Recently on our trip to Scotland, my 12yr old son and I walked three days of the West Highland Way in the Scottish Highlands. Now in Scotland, this walk is pretty famous. Apparently if you’ve ever been a Boy Scout or Girl Guide, you will have been on a trip to at least one part of this walk. But being from New Zealand I had never heard of it before, until I read Waypoints, by Sam Heughan. In this memoir Sam sets out along Scotland's rugged ninety-six-mile West Highland Way and reflects on his life and career. I loved the book and he painted such a beautiful picture of this walk and his beloved Scotland - so decided to add it to our European adventure itinerary!

I’m so glad I did - it was INCREDIBLE.
We had the best time in Scotland, and in particular on these three epic days. The Highalnds are simply stunning with incredible scenery and landscapes that seem to go on forever, so what could be better than immersing ourselves for three days?

There are plenty of companies that do all of the organising for you, but for us personally this added a lot of cost that we didn’t have in our budget so I just organised myself and it was super easy.

Here’s what we did, where we stayed, what we ate and how I planned our WHW adventure!

Step 1 - decide which sections you’re doing

We only walked 3 sections as we didn’t have time to do the whole thing. I did a lot of research on what the ‘best’ sections were; and the consensus seems to be that the last three days offered some of the best scenery as you were getting higher and higher into the highlands. It was hard to choose as I really wanted to walk alongside Loch Lomond (which is at the start) but ultimately decided the last three days would be best for us.

We were coming from Glasgow by car, and decided to stay at Bridge of Orchy as it sits right on the track, just a few kilometres from one of the section starting points (Inveroran). Logistically having a car if you’re whole party is walking could be an inconvenience (having to travel back to collect) but my husband wasn’t walking, so he drove each day between places.

So our walk looked like this:

Day 1 - Bridge of Orchy Hotel to Kingshouse 21kms/13 miles.

Day 2 - Kingshouse to Kinlochleven 14.5kms/9 miles

Day 3 - Kinlochleven to Fort William 24kms/15 miles

Now on to organising where to stay…

Step 2 - book accommodation For each section

We booked our accommodation roughly 8 months out which I would recommend as you are walking between really small centres with not a lot of options in some cases. in our case, Kinlochleven & Fort William had plenty of accommodation on offer but Kingshouse and Bridge of Orchy for example, don’t.

As we were driving from Glasgow, Bridge of Orchy Hotel seemed like the perfect place to stay for the night before the walk started. There is also a train station nearby for those without a vehicle. Even though we booked 8 months out there weren’t a lot of room options - plus there were 3 of us which is an awkward number. We booked the cottage and it was perfect, even if a little expensive. Our rate included breakfast and honestly it’s the most impressive ‘free’ breakfast I’ve ever had. Normally there would be a continental, or if you’re lucky a hot buffet - but here you were huge a decent sized menu to choose anything you liked! The breakfast was so good too - hearty and a perfect start.

I’m general it was a beautiful place, we loved it by the river and enjoyed our quick overnight here.

Our day 1 walk would take us to Kingshouse. There are a few different options here (the ski resort being one of them) but I knew I really wanted to stay at Kingshouse Hotel. It looked beautiful plus Sam stayed here as did the Outlander cast and crew so I wanted to see it first hand! The restaurant here was really good!

Kingshouse Hotel

The next section ended at Kinlochleven. There were quite a few affordable options here, Eco lodges, Motels, Inns and Backpackers. I chose the Tailrace Inn. There’s a pub downstairs which was really great and actually recommended to us for food by locals when we were there and rooms above. It was comfortable & clean, breakfast the next morning was also really good! Do yourself a favour and order the porridge - to die for!

Tailrace Inn

our last night was the end of the walk, in Fort William. Plenty of options here too. I chose a standard motel, the Nevis Bank Inn which had good reviews. It was comfortable with REALLY good beds, had air con (amen!) and was in a good spot.

Nevis Bank Inn

Step 3 - organise luggage transfers if needed

This was a service we didn’t end up needing, but I had researched as originally we weren’t going to have a car. Baggage Freedom was the company I’d seen recommended. You pre book and then tag your bags and leave at reception of each accommodation and they collect for you and take to your next stop. Brilliant!

Speaking of luggage…What to pack

The weather can be really unpredictable in the Highlands, so it’s important that you pack the right gear to take with you. Make sure you take wet weather gear, even if you’re going in summer. We had jackets for us both in our daypacks, and spare base layers in case we got wet.
The other important thing to note is footwear. I would definitely recommend hiking boots due to the kind of terrain that is on the track, preferably ones that have a water resistant coating on them to help if there is rain and mud. The track often has loose metal / gravel so you need something that will grip well. I would also recommend taking a backup pair of trail shoes or sneakers if your feet start to give out.
I also highly recommend hiking poles for walks like this. They help support you on the downhills when you need stability or balance, and also help with the uphills. I used them every day of the hike. My son and I actually ended up having 1 each on the flats as he really liked having one as well.
If you’re going in Midgie season, make sure you spray up before you leave and take some to top up on the trail as well. They weren’t so much as an issue for us in early June, but you never know.
Of course, sun hats and sunblock is also needed.

what about Food on the hike?

Aha! Very good question and one I worried a lot about. Bring in essentially the middle of nowhere in these tiny towns or villages (or not even that), would we have access to services? The answer is yes… and no.

Some of the stops between sections have services - but I would say very few. A great website to use for planning and seeing what is available is https://www.westhighlandway.org/

All of the accommodation we stayed at had a pub or restaurant attached, so we are breakfast and dinner and our accommodation. What about lunch on the walk? All of our accommodations also offered a packed lunch for an extra charge, which we actually didn’t up needing. Because we had a car, we had a cooler bag with us and stopped just outside of Glasgow for supplies. We bought protein bars, nuts, fruit, sandwich fixings and chocolate (necessity on any hike) and between fridge sun our rooms or asking at reception - we managed to keep our food cold. So, I made our lunch each day and we packed it in our backpacks along with lots of water.

It worked out perfectly.

The walk itself… the best part!

All in all; I highly recommend the walk - any sections you want to do would be amazing. It was incredibly beautiful and wasn’t overcrowded. We were so lucky with weather it was beautiful every day (was not expecting that) and we ended each day with a swim in a river nearby - cold but refreshing and good for the muscles. There were so many epic swimming holes - also unexpected.

Day 1 (Bridge of Orchy to Kingshouse) 21kms/13 miles

This was probably our favourite day walking conditions wise. After some initial gentle elevation, it was mostly flat or with a few gentle hills every now and again and the terrain was excellent under foot. Nothing too challenging although the distance was long, but we loved it.

At the end of the walk we met up with Bill, hopped in the car and went in search of a swimming hole! We headed up the road that goes to Glen Etive (also where Skyfall was filmed!) and found the perfect spot. We then went to check out the wee White House - perfection! We didn’t realise we would walk right past it on day 2!

Day 2 - (KINGSHOUSE TO KINLOCHLEVEN) 14.5kms/9 miles

Today was a lot tougher. The start of the walk is really beautiful, leaving Kingshouse and walking beneath Buachaille Etive Mòr which is so majestic. A few kms in the ascent up the Devils Staircase. It was a tough challenge that never seemed to end but the views all the way up were so amazing, looking back down at the Wee White House that eventually disappeared in the distance. The terrian here is also pretty technical with lots of loose gravel underfoot. It was incredible at the top though, the mountains out the other side were so much bigger than I’d expected. And then the descent started - a long way down to Kinlochleven. Half of this is on the trail, and then you join a logging road for the last fees kms which was hard on the knees! Finally we arrived at the Tailrace Inn to a cold sprite and hot shower. We then headed off to see Glen Coe from the road and have another swim. Glen Coe is simply sublime / one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.

Day 3 - the final ling trek to Fort William. 24kms/15 miles

What a day! A long hard day that was incredibly rewarding. Heading out of Kinlochleven is up up up for the first few kms and it was a hard slog on tired legs, but once at the top you are rewarded by amazing views back over the loch and mountains. We loved the views. You then stay at elevation for a few hours, walking in a valley with mountains to your left and right. The path is easy to walk on and you don’t have to be so careful with your footing like the day before. Eventually the terrain changes, you’re treated to more amazing vistas in all directions, heading up gradually until it feels like you’re on top of the world. Our biggest challenge on this day was the distance, it’s a long way and by the time you reach the logging road (having to ascend again to get there) you’re feeling pretty done! We found a beautiful stream that we stopped to put our feet in for 20 mins which did us the world of good. A long walk down the road into Fort William was pretty special though, with views across to Ben Nevis, the UKs tallest mountain. We were so excited to reach the end! Super proud of my son, and me, for going on this epic adventure!