West Highland Way
The West Highland Way is Scotland's oldest and most celebrated long-distance walking route, running 96 miles from Milngavie on the outskirts of Glasgow to Fort William at the foot of Ben Nevis through some of the finest Highland scenery in the country. Opened in 1980 as the first of Scotland's Great Trails, the route quickly established itself as a classic walking challenge that combines accessibility from Scotland's central belt with a progressive journey into genuinely wild Highland country, the landscape becoming more dramatic and remote with each successive day of walking. The route begins in the suburbs of Glasgow and quickly moves through the farmland and woodland south of Loch Lomond before reaching the loch's southern shore at Drymen and following the eastern bank of the loch northward for approximately 19 miles through one of the finest stretches of loch-side walking in Scotland. The wooded shores of Loch Lomond, the views across the water to the mountains of the western shore and the transition from the relatively gentle southern section of the loch to the increasingly dramatic Highland landscape around Inverarnan mark the route's transition from accessible country walk to genuine Highland journey. Beyond Crianlarich the route crosses the broad, treeless expanse of Rannoch Moor, a high desolate plateau of peat bog and open water that marks the true beginning of the Highland wilderness and provides some of the most dramatically austere walking on the entire route. Glencoe lies just below the northern edge of the moor, its dark volcanic cliffs rising above the valley floor in an atmosphere of considerable power, and the final descent to Fort William through the Great Glen provides views of Ben Nevis on the approach to the journey's end. Most walkers complete the route in seven to nine days, and a well-developed network of accommodation, baggage transfer services and supply points makes the logistics manageable for those without wild camping experience.