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Trek Scotland — Milngavie to Fort William, United Kingdom

The West Highland Way: Milngavie to Fort William

Scotland's best-loved long-distance walk — 154 km from the edge of Glasgow along Loch Lomond, across the wilds of Rannoch Moor and through Glen Coe to Fort William beneath Ben Nevis.

The West Highland Way: Milngavie to Fort William
Photo: Mogens Engelund · CC BY-SA 3.0
Duration
7 days
Distance
154 km
Ascent
3155 m
Difficulty
Moderate
Best season
May to September (spring and autumn are quietest; midges peak June–August)

The West Highland Way was Scotland’s first official long-distance route and remains its most popular, carrying tens of thousands of walkers each year from the Lowland fringe of Glasgow deep into the Highlands. Over roughly 154 km it follows old drovers’ roads, military roads built to pacify the clans, and disused railway lines, gaining a total of more than 3,000 m as the landscape swells from farmland to loch shore to open mountain wilderness.

Most people walk it south to north over seven or eight days, which puts the wind at your back and saves the grandest scenery — Rannoch Moor, Glen Coe and Ben Nevis — for the end.

Getting there. The start at Milngavie is a short train ride from Glasgow city centre. Fort William, at the finish, has direct trains and buses back to Glasgow, including the scenic West Highland Line.

Permits & wild camping. No permit is needed, and Scotland’s access laws allow responsible wild camping along most of the route — but a seasonal byelaw restricts camping along the east shore of Loch Lomond (roughly March–September), where you need a permit or a campsite.

Good to know:

Day 1

Milngavie to Drymen

Milngavie → Drymen 19 km 200 m
Navigate this day

A relaxed start out of the suburbs into countryside, following an old railway line and forest tracks past Glengoyne to the village of Drymen on the edge of the Highlands.

Segments

  1. Out of the suburbs
    Out of the suburbs 5 km 80 m Map

    Milngavie town centre → Mugdock Country Park

    Parkland paths

    Pass the granite obelisk that marks the official start and slip quickly out of town into the woods and moorland of Mugdock Country Park. About 1.5 hours.

    About this place

    Mugdock Country Park is a country park and historical site located partly in East Dunbartonshire and partly in Stirling, in the former county of Stirlingshire, Scotland. It is around 10 miles north of Glasgow, next to Milngavie, and covers an area of 260 hectares.

    Read more on Wikipedia
  2. Old railway to Drymen 14 km 120 m Map

    Mugdock Country Park → Drymen

    Disused railway line and farm track

    Follow the flat bed of a disused railway across open farmland, with Glengoyne distillery below and the first swell of the Campsie Fells around you, into Drymen. About 3.5 hours.

Day 2

Drymen to Rowardennan

Drymen → Rowardennan 24 km 570 m
Navigate this day

The day the Highlands begin — a climb over Conic Hill on the Highland Boundary Fault for a first great view of Loch Lomond, then down to Balmaha and along the loch’s wooded eastern shore.

Segments

  1. Over Conic Hill 11 km 340 m Map

    Drymen → Balmaha

    Forest track then open hill

    Climb through forest and up the flank of Conic Hill, which sits right on the geological Highland Boundary Fault, for a sudden panorama of Loch Lomond and its islands before a steep drop to Balmaha. About 3.5 hours.

  2. Along the loch shore 13 km 230 m Map

    Balmaha → Rowardennan

    Wooded lochside path

    Follow the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, dipping in and out of oak woods and small bays, to the scattered settlement of Rowardennan below Ben Lomond. About 3.5 hours.

Day 3

Rowardennan to Inverarnan

Rowardennan → Inverarnan 22 km 500 m
Navigate this day

The rugged northern end of the loch, where the path narrows to a scramble over roots and boulders past Rob Roy’s Cave, then leaves the water at last for Glen Falloch and Beinglas.

Segments

  1. To Inversnaid 11 km 250 m Map

    Rowardennan → Inversnaid

    Forest track and lochside path

    A quieter forest stretch above the water leads to the waterfall and hotel at Inversnaid, tumbling into the loch. About 3 hours.

  2. The rocky north shore 11 km 250 m Map

    Inversnaid → Inverarnan

    Rough rocky path, roots and boulders

    The wildest walking on the Way — a slow clamber over roots and rock past Rob Roy's Cave to the head of the loch, then up Glen Falloch to Beinglas at Inverarnan. About 4 hours.

Day 4

Inverarnan to Tyndrum

Inverarnan → Tyndrum 19 km 350 m
Navigate this day

An easier day climbing gently through Glen Falloch beside its waterfalls, past Crianlarich and the ruins of St Fillan’s Priory, to the old lead-mining village of Tyndrum.

Segments

  1. Up Glen Falloch 10 km 200 m Map

    Inverarnan → Crianlarich

    Glen path and forest

    Rise steadily through Glen Falloch, its river spilling over the Falls of Falloch, then through forest above the road-and-rail junction of Crianlarich. About 3 hours.

  2. Past the priory to Tyndrum 9 km 150 m Map

    Crianlarich → Tyndrum

    Old military road and pasture

    Pass the grassy ruins of St Fillan's Priory and cross Strath Fillan on the old military road to Tyndrum, once a lead-mining centre. About 3 hours.

Day 5

Tyndrum to Kingshouse

Tyndrum → Kingshouse 30 km 550 m
Navigate this day

A long, exposed stage on old military and drovers’ roads over Rannoch Moor, one of the largest wildernesses in Britain, arriving at the historic Kingshouse Inn beneath the pyramid of Buachaille Etive Mòr.

Segments

  1. To Bridge of Orchy 11 km 150 m Map

    Tyndrum → Bridge of Orchy

    Old military road

    Follow the old military road beneath Beinn Dorain's great sweeping slope to the little station and hotel at Bridge of Orchy. About 3 hours.

  2. Over Mam Carraigh 5 km 150 m Map

    Bridge of Orchy → Inveroran

    Short hill crossing

    Climb over the wooded rise of Mam Carraigh for a first look at the moor, then drop to the old drovers' inn at Inveroran. About 1.5 hours.

  3. Across Rannoch Moor 14 km 250 m Map

    Inveroran → Kingshouse

    Cobbled drovers' road across open moor

    The great crossing — a stony drovers' road striking out across the roadless expanse of Rannoch Moor to the Kingshouse, one of Scotland's oldest inns, under the sudden cone of Buachaille Etive Mòr. About 3.5 hours.

Day 6

Kingshouse to Kinlochleven

Kingshouse → Kinlochleven 14 km 350 m
Navigate this day

A spectacular half-day: skirting the entrance to Glen Coe, then zig-zagging up the Devil’s Staircase to the roof of the Way at 550 m, with a long descent past the Blackwater Reservoir to Kinlochleven.

Segments

  1. Along Glen Coe 4 km 50 m Map

    Kingshouse → Altnafeadh

    Path beside the glen road

    Walk beneath the towering Buachaille Etive Mòr at the mouth of Glen Coe, one of the most photographed landscapes in Scotland, to the foot of the climb at Altnafeadh. About 1 hour.

  2. The Devil's Staircase 3 km 250 m Map

    Altnafeadh → Devil's Staircase summit

    Zig-zag mountain path

    Climb the zig-zags of the Devil's Staircase, an old military road, to the highest point of the whole route at 550 m, with views to the Mamores and, on a clear day, Ben Nevis. About 1.5 hours.

  3. Down to Kinlochleven 7 km 50 m Map

    Devil's Staircase summit → Kinlochleven

    Long stony descent

    A long, knee-testing descent past the pipelines and dam of the Blackwater Reservoir into the village of Kinlochleven at the head of a sea loch. About 2.5 hours.

Day 7

Kinlochleven to Fort William

Kinlochleven → Fort William 24 km 550 m
Navigate this day

A big last stage climbing out of Kinlochleven into the empty pass of the Lairig Mòr, then through forest into Glen Nevis and on to the official finish in the centre of Fort William, in the shadow of Britain’s highest mountain.

Segments

  1. Climb to the Lairig Mòr 9 km 300 m Map

    Kinlochleven → Lairig Mòr

    Steep climb then high glen track

    A steep pull out of the village onto the old military road, which strikes into the wide, empty pass of the Lairig Mòr between the Mamores. About 3 hours.

  2. Through Glen Nevis
    Through Glen Nevis 10 km 200 m Map

    Lairig Mòr → Glen Nevis

    Forest tracks and hillside path

    Wind through forestry and over a wooded shoulder with the bulk of Ben Nevis rising ahead, then descend into Glen Nevis. About 3 hours.

    About this place

    Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Scotland, the United Kingdom, and the British Isles. Ben Nevis stands at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Highland region of Lochaber, close to the town of Fort William.

    Read more on Wikipedia
  3. Into Fort William 5 km 50 m Map

    Glen Nevis → Fort William

    Riverside path and town streets

    Follow the river into town to the official end of the Way, marked by the seated statue of a weary walker on the High Street. About 1 hour.

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