THE WEST HIGHLAND WAY
The West Highland Way, or Slighe na Gàidhealtachd an Iar in Gaelic, was Scotland’s first official long distance route. It links Milngavie outside Glasgow with Fort William below Ben Nevis, over a distance of 154km (96 miles).
The route follows a facinating mixture of forest trails, lochside paths, ancient tracks, military roads, drove roads and old coaching roads. It passes through Mugdock Country Park outside Glasgow, follows the east shore of Loch Lomond below Ben Lomond, then goes through Glen Falloch and Strathfillan and across Rannoch Moor.
From Buachaille Etive Mor at the head of Glencoe the West Highland Way climbs a steep section of path called the Devil’s Staircase before dropping to sea level to cross the River Leven at the head of Loch Leven. On its final section from Kinlochleven it climbs steeply again into Lairigmor then down into Glen Nevis and Fort William.
Along the way the walker is rewarded with stunning and varied views of wonderful Scottish scenery. The terrain ranges from lowland moors, dense woodland and rolling hills to high mountainous regions in the Scottish Highlands. These environments provide habitats for a diverse range of wildlife species, both flora and fauna.
Walking the West Highland Way has become a very popular walking holiday in Scotland. Conventionally it is walked from south to north, probably because the scenery and the views just keep getting better when walking in that direction. Walking the West Highland Way is likely to take around eight days, although the stronger walker might finish it in five. But it's a wonderful rural route that really should be savoured rather than bolted down; there is an annual West Highland Way race, for which the record is just under 16 hours of running, but that's not for the likes of us mere mortals! Many WHW walkers choose to round off their walking holiday by climbing Ben Nevis.
Why not visit Crieff in Perthshire and join in the walks and activities of The Drovers' Tryst -
