West Highland Way 2022
2022…. Travelling again at last. Finally back to Scotland!
I had a lot of plans for this year; after six years I wanted to walk the West Highland Way again. So this is more kind of a travel report but I also try to give you some general information about the hike and the area.
The West Highland Way – general information/ advices
The West Highland Way is a long distance trail in the Western area of Scotland and went from Milngavie (a small town near Glasgow) to Fort William in the North West. About 154 kilometres or 96 miles are to walk and there are several options how to do it. While on the hike the scenery is about to change nearly every day. From the Central Lowlands into the Highlands the WHW always offers new sights into the beauty of Scottish nature.
As I have been speaking about several options how to do the trail… here are a few examples:
How long/ how many Days/ Stages:
- you can (of course) decide how many kilometres/miles you want to hike each day. In order to that you will see how many days you have to plan for. In my opinion the easiest and also beginner friendliest solution is to have about 8 to 9 days of walking. But you can also do it in less time.
- Stages (8 days): Milngavie – Drymen, Drymen – Rowardennan, Rowardennan – Inverarnan, Inverarnan – Tyndrum, Tyndrum – Bridge of Orchy, Bridge of Orchy – Kingshouse, Kingshouse – Kinlochleven, Kinlochleven – Fort William (I guess this is the most common variant of the hike, where you will have between 12 to 25 km each day)
Accommodation:
- Tent: There are some different possibilities on how to spend your nights. You can walk the whole trail with your tent with you. Sleeping either on campsites or completely in nature. Be careful about Loch Lomond area!
- B&B: You can also plan ahead and spend the nights in a lovely B&B, there are quite a lot of them in the villages along the WHW. The first time I have walked the WHW in 2016 I had a very nice time in some of the accommodations and lovely chats with the hosts.
- Hostel: Hostels are not so common along the WHW. There are some in Milngavie at the Start of the trail and there is a Youth Hostel at Rowardennan and in Fort William.
- Hotel: In some villages/ places you can find Hotels and some of them are quite astonishing. For example the Inversnaid Hotel at the Banks of Loch Lomond or the Kingshouse Hotel in Glencoe. Especially the last one is quite expensive though but also offers some special prices for hikers.
- Bothies: Bothies are small Huts where you can sleep and stay for a while. They´re often for free but you have to bring your own stuff (e.g. food, sleeping bag etc.). Also please respect the Scottish camping law/ Bothy law!
Luggage:
- While walking the WHW you can carry your luggage by yourself or you can rent a shuttle service. If you´re walking from Accommodation to accommodation and have booked your trip with a travel provider the shuttle service is very common. Aside from that you can book a shuttle service and organise the whole trip yourself.
Transport:
- Local Bus services: You can find almost every Local Bus service in the internet or in visitor centres/ information. Often there are different timetables in summer and wintertimes. Also Holidays and/ or weekends (especially Sundays) can have different timetables or no service at all.
- CityLink (Bus): The CityLink is a overland Busservice in Scotland which connects a lot of places. There is a service between Fort William and Glasgow and other cities as well. Tickets can be bought via internet or at the bus station.
- Scotrail (Train): Scotrail is the national Train service which also connects a lot of places. There is a service between Fort William and Glasgow. Tickets can be bought via internet or at the train station.
Important to know:
- Loch Lomond & Trochsachs National Park: Camping advice
- Lambing season: In spring there is lambing season. This is important to you because you may cross some farming land and will have contact with animals. Please be aware to not bring your dog on farming land, especially in lambing season.
- Stalking season: In autumn you may have contact to deer stalking. Especially if you want to have some extra tours around (e.g. Glencoe).
- Winter hiking: If you want to hike the WHW in the colder season you have be aware of a few things. There will be lesser accommodations available, so if you want to sleep in a warm bed plan early. And of course some parts of the way might be in winter conditions so prepare for winter hiking. You will need warmer clothes, hot beverages and be aware to walk trough snow and ice. Also local transport e.g. bus service or trains will run on a different time table or are not/ lesser times in service.
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My adventure on the West Highland Way 2022
I walked the West Highland Way the fist time in 2016 with my grandmother. It was a completely new experience to me since I hadn’t been on any long distance trails before. Back then we walked from one accommodation to another and had our luggage been shuttled. Since this trip I am in love with Scotland!
In 2022 I wanted to hike the West Highland Way again but this time with my whole luggage in my backpack and I would’ve slept in my tent. Since I had planned this Trail already in 2019 I thought everything would be alright but sometimes… Sometimes plans doesn’t work.
Hamburg – Glasgow
After my night shift, I finally set off on 26.05.2022. I had some delay in London and was very tired when I landed in Glasgow later than expected. I was exhausted then but had to made my way to my AirBnB near Milngavie. Luckily my hosts were really nice and offered me some food and told me to rest as long as I need to. And yup – I did…
Actually, I wanted to get up very early the next morning to get some groceries for the trip and also to have enough time for relaxed walking. However, my body said I needed a bit more sleep and so I woke up later than expected. I had a nice breakfast at my AirBnB anyway and started into my day with more power.
Milngavie – Drymen
From my accommodation in Milngavie I first went to Tesco, where I got my food and a bottle of IRN BRU (which I really love). Unfortunately, I was still in need for a gas cartridge and didn’t know where to get one. It was getting late and I had already asked several people, sadly no one could really help me. Finally, at some point I just went to SPAR and was pleased when I found gas cartridges on the shelf. Yay…
Around 11:20 AM I could finally start the West Highland Way. The path first leads through some smaller parks in/around Milngavie and then through Mugdock Country Park. Afterwards you slowly enter more rural areas and walk between fields and pastures. You may have the pleasure to see some small parts of the western Highlands and Loch Lomond in the distance (at least in good weather).
The terrain on the first day is quite easy and I actually made good progress. Of course, you should be careful and not overestimate yourself, especially if this is the first long distance trail you do. And in fact, I was quite surprised at myself for being so fast and took a break halfway through my planned route.
Drymen
By early evening I had reached Drymen and headed over to the groceries store to get some Lemonade and another bottle of IRN BRU as well for dinner. I was very sweaty and my feet totally tired because of street walking and I was pretty much aware of the kilometres I had still left…
After another Snack I filled my water bottle at the tap water station (its free to use) and set off in the direction of Garadhan Forest.
By now, I really had enough for the day….
Nice to know: ‚The Clachan‘ Inn (first licensed in 1734) claims to be one (or the oldest) of the oldest pubs in Scotland. According to records the first licensee would’ve been the Sister of Rob Roy MacGregor’s sister.
first ‚campsite‘
Shortly before I reached the forest I started to freak out a bit again. Some dark clouds were gathering over Loch Lomond and far in the distance it had started raining already. I really would’ve hated to pitch my tent in the rain on the first day but I got lucky and the weather passed by. Minutes later I was preparing my first camping spot and cooking pasta for dinner, also I had some cheese and raisins and went to bed early.
However, the evening also caused me my first problems and was to be the beginning of the end….
During dinner, I felt homesick for the first time in my life. Although I had travelled alone a few times before, this time I had severe problems sitting there, having dinner and not being able to talk to anyone about the day. Also because I had to save my mobile phone battery… and kept having doubts whether I had chosen my sleeping place well… While I was already sitting in front of my tent and tried to relax my feet, some people were still walking past me and continuing towards Conic Hill (where there are also some possibilities to camp). I wondered whether I had walked far enough for the first day, even though I had covered about 23 kilometres…
But after a while I fell asleep and actually managed to sleep well until the early hours of the morning.
Drymen – Rowardennan (Or not…)
This day drama really starts off. When I woke up in the morning the sun was shining again and the wind died down, it was still a bit chilly but perfect for walking. So I packed my stuff, had a hot chocolate, an energy bar and started hiking.
I had slept near the car park of Garadhban Forest and was now on my way to Conic Hill. This would be the first challenge because I know myself and sometimes I get weepy about such ‚hills‘ pretty easily – don’t know why though.
It was my goal to reach Rowardennan at least but wasn’t as confident about the idea as I should’ve been. My back was hurting a lot and I started to realise that I had packed way to much (unnecessary) stuff into my backpack. Also my self-confidence was slightly crushing down because of my homesickness the last evening.
Nevertheless I tried to enjoy the beautiful weather and was hoping I would still get into the rhythm of walking. And also find joy on the amazing landscape with views to Loch Lomond.
Conic Hill
Well, when I reached Conic Hill my ‚weepy-mood‘ was right on the way… I started hating myself for the idea of hiking this hill, for hiking the WHW and especially hating myself for the heavy backpack. The summit of Conic Hill isn’t that spectacular or exhausting (or at least shouldn’t be) but due to my short legs and the extra kilos on my back it was very difficult to climb the stairs.
In the end I was standing on the top and had a nice break. I could enjoy myself again and the sunshine was stunning. Against my fears and thoughts from before I was good on time and the weather was also great, so I continued just towards Balmaha.
Balmaha and Loch Lomond
Arriving in Balmaha, I decided to treat myself with a pizza at the „Oak Tree Inn“ and booked myself a place at the Milarrochy Bay Campsite. At this time I knew I wouldn’t make it to Rowardennan. I was to sore.
Note: In Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park, free overnight camping outside a campsite is prohibited between 01.03. and 30.09.. However, there are certain permit areas where you can register for a small fee. This regulation applies to all campers with tents and/or cars, camper vans, caravans, etc.
I arrived at the campsite in the early afternoon, pitched up my tent, grabbed some snacks and put my feet in the cool water of Loch Lomond. The water was quite chilly but so good to relax. Later I went back cooked some dinner and tried to sleep early so that I could rush to Rowardennan the next day.
Milarrochy Bay campsite is located right next to the shores of Loch Lomond. Also you can have your luggage shuttled to the campsite.
Milarrochy Bay – Rowardennan (Or not… Vol. 2)
When I woke up in the morning I was feeling rather unwell. It was pretty cold and just around 4 AM, luckily it starts to get warmer with the sunrise then and I was able to sleep for another two hours. Although I was in much better conditions then I was worried about the next days because the way will head up further north. According to the weather forecast it shouldn’t get any warmer and in the Highlands spring was apparently a bit late…
Worrying a lot I decided to stay at another campsite and try to find a way how to deal with the upcoming days. Should I made my way along the shores of Loch Lomond? Or Maybe just fly back home? Is there any possibility to stay and camp?
So it was only a few kilometres further to the „Cashel Campsite“ and I realised that this gave me a lot of security. The good thing about this day was that I actually was coming back into my hiking ‚flow‘ and I definitely would’ve made it to Rowardennan but there were still my worries about the weather. My batteries were also dead and I had no chance to charge them (that’s when you realise how focused you are on your mobile phone… especially when you’re on your own).
In the evening I started to have problems with midges (small biting insects, similar to mosquitoes). Despite anti-insect spray („Smidge“ and similar) and mosquito nets, the beasts managed to get me. The next morning I woke up and my face was completely swollen shut. During breakfast, the plague continued and I added a generous portion of anti-allergic to my meal…
And this was it. Dead end!
The sad End of the West Highland Way 2022…
After the incident with the midges and my need of anti-allergic I was not able to continue my hike and was searching for alternatives. My flight back was not leaving until 2 weeks later, a lot of other flights were just fully booked or cancelled and accommodation incredible expensive due to high season and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
According to this I booked a night at the Oak Tree Inn in Balmaha (which I can actually highly recommend) and get the Bus to Alexandria in the following morning. From Alexandria my travelling continued to Glasgow and Edinburgh. I was lucky to find a flight back home only 3 days later… (Also I didn’t had to sell one of my kidneys – really lucky me)
In Edinburgh I stayed in a very nice AirBnB and was able to enjoy my time in the city. I visited the Botanical Gardens, Calton Hill and strolled through the city centre. And finally I went home.
I will not write a lot of my Edinburgh experience in here because this would not be suitable to me.
Although I hadn’t done the West Highland Way in 2022, but still had an incredible amount of experiences and memories to catch up with!
Maybe I will also translate some other trails/ shorter hikes in the next time.
Also I don’t get any money or other favours from companies I’ve uplinked down here.