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West Highland Way
  • Steve Partington
  • Steve Partington

West Highland Way

Imagining scenery and sunshine. Expecting fog and rain. Read more
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  • Trip start
    March 21, 2026
    Steve PartingtonWest Highland WayTraveler
    1

    Milngavie to Killearn

    March 21 in Scotland ☁️ 11 °C

    Despite the Steam Packet’s best efforts to disrupt my plans with a low tide delay (you think they’d have a tide table) I had a smooth journey. Flat calm crossing and all trains on time got me to Milngavie (pronounced Mill Guy) late afternoon.
    A quick sandwich and a dash round the supermarket and I was off. It’s been a beautiful day which I fear will be scarce from now on, so I decided to get a few miles along the route before finding somewhere scenic to camp.
    Tip of the day - don’t carry on until it is dark. I found a perfect spot but it already had two tents on it, so I carried on. There’ll be another round the corner. Well, about an hour later I opted for the corner of a scrubby field. It’s not flat and I put my tent up with the doorway facing the hedge. Basic camping errors.
    My old Vango tent had served me well, but I have invested in a smaller, lighter, fancier one-man design. It is very small. Perhaps too small? The next few days will decide.
    Anyway the forecast is ok for tomorrow, but not too clever from then on. Hopefully get an early start and just see where I get to. Somewhere flat would be nice.    Read more

  • Steve PartingtonWest Highland WayTraveler

    Loch Lomond

    March 22 in Scotland ☁️ 7 °C

    Long day today. This was to make the most of the nice weather. I keep hearing people talk of snow later in the week…
    Anyway it was a bit grey when I set out at 8am. Had a pot of tea and a sausage bap at Drymen before the section to Conic Hill.
    It was Sunday and it was really busy. Stone steps were tough on the way down, especially with dogs, toddlers and family groups. I got stuck behind two ladies.
    “No, no. Take it from me, you want to ditch the black and go for dark brown with gold.’
    At the bottom about 200m into the 3km climb, a small boy was sitting on a rock and shaking his head at his mum.
    ‘No, I’m too tired to go further until I’ve eaten my crisps.’
    Four hours later, I’d have said the same to my mum.
    From Balmaha it has been a long afternoon walking up the eastern shore of Loch Lomond. There is a ‘no camping zone’ for much of the way, so I wanted to get clear of that before finding a spot for the night. It meant pushing on further than my legs wanted to. About an hour to go, I was flagging and stopped for about ten minutes. I ate two hot cross buns that I had in my bag and instantly felt better.
    Good (flat) camping spot on a bluff above the Loch. I have had chicken noodles, pancakes, hot chocolate and cramp.    Read more

  • Steve PartingtonWest Highland WayTraveler

    Bridge of Orchy

    March 23 in Scotland 🌧 6 °C

    Woken by a woodpecker and L eft early after an ok night in the coffin tent. It was a beautiful spot, high above the Loch in an oak wood.
    Progress along the loch was slow - up and down rock steps and I was a bit jelly-legged. I had 10km to a cafe where I was all set for breakfast. The sign on the door said ‘ Closed until after lunch’!
    Nice walking alongside a river with numerous bridges, just mentally moving my breakfast to brunch at Crianlarich. Except that the route doesn’t go there but stays high above in the forest.
    Another six miles to dream of lunch at Tyndrum (Japan’s best album? I think so).
    At the first cafe, I ordered a large haddock and chips with extra chips. As I ate (elegantly, not stuffing it in like a starving man), the rain started. It hammered down.
    I put my waterproofs on and set off on the six miles to Bridge of Orchy. The landscape opened up and the gravel track hugged the valley bottom with high grey mountains on either side.
    The rain hadn’t eased by the time I trudged into BoO. There was a railway station and a hotel and a few houses. The word on the internet was that there were good camping spots just over bridge. I disagree.
    Still, I found the flattest spot, in a slight hollow and put up my tent as fast as possible - to minimise how wet my rucksack was getting. As I was scooping rainwater out of the tent, a couple walking two spaniels said ‘if you fancy a cup of tea when you’re done, we’re the white camper van’.
    Of course I did. They welcomed me in and apologised for the wet dog smell. I duly apologised for the wet, unwashed smell that I’d brought to the party.
    Rich and Jen are from Devon on an annual tour of Scotland. They made me tea and we chatted for an hour while my sodden jacket dried in their bathroom. They were great fun and I’d have happily stayed the night. They didn’t offer.
    My tiny tent survived an incredible amount of rain and really battering wind that set in after 2am (I didn’t get masses of sleep - it was too noisy. At 6.30am after 12 hours of heavy rain, everything inside the tent was dry. No matter how small it is - it’s great.    Read more

  • Steve PartingtonWest Highland WayTraveler

    Kinlochleven

    March 24 in Scotland 🌧 4 °C

    After three nights wild camping and a wet forecast, I acted my age and booked a ‘mini pod’ in Kinlochleven for Tuesday night.
    This meant a 21 mile day, but in light of a wintry forecast for Wednesday, it would leave just 15 miles to Fort William.
    So, with the rain stopping just in time for me to pack away my tent and the lure of a shower beckoning, I set off with a spring in my step. The rain started again after 20 minutes and it set the tone for a rough day. Rannoch Moor was amazing. It was so remote and exposed. There was water everywhere. It was flooding the track and there were streams appearing on all sides. Even up here there was a lot of frogspawn in the path side ditches. The mountains were massive with snow on the northern slopes. The only facilities on this section were at Kingshouse Hotel. Except that there was a note on the door ‘Closed for private function’.
    The track then headed down Glencoe beside the busy road. The rain had not eased and I was wet. Next up was the infamous Devil’s Staircase climb to the highest point (same as North Barrule) on the route. It wasn’t as bad as I feared. Just lots of rocky hairpins. Over the top and it was a long, rocky descent towards Kinlochleven. My accommodation was great. Tiny but it had a heater and a kettle. The showers were so hot and there was a drying room. All I needed. I fell asleep for an hour then had a Chinese. There is snow on the cards for the final stretch into Fort William. Oh heck. NB Not too many photos today - it was hard keeping hands warm enough to get the phone out!    Read more

  • Steve PartingtonWest Highland WayTraveler
    1

    Fort William

    March 25 in Scotland ⛅ 5 °C

    The final day was just 15 miles, but the forecast for snow was slightly worrying. Not enough to interrupt a deep 8 hour sleep though.
    Checking out time was 10am, so I stayed as long as possible and set off at 10am. The first 20 mins was steep uphill and I caught a group of four half way up. I stayed with them to the top, as the snow began to fall. It had snowed overnight and the hills all around were white.
    I pushed on and the next three hours were the most memorable of the whole walk. I was climbing on a track that reminded me of Agneash track. The enormous mountains on either side were shrouded in cloud and the snow was settling on the track. I knew there was a lot of climbing ahead and I was concerned by two things. The grip on my boots was worn and any icy descents would be sketchy. Also, my gloves weren’t waterproof. My hands were already cold. Stop worrying Steve and enjoy the walk!
    After about half an hour the snow stopped and the sun came out. It lasted 25 minutes and it was magical. The landscape was incredible. The snow softened the surroundings and it was breathtaking. I was so lucky to experience such conditions. What a difference to the day before.
    I passed a few more walkers just before the track reached its highest point. The German lady who kindly took my photo agreed that it was an amazing day ‘Apart from having wet feet again’.
    As the track gradually descended, there was water everywhere. The route was like a stream in places. The drainage channels that crossed the path gradually got bigger and fuller and before long it was just impossible to get across without getting wet. Then the sky darkened ahead. The next shower was about to hit.
    Big fluffy snowflakes were coming head-on and it was really heavy. Head down, it was just a case of stomping on and waiting for it to pass. There was no ice, so my boots were on, but my hands weren’t faring so well. In the end, I stuffed them between my back and the padded back plate of my rucksack. It was uncomfortable, but effective.
    When the sun came out again, it was a real lift. The route was heading towards the finish, through young pine forest and rocky paths. I had a half bar (three blocks) of Yorkie, and decided not to eat any until 15km. Before then I saw a couple just ahead and decided that when I passed them, I would offer them a block each, so fostering a bit of last-day hiking camaraderie. Well, they turned out to be quick and by 15km I was still behind them. So, I just ate all three pieces. When I did pass them a few minutes later. I said ‘Hello, how’s it going?’. The man looked exhausted and said, ‘We’re really struggling for energy now, but should be able to make it’. It was biscuit and raisin. Nice.
    The final descent to Fort William gave a wonderful view of a sun-drenched Ben Nevis. As I walked the final few kms along the road into Fort William, guess what? It started raining.
    The West Highland Way had taken about four days. No blisters and no injuries. No slips or falls. Highly recommended.    Read more