to remember about this trip is that it's really remote. Food choices typically aren't the best and, honestly, shower pressure and room aesthetics aren't either. All of it was fine everywhere but it's just a more rugged place.
But, food here was amazing!! The shower drain issues, might need a little work. But, would totally stay here again in a heartbeat.
*Food Tip for tomorrow: Plan on eating lunch tomorrow at Kingshouse Hotel (they have a cafe and a restaurant).
Day 7: Inveroran to Kinghouse (9.5 miles)
As we walked out of our hotel to tackle this day, we immediately started walking with a solo hiker from NYC. We struck up a good conversation about all the things and before we knew it, we had walked 8 miles without taking a single photo! Ha.
He planned to do more mileage this day, so we split up a mile before our destination of Kinghouse. Luke and I decided to grab lift passes and go up to Glencoe Mountain since we had gotten to the area before lunch.
I'd recommend doing this as it wasn't too expensive and it was really pretty up there.
These photos don't do the view justice, for sure, and they also don't feel like they are super high up, but they are!
We spent about two hours on this detour but still got to Kingshouse hotel in time for a late lunch.
As we were sitting having lunch, deer came close by and we got to see them eat by the water.
More deer came by the front of the hotel and looked to be living in the wooded areas that were close by. We got to see lots from our hotel room.
I had prebooked dinner at Kinghouse before we came and would recommend doing the same if you are staying there. We ended up sitting right next to four hiking friends that we had made over the previous days. I got talked into a "really good" smoked raw salmon and Luke was completely shocked when I liked it. The bottle of wine that we had also helped me be more adventurous.
If you know Luke and I in person then you know that we are both introverted (but I'm not shy). Anyways, having dinner with people on the trail this day was definitely out of the norm for us, but I (we?) loved it. I love getting to have real conversations with people that live different lives than us and our hiking partner for the day definitely gave us that as well as these four people that we interacted with on and off for the 8 days on the hike.
*Food Tip: Plan on eating lunch tomorrow when you get to Kinlocheven (there are a few options).
Day 8: Kingshouse to Kinlochleven (9.25 miles)
The views leaving Kingshouse are some of the best of the trip, IMO. Glencoe Mountain is just beautiful. I'd love to go back and explore the whole mountain pass a bit more.
I was slightly disappointed that there wasn't snow around but it was gorgeous nonetheless. I've always said that Iceland and Scotland remind me of each other in a lot of ways, and this area definitely does. If you haven't visited Iceland, add that to your list, too.
I was sad to be veering away from Glencoe and more sad as I realized what all was involved with the Devil's Staircase. Boy, oh boy, was the next bit a trial.
There's some myths and legends about how this climb got its name but one of them is because soldier's had to transport goods over and down it.
Well, at first, it wasn't too bad and was really scenic looking back.
But, eventually, you are doing switchbacks and rock bouldering all the way to the top and, honestly, I hated the two hours of this. It was hard. I'm a walker not a hiker (and don't love elevation climbs) and this was definitely more of a mountain climb situation.
I'm smiling here and giving a thumbs down but I didn't enjoy it. lol.
If you are going to do this walk, know that there are no ways to go to the bathroom in private on this day. It's wide open up and down trail. I got overheated at one point and changed Luke shirts out in the open in front of people behind and in front of me. You kinda just have to do what you have to do. I would also say that this is a part of the trail that is the most populated because Kinghouse has a large hotel and also a big bunkhouse so a lot of people stay there.
Once you get to the top, it's a bit of a slog down to Kinlochleven. Your knees will be feeling it by the time you get done. I found this to be one of the hardest days of the West Highland Way.
We got to Kinlochleven for a late lunch. At lunch, we saw some hiking buddies and decided to grab coffees with a view together.
There's a few places that you can get dinner at so you don't need to get a reservation.
*Food Tip: Order a packed lunch from your bnb for tomorrow.
Day 9: Kinlochleven to Fort William (15 miles)
We set off by 9am from Kinlochleven. As we left our bnb, the sun was shining over the water and this part of the town just looked so pretty.
As we got to the edge of town and started on the hike, I will say we encountered our first midges (on May 8th). They weren't horrible and we didn't use midge spray or nets but I would imagine that soon after May 8th, you would have needed both in the 1-2 hours of trail outside of Kinlochleven.
After about 2 hours, the trail opens up to some sort of old military road. You walk on that for a few hours.
During that part of the hike, you encounter some old buildings.
I really enjoyed the first half of the trail this day. By the last half, we knew we were getting close and it just felt harder.
Just like the day before, once you start seeing buildings you think you are close but you still have a ton of elevation to come down off of so it just takes forever. I'd say both days, it was probably two hours of walking after we spotted the first set of buildings from the top.
We made it to the end of the West Highland Way! We took the celebratory photo and then immediately went to the pizza bar behind us and got food and drinks (delicious!).
There's lot of shopping around the town. We shopped for a bit and then went to bed. We took the 11:30am train (booked in advance) out and, hilariously enough, ended up sitting by two of our trail buddies. We got to rehash the trail and all the memories made. It was a fun way to end the hike.
West Highland Way Tips and Other Recommendations
- Join the Facebook group for the West Highland Way. I gained so much from being part of this group for a year leading up to the trip.
- The trail is clearly marked 90% of the way. We definitely checked 2x to see which way the trail went and also checked to see how far we were on the trail from the end of the day's hike. Would recommend AllTrails for this as well as downloading your route by day with Scotland's website.
- We had cell service 95% of the time with TMobile.
- We used 1 liter and 2 liter water bladders and had plenty of water. The shorter day hikes we could fill half way and be fine.
- You definitely want rain gear (which we didn't use but had), hiking poles (used daily), and hats. Also, sunscreen! I let people use it on the trail because it seemed like a lot of people forgot this.
- Water spigots were really easy to find the first half of the trip on the West Highland Way. Once you got to Kingshouse, there's no water after that other than your nightly stop. We took a filtration bottle for safety but didn't use it. We filled up on water each morning before we left and that was perfect.
- We were able to use credit cards everywhere but I'd recommend some cash just in case of an emergency.
- We walked in Goretex Nike trainers (we wear these normally at home for workouts and love) for a ton of the trail and, because it was dry, these were fine. We did switch to hiking shoes at points but it was more for comfort.
- We ended the trip without any foot issues or blisters. We rubbed our feet with vaseline at night and I did it again in the morning. Toe sock liners with wool socks over seemed to be a winning combo for me. Luke just did wool socks for most days. I really think the vaseline was key.
- We did a round of laundry in the sink earlier on in the hike and then did a small load of laundry in laundry area ($4ish) at Kingshouse at the end. We wore things (other than undergarments) a few times before washing to cut down on how much we had to bring.
- We took a first aid kid each day with all the foot care options but never had to use anything on the trail. Luke used Leukotape on a few "hot spots" to prevent blisters. We definitely saw people tending to feet problems though and know people drop out of the trip because of the issues with this, too.
- We didn't do a ton of hiking beforehand but our fitness level is definitely above average. Our neighborhood hills, which Luke runs and I walk, definitely helped us out. I would say that we were tired most days at the end of the day, but it was easier than both of us expected.
Gear Recommendations for West Highland Way
We had a lot of the gear that we needed for the trip because of regular workouts and ski trips (plus, Iceland). But, I did link a few of our favorites that I was able to find. I bought Wooly underwear (two different styles) and really loved them. I'm going to be buying more of those going forward. We also both really liked our backpacks, socks, and hiking shoes.
I think that's it! I wanted to share our experience on the West Highland Way as a way to help others plan. It's quite the adventure and I think the weather definitely changes the level of the adventure. We got completely lucky with sunshine and great temperatures but we were prepared for rain. Either way, book the trip... go explore. We loved the West Highland Way and are now looking into other options for long distance walking trips.
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