| West Highland Way | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Length | 154 km (96 mi) |
| Location | Highlands ofScotland |
| Established | 1980 |
| Designation | Scotland's Great Trails |
| Trailheads | |
| Use | Primarily intended forwalkers[1] |
| Elevation gain/loss | 3,155 metres (10,351 ft) gain[2] |
| Highest point | Devil's Staircase nearKingshouse56°40′35″N4°54′49″W / 56.6764°N 4.9135°W /56.6764; -4.9135, 550 m (1,800 ft) |
| Lowest point | sea level |
| Difficulty | Moderate |
| Season | All year |
| Hazards | Weather |
| Website | https://www.westhighlandway.org/ |
TheWest Highland Way (Scottish Gaelic:Slighe Taobh an Iar na Gàidhealtachd) is a linearlong-distance route inScotland. It is 154 km (96 miles) long, running fromMilngavie north ofGlasgow toFort William in theScottish Highlands, with an element ofhill walking in the route.[3] The trail, which opened in 1980, was Scotland's first officially designated Long Distance Route,[4] and is now designated byNatureScot as one ofScotland's Great Trails.[2] It is primarily intended as a long distancewalking route, and whilst many sections are suitable formountain biking andhorseriding there are obstacles and surfaces that will require these users to dismount in places.[1]
It is managed by the West Highland Way Management Group (WHWMG) consisting of thelocal authorities forEast Dunbartonshire,Stirling,Argyll and Bute andHighland, alongside theLoch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority andNatureScot.[5] About 120,000 people use the path every year, of whom about 36,000 walk the entire route.[6] The path is estimated to generate £5.5 million each year for the local economy.[7] As of 2019[update] about 100,000 people walked part of the Way each year, with 36,000 completing the route.[8]
Notable wildlife that may be seen includes feral goats (descendants of those left from theHighland Clearances),red deer, and around the peaks sometimesgolden eagles.[citation needed]
There were no trails of this kind in Scotland until the Way was opened. After theSecond World War ex-RAF man Tom Hunter fromGlasgow conceived of the idea of an official footpath, partly to protect the eastern shore of Loch Lomond from development. The route, with some challenging terrain, had to be worked out, and landowners negotiated with.[8] Significant in the development of the Way was geographer Fiona Rose who surveyed the route over a year in the early 1970s, covering some 1,000 miles on foot.[9]
The trail was approved for development in 1974, and after completion was opened on 6 October 1980 byLord Mansfield so becoming the first officially designated long-distance footpath in Scotland.[10]
In June 2010, the West Highland Way was co-designated as part of theInternational Appalachian Trail.[11]
In 2020 plans to celebrate the Way's 40th birthday were interrupted by theCOVID-19 pandemic. A virtual exhibition was set up to showcase the history, memories and highlights of the first 40 years. A special video welcome was recorded byJimmie Macgregor, whose radio and TV programmes helped popularise the Way in the 1980s.[12]
The path uses many ancient roads, including ancientdrovers' roads,military roads dating to theJacobite uprisings and oldcoaching routes. It is usually walked from south to north, making it a journey from theLowlands to theHighlands.[13][3] The route is commonly walked in seven to eight days, although many fitter and more experienced walkers do it in five or six,[13][3] staying overnight in villages along the Way.[8] The route can be covered in considerably less time than this (as of 2020[update] the record was13 h 41 m 8 s), but a less hurried progress is the choice of the majority of walkers, allowing for appreciation of the countryside along the Way. Due to the large number of walkers being constrained to a single track, some parts of the Way have become badly eroded. However, a considerable amount of work is undertaken to maintain the route.[citation needed]
A walk along the Way is often broken up into sections or stages, each of which will typically be walked in a day. One pattern of sections, travelling from south to north, is as follows:[10]
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The path officially starts in the centre ofMilngavie, a town on the northern fringe of the conurbation ofGlasgow. Agraniteobelisk is located a short distance fromMilngavie railway station. Heading north, the path passesMugdock Castle andMugdock Country Park before emerging into open countryside, and theCampsie Fells can be seen.[15] By the west side of Craigallian loch the path passes a small monument to commemorate The Craigallian Fire, an important historical symbol for outdoor activities in Scotland.[16] As the Way approaches the Campsies by the piece of ground known as Tinkers Loan, there is an opportunity to explore adjacent hills such asDumgoyne (grid referenceNS541837; 427 m or 1,401 ft) or the small but heavily wooded Dumgoyach (NS531810; 108 m or 354 ft). Finally the Way reaches the village ofDrymen.
This section is about 19 km (12 miles) long:[10]
After leavingDrymen the path enters Garadhban Forest before reaching the first major summit of the route, the 361-metre (1,184 ft)Conic Hill ,[17] a site ofspecial scientific interest lying on theHighland Boundary Fault.[18] The main route goes over the summit, but an alternative "bad weather" route viaMilton of Buchanan allows walkers to avoid the ascent to the summit. The village ofBalmaha on the eastern shore ofLoch Lomond is the next settlement reached.[17]
The path heads north along the wooded eastern shore ofLoch Lomond, to reach the village ofRowardennan, the furthest point north to which there is road access available from the south on the east shore of the loch.[19] Camping along the shore of Loch Lomond is by permit only from 1 March to 30 September.[20][21]
The path leavesRowardennan and continues north, along the wooded eastern shore ofLoch Lomond toInverarnan. The route follows the lower slopes of Ben Lomond before returning to the waterside atInversnaid, where there is road access from the east, viaAberfoyle. North of Inversnaid the route passes a cavern known asRob Roy's cave, before reaching Inverarnan.[22][23] This section is regarded[who?] as the most difficult of the entire Way. Just north of Inversnaid the eastern shore is very steep, dominated by boulders which requires some scrambling over obstacles.[citation needed]
The way skirts the hills just west of Crianlarich alongside Bogle Glen. At the deer gate an additional path leads to Crianlarich. Meanwhile, the route continues up through the dense woodland to one of the high points of the Way before descending to cross the A82 and pass through Auchtertyre Farm and gently up to Tyndrum.[23]
This is one of the more remote sections of the route, with little in the way of settlements. The route passes over thedrovers' road betweenBridge of Orchy andInveroran with large panoramic views, and not much sign of civilisation.[24][25] This section is about 30 km (19 miles) long:
Glen Coe (Scottish Gaelic:Gleann Comhann) is often considered one of the most spectacular and beautiful places in Scotland, and is a part of the designatedNational Scenic Area ofBen Nevis and Glen Coe. The route climbs theDevil's Staircase before a great descent to sea level atKinlochleven.[26]
The final stage skirts theMamore Mountains on an old military road and descends intoGlen Nevis before finishing in Fort William. Starting with a steep climb out of Kinlochleven, the route follows the contour of the valley, until the forest is reached outside Fort William. The last stage passes the foot ofBen Nevis, before finally reaching the pavements leading into the traditional finish line in Fort William, where a statue depicting a man with sore feet marks the end of the path.[27] Many walkers crown their achievement of walking the Way by climbing Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the United Kingdom.[3]
There are severalultramarathons held on the West Highland Way. The Highland Fling Race is an annual 85 km (53 mi) race from Milngavie to Tyndrum.[28] The Devil o' the Highlands Footrace is 69 km (43 mi) from Tyndrum to Fort William, along the northern section of the way.[29] The West Highland Way Race is an annual 153 km (95 mi) race along the full south–north distance of the West Highland Way. The West Highland Way Challenge Race is a younger, alternative race which also covers the full route.
The race has been run in its current form since 1991. The race starts at 1 am on the Saturday nearest to thesummer solstice.[30]
Bobby Shields (Clydesdale Harriers) and Duncan Watson (Lochaber) initiated the idea of racing over Scotland's most popular long-distance footpath.
On 22 June 1985 the two set out from Milngavie. Their route differed in many ways from the route of today: it was shorter, at 150 km (93 mi), and had 13 km (8 mi) more on tarmac, with around 150 m (500 ft) less of climbing. After around 100 km (60 mi), as they started overRannoch Moor, they decided to cease competing against each other and ran together. They set a time of 17 hours 48 minutes 30 seconds.
In 1986 Shields and Watson opened up an invitation to some fellow runners to race in the opposite direction, Fort William – Milngavie. 1987 saw a return to the established direction of running, South – North. Of eleven starters seven arrived in Fort William. Jim Stewart took over the organisation of the event in 1991, as the footpath was now complete, the course was changed, increasing the distance to 153 km (95 mi) with only 15 km (9 mi) on road and more climbing was introduced. With this increased difficulty runners were likely to be out longer and now a bigger percentage are out for a second night.
Dario Melaragni, who had completed the race himself three times, took over as race director in 1999.[31] He developed the format of the race by involving local mountain rescue teams who provided emergency response during the event. He also inaugurated and developed the race website,[30] which has become a prime source of information for runners wishing to attempt the race. The race has gained status in recent years and entries open in the November preceding each race – for the 2013 a ballot process was used for the first time to allow 250 entries.
In July 2009, whilst out running with friends, Melaragni suffered a suspectedheart attack and died near the summit ofLochnagar in theCairngorms.[32] His funeral was attended by many people wearing West Highland Way Race clothing.
The race record holder is Rob Sinclair with a time of 13 h 41 m 8 s, set in June 2017. The female record holder is Lucy Colquhoun of Aviemore with a time of 17 h 16 m 20 s, set in 2007.[33]
Listed south to north, with approximate distances from Milngavie, the West Highland Way passes the following towns, villages and hotels:
Geographic data related toroute of the West Highland Way atOpenStreetMap
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