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Top Tips For Walking The West Highland Way in Scotland

Homepage > Top Tips For Walking The West Highland Way in Scotland

Walking the West Highland Way in Scotland is certainly an adventure. You will get to experience the true beauty of Scotland while walking along this long-distance walking trail. Some people walk it for a challenge while raising money for charity, while others just enjoy walking long-distance trails. Having recently walked the West Highland Way ourselves we have come up with our top tips for your own West Highland Way walking holiday.

We also have a popular post on preparing for the West Highland Way if you wish to read more about this great Scottish walking route.

Sue at the starting point in Milngavie
Sue at the starting point in Milngavie

Our 7 Top Tips For The West Highland Way

Carry Waterproofs

The West Highland Way is in Scotland, and it is well known that we don’t get the best weather here. Unless you are extremely lucky you will more than likely get rain at least once during your holiday. Although we had it pretty much every day! Make sure you are carrying a waterproof jacket, over trousers, bag cover etc to make sure your belongings (and you) don’t get wet. You won’t regret it.

Dinner in Drymen!
Dinner in Drymen!

Book your evening meals

In some of the overnight locations, you may find there are no other places to eat apart from where you are staying. We would advise that you should be booking a table for dinner in advance instead of just turning up. Otherwise, you may have a long wait for dinner if the places are busy.

Midge Advice

It is best to go prepared! We had Smidge spray, head nets, and mosi bracelets. I can’t say if they worked 100% but they certainly helped along the way keeping them at bay. Don’t let those darn midges annoy you, as they can really put a downer on your walking holiday.

View over Loch Lomond
View over Loch Lomond

Make Sure To Look Behind You!

Some of the best views may well be behind you while you are walking. So, every now and then turn around and look behind you. Especially walking up from the Arduli ferry crossing. The views of Loch Lomond are beautiful and should not be missed! Make sure you also take a power bank/batteries and spare memory cards for all the photos you take.

Blisters!

Make sure you take a stockpile of blister plasters, as there are few places along the way that sell them. We used them while away (although we had pressure marks and not blisters) and they worked great. If you are out walking and don’t have any with you, then you may get another hiker handing you some. Everyone who walks the trail is always looking out for other hikers.

Posing along the West Highland Way
Posing along the West Highland Way

Hope It Rains

Okay, so not everyone likes rain, but rain can be a good thing. It can stop the midges coming out, which can be a welcome relief when the rain comes, and the midges hide. Also, even when it does rain the scenery is still very pretty and has a totally different look to it from when it is sunny.

Take Enough Supplies With You

Some of the overnight stops you may only have your accommodation and no shops. So, make sure you are ordering a packed lunch for while you are out walking along the way. Also, try and bring a selection of snacks to eat in your suitcase. This means you can then stock up your day bag each evening, or take some stock when you reach a shop in case you don’t find anything the next day.

Seated Walker in Fort William
Seated Walker in Fort William

We would also advise that you book as far in advance as possible as last-minute West Highland Way bookings can be very difficult to arrange.

If you are interested in booking our West Highland Way walking holiday then head to the tour page or contact us for more information.

We are always happy to help.

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