Self-guided · Scotland
154 km from Milngavie to Fort William — across the Highland Boundary, up Loch Lomond, over Rannoch Moor, and into the shadow of Ben Nevis. We plan it. You walk it.
The West Highland Way is Scotland's first long-distance path — and still its most-walked, for good reason. It runs 154 kilometres from the northern edge of Glasgow to Fort William at the foot of Ben Nevis, and it does something few trails manage: it takes you out of a city and drops you, on foot, into proper Highland country in under a week.
It is genuinely accessible — no scrambling, no exposure — but it is a proper hill walk, and it earns its reputation the honest way. Rannoch Moor is exposed, the eastern shore of Loch Lomond is rough underfoot, and the Devil's Staircase earns its name. Get the pace right and it's one of the great walks in Britain, and one of the friendliest introductions to Highland walking there is.
Your trail divides naturally into three parts — not by day, but by altitude. You leave Glasgow's edge and cross the Highland Boundary onto Loch Lomond's shores; you walk up the loch and out into Highland glens; and from Tyndrum the country lifts under you all the way to Ben Nevis.
Milngavie to Rowardennan
Suburban park gives way to drove road and oak wood, and one hill puts you over the geological line that splits Scotland. The route eases you in — well-graded paths, distillery views out to Dumgoyne, then the climb over Conic Hill onto the bonnie banks. Rowardennan sits under Ben Lomond, Scotland's most southerly Munro.
Rowardennan to Tyndrum
The eastern shore of Loch Lomond at its hardest — rough, rooty, slow — then a lift onto the old military road as the loch narrows into Glen Falloch. Waterfalls on the right, the West Highland Line on the left, and the Drovers Inn at Inverarnan for a pint before Crianlarich and Tyndrum. The Highlands fully open by the time you reach the Green Welly.
Tyndrum to Fort William
Drove road across the vast Rannoch Moor — the biggest wilderness on the trail, and the point at which most walkers realise where they are. Kingshouse under Buachaille Etive Mòr, the zig-zag climb of the Devil's Staircase to the trail's highest point, and the long Mamores walk down through Kinlochleven to Fort William, with Ben Nevis on your right shoulder for the last day.
Build your trip
Pick your pace, party size and dates. The itinerary, distances, nightly stops and the price all update live — no commitment until you're happy.
Your day-by-day itinerary updates live in the Your itinerary section below.
This is the itinerary you're building. Change the pace, party size or start date in the planner above and every stage, distance and date updates here.
Where you'll stay
We book Highland hotels, drovers' inns and family-run guesthouses along the Way — the kind of places that have been putting up walkers for a hundred years or more. Expect a fire, a hearty breakfast, and staff who know exactly why your boots are wet.
Every trip is planned around your dates and party, so we can't promise you a specific inn — but we can promise the kind of welcome that makes a walking holiday feel like a proper holiday.
Self-guided, but properly supported. You turn up, you walk, you eat well, you sleep well. We handle the logistics.
Family-run inns, B&Bs and small guesthouses — the historic Kingshouse beside Glen Coe, traditional inns at Bridge of Orchy, lochside houses that have hosted walkers for decades.
Your main bag moves between accommodations each walking day, up to 20 kg. You walk with only a daypack.
Downloadable GPX for every stage, plus a printed Trail Book with route notes, the best coffee stops, and the bits the guidebooks miss.
One number for trail closures, accommodation issues, or a late finish in Glen Coe — answered by someone who's walked it.
Walking the West Highland Way alone doesn't mean being out of touch. We lend you a small GPS tracker for the trail, and a private map link lets the people who care about you follow along from home.
Carry it in your pack and it updates your position as you walk — no phone signal required.
See your own progress on a secure map, with your overnight stops visible at a glance.
Send the private link to family or friends so they know you've arrived safely each day.
We'll start planning your trip right away. Not happy with anything? We'll adjust it or refund you — no questions asked.
The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) provides financial protection under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 for Big Trail Adventures (member 5690). Protection is provided for non-flight packages. Full details in our booking conditions.
You'll want to be comfortable walking around 22 km a day with a daypack on mostly well-graded path. The longest day on the Hiker pace is the Rannoch Moor crossing at around 30 km, and the rocky stretch on Loch Lomond's northern shore is the trail's most technical section, though not its longest. If 22 km a day feels punishing, the nine-day Explorer pace breaks it down to about 17 km daily.
May and September are the trail's best windows. May gets you long days, fewer midges and the country still freshly green. September has post-midge clarity and autumn light, with daylight just long enough for the longer stages. June and July are walkable but the midges arrive in earnest, especially on Loch Lomond's eastern shore and around Kinlochleven. August adds the busiest accommodation. April and October are shoulder months — colder, sometimes snowy on the higher passes.
Yes — your bag is moved between accommodations every walking day, up to 20 kg per bag. You walk with a daypack carrying the day's essentials. The route is well-served by transfer companies and every village on the Hiker pace is on a road, so you'll find your bag at your next bed regardless of where the day ends.
Family-run inns, B&Bs and small guesthouses, with the occasional historic Highland hotel — never chains. Every stay is en-suite, with breakfast and drying space for wet boots. On the West Highland Way that often means the historic Kingshouse beside Glen Coe, a traditional inn at Bridge of Orchy, and lochside houses that have been hosting walkers for decades. In the busiest weeks of June and August some of the most-loved places book up six months ahead.
Yes — the West Highland Way is one of the most solo-friendly long-distance paths in Scotland. The route is signed throughout, the villages are close enough together that you'll see other walkers most days, and accommodation is set up for single rooms across the whole trail. The technical northern Loch Lomond stretch is best walked in daylight — start early from Rowardennan and you'll have the whole day for it.
Our Classic package starts at £889 per person for the seven-day Hiker pace, based on two people sharing. That covers accommodation, breakfast every morning, baggage transfer, a route pack with maps and trail notes, and our trail support. On-trail extras — lunches, drinks, the occasional taxi when the day overruns — typically run £35 to £50 a day. There are no permits or park fees on the West Highland Way.
Craig has walked the West Highland Way in every season — full winter to midsummer midge. Drop him a line with what you're after — group size, dates, ability, anything you're worried about — and he'll come back with a route suggestion in a day or two.
Notes from Big Trails
Richard Newsome has been looking after bothies on the West Highland Way for 12 years. This once meant carrying 42 glass bottles four and a half miles back to his car. He moved to Scotland because of the West Highland Way and has never once walked into a bothy and thought about quitting.
Sara and Marco walked the West Highland Way in June — their first long trail, seven days, almost nobody else around. On day two, by a quiet stretch of Loch Lomond, Marco said he couldn't really kneel on the rocks, and showed her the ring anyway.
Jennifer Stevens had never walked a long-distance trail when she shouldered an 18-kilogram pack and set off alone into the Scottish Highlands. What she found on the West Highland Way was something no video had prepared her for.
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