Planning a West Highland Way Thru-Hike Can Be Intimidating, but These 10 Tips Make It Easy

Scenic vistas, tranquil rivers, sprawling sheep pastures, and plenty of whiskey. All that and more could be yours if you venture to Scotland to hike the West Highland Way (WHW). The WHW is Scotland’s premiere hiking trail, stretching 96 miles from Milngavie north into the infamous Scottish Highlands, where the trail ends in Fort William. Fans of Outlander will feel like they’ve stepped back in time and will expect to find Jamie Fraser crouching in the heather.

If you’re looking for a short and sweet adventure, the WHW is for you. Despite its length, this trail poses some unique challenges and opportunities thanks to its notorious weather, terrain, and popularity. After hiking the WHW in 2024, here are the top 10 things I wish I’d known ahead of time.

1. The Choice is Yours …

The WHW offers something for everyone and can be accessible on any budget. This is a true “build your own adventure” trail. Even though every “walker” on the WHW takes roughly the same route, there are many different experiences available based on what you want to get out of this hike and how much you want to spend. You can splash out on bed and breakfasts and restaurant food for every meal along the way, or tackle this more like a traditional thru-hike with a tent and ultralight backpacking stove, or do some of both.

My biggest tip is to decide what you want your hike to look like and then to budget and plan accordingly. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help determine what you want your hike to look like:

How Long Will This Take? The WHW website provides a number of suggested itineraries. I met people who had trekked the 96 miles in five days, covering roughly 20 miles each day. Others spread the trail out over 10 days, taking their time and enjoying each of the communities the trail meanders through. Select an itinerary that makes sense for you. Be mindful that if you plan to eat or stay in town at least some nights, you will likely need advance reservations that will make your schedule more rigid.

Where To Sleep? One of the many appeals to the WHW is the fact that the trail essentially travels village to village. In a single day you may walk through multiple small communities. Many of these towns cater to walkers and depend on their business to stay afloat. There are numerous B&Bs, inns, and hostels scattered across the trail. If sleeping in a bed feels too plush for you or you want to save money, “wild camping,” as the Scots call it (think “stealth camping”), is permitted. 

Where To Eat? If you are going to indulge in restaurant fare, you will have to plan accordingly and make reservations for the majority of establishments well in advance. If you want to cook your own food, there’s a grocery store in Milngavie to resupply at before starting the trail and several other resupply points along the way (Village Shop in Balmaha, The Green Welly in Tyndrum). 

Are You Going To Carry Your Pack? This was my first “walking holiday,” and I learned that baggage transfers are common on many popular trails throughout Europe. Basically you pay a transfer service to collect your luggage each morning and drop it off at your accommodation for the evening. This leaves you free to hike with just a day pack, which is made even lighter if you are eating in restaurants along the way. 

What Worked for Me

My husband and I flew from the US to Scotland in May 2024 to hike the WHW for our honeymoon. He and I met while thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2021, so it just made sense that we would go on another hike to celebrate our nuptials. We knew we wanted to make our honeymoon extra special and began planning in January 2024.

We decided to plan for eight days to complete the WHW. We chose to bring our tent and camped about half of the nights we were on trail. The other nights we stayed in B&Bs. We opted to eat every meal at a restaurant. It was more costly but meant we saved weight by not having to carry food, aside from some snacks and water. We carried our standard backpacking packs each day and didn’t use a baggage transfer service.

This all worked well for us, along with the other tips listed below. 

2. Make Reservations Well in Advance

Nearly 36,000 people walk the WHW in its entirety each year. May is the busiest month on the trail, making it imperative to prebook accommodations. No matter what time of year you are planning to hike, I would recommend making reservations at least three months in advance (if not more!)

We were on the WHW May 2nd – 9th and I began making reservations in January prior to our hike. As I was booking, I was shocked by how many B&Bs were already full. I knew there were several iconic restaurants we wanted to eat at and was surprised to find those reservations filling up as well.

Being in the US, I wasn’t sure how international bookings would work, but many accommodations and restaurants allowed bookings online or via email. I never had to make an international phone call and was able to coordinate everything online. 

Aside from packed hostels and lively restaurants, the trail itself was also bustling. I expected the trail to be busy, but it was downright crowded in some places. Areas of the trail that were single track got congested, and we leap-frogged back and forth with other hikers constantly. If you are looking for a solitary experience, my recommendation would be to wild camp, prepare your own food, and hike fast. Scheduling your hike outside of peak season (May) would also help. The West Highland Way is generally hikeable from April through early October, with the weather getting progressively dicier on either end of that range.

The comradery of the trail was a highlight for us, though, and we enjoyed meeting folks from all around the world.

3. Consider Your Experience on Various Types of Terrain

Having hiked the AT, mud, rocks, roots are something my husband and I felt very comfortable traversing. We learned quickly that this is not the case for the majority of walkers on the WHW. The tread is primarily a flat, open, double track trail. The areas with obstacles like ladders, bog boards, or rocks acted as a bottleneck and were a heavy source of congestion.

The section from Rowardennan to Inverarnan is widely considered the hardest section. The trail follows the rocky shoreline of Loch Lomond and involves several small rock scrambles, ladders, and foot bridges.

Further down the trail, walkers encounter the Devil’s Staircase after leaving Kingshouse. The trail gains about 850 feet of elevation by following stone stairs straight up to a mountain pass. The climb was short and sweet but got my legs burning. The views from the top made it worthwhile, and taking it slow just gives you more time to enjoy the scenery.

Like any extended backpacking trip, proper training makes a world of difference. If you have the opportunity to train on various types of terrain, it can help you to feel more comfortable on the trail. The treadmill and stairmaster may help to get your legs in shape, but training hikes over slick rocks and gnarly roots will best prepare you to move more smoothly and confidently down the trail.

4. Say “Yes!” to Side Quests

My husband and I love a good side quest, a point of interest that isn’t necessarily on the trail but that you may not have found otherwise. We have found that the best stories come when you say “yes” and take a blue blaze off the beaten path. Reflecting on the WHW, some of our favorite memories weren’t actually on the trail. One notorious side quest was to Glengoyne Distillery. The trail takes you within several hundred feet of one of Scotland’s famous distilleries, and we indulged in a tour and tasting. We loved learning more about the whisky making process and even bought a couple “wee drams” to enjoy over the rest of our hike.

Another epic side quest we embarked on was playing disc golf at the highest-elevation course in the UK at Glencoe Mountain. This ski resort is a popular accommodation on trail. For a small fee, you can take the chairlift to the top of the mountain and play a round; they even rent discs! Being on top of the mountain surrounded by snow and open sky was an unforgettable experience.

One final popular sidequest is taking the waterbus for a tour of Loch Lomond. A small part of me regrets not being able to say yes to this particular sidequest during our 2024 hike, but it gives me more reasons to want to go back. If you just keep your head down and hike, you may forget to look up and experience all the other unique opportunities this trail can offer.

5. Check the Forecast

Any responsible outdoors person knows to check the weather before a trip and to bring the appropriate gear. Scotland is a notoriously wet place, and the temperatures can shift dramatically. Be prepared with layers, waterproofs, and anything else to help you be safe in less than ideal conditions (make sure you have the 10 essentials). The best piece of rain gear is a positive mindset, so be sure to keep your expectations in check and be up for anything. 

Another thing to be prepared for are midges. We did not encounter any midges during our early May hike, but midge season runs from May to September. According to locals, midges flew straight out of hell to terrorize the good people of the Highlands. If a mosquito and a gnat had a demonic baby, it would be a midge. To avoid midge bites, many walkers carry a bug net (make sure to get a very fine no-see-um mesh, as “midgies” are tiny), wear long clothing, and carry Smidge repellent.

6. Check a Bag

This was our first time flying internationally with our backpacking gear. We were nervous, but getting through security and checking a bag was easier than we expected. Since there were two of us, we checked one bag and carried on the other. In our checked bag we put all our questionable items (tent stakes, trekking poles, pocket knives, etc.) and anything else we knew we wouldn’t need immediately (tent, sleeping pads). In the carry-on, we kept the items we knew we’d need if our checked bag got lost (toiletries, clothing, electronics, etc.).

If you are traveling alone, I’d recommend the same method: check a bag with all your camping gear and carry on a small pack with the things you’d need immediately. 

It’s important to note that you can’t fly with fuel, so if you are carrying a stove, you’ll need to buy some in Scotland prior to starting your hike. We tried to buy some at a small store near the trailhead in Milngavie but discovered that the cans were not compatible with our stove type. This was another motivator in eating in restaurants rather than cooking our food at camp each night.

7. You Will Survive Without Boots

I don’t think the idea that “boots are a necessity” is unique to the WHW, but it was a common trend amongst walkers. We mostly saw other Americans or former thru-hikers in trail runners, but the majority of folks wore thick leather boots. It’s up to personal preference, but I think it’s worth noting that you can survive (and thrive) in trail runners. Don’t let fear mongering convince you to pack heavy boots unless it’s what you typically hike in. 

8.) Bring a Water Filter (But You Probably Won’t Use It)

Scattered along the WHW are water fill stations. The water gods have smiled on Scotland, and these stations are seemingly in every town you walk through on the WHW. Because of this, we only filtered water from a creek once on our entire eight days on trail. Granted, we were staying in established campsites and B&Bs each night. If you’re wild camping, it’s likely you will filter water more often. Pack your water filter, but be thankful for the conveniences and ease of the water stations.

9. Bonus Miles: Climb Ben Nevis

After completing the WHW, we celebrated the following day by summiting the tallest mountain in the UK, Ben Nevis. The northern terminus of the WHW is in the town of Fort William. This town basically sits at the foot of the 4413-foot peak. We opted for the “easier” Mountain Track (formally called the tourist route) rather than the more strenuous Carn Mor Dearg Arête Route (CMD). We chose the easier route because we didn’t know how difficult it would be, but in hindsight I wished we had chosen the CMD for more of a challenge. Just another reason to visit Scotland again soon!

10. Make a Spreadsheet

I found the best way for me to keep our itinerary straight was to make a spreadsheet. I listed our starting and ending points for each day, our daily mileage, where we would be sleeping, where we would be eating each meal, and made notes about our reservations and booking confirmations. If you’ve got extra cash to burn and don’t want to suffer through the headache of planning/making reservations, you can hire a guide service to do all the planning for you.

Planning Resources

• West Highland Way Website
  • This was the biggest resource I used for planning. I spent a lot of time looking at their “suggested itineraries” page to decide what our itinerary would look like. Then I referred to the “accommodations and services” page. 
• Trailblazer Guide Books – West Highland Way
  • Listed in each town are multiple restaurants and accommodations, and this was ultimately how we narrowed down where we wanted to stay. I’d look at the list in the book, reach out to multiple accommodations, and whoever got back to me first was where we stayed.
• FarOut
  • It’s a great resource to use while on the trail, especially for determining our exact location and how much longer we had to hike to our destination each night. It is worth noting that there aren’t many comments compared to other trails popular on the app.

What would I do differently? 

I wasn’t sure what to expect from wild camping, so I opted to reserve campsites at local campgrounds and inns. Once we were on the trail, we saw a plethora of gorgeous campsites that we had to pass up because we had reservations to pitch our tent somewhere. Although these tenting reservations were cheaper than staying in a B&B, it still cost more than if we had just set up at a stealth site. If you are planning on tenting, I would recommend wild camping rather than trying to reserve tent sites. You will save money this way and get to sleep in some truly beautiful places!

The scenery is what originally drew us to the WHW, but many of our favorite memories from this trip were made over delicious meals in top-notch restaurants and while chatting with locals at the pubs. The West Highland Way is a fantastic trek for anyone seeking a memorable journey. Buy a ticket to Scotland, start practicing your sheep calls, don your kilt, and get walking!

 Featured image: Photo via Gael Dida. Graphic design by Chris Helm.