SCOTTISH HIKES
Scenic West Highland Way attracts mountaineers, but it’s fine for first time-walkers, too
Scotland has more than two dozen official longdistance trails through moors, peat bogs and forests. We chose one of the most popular, the West Highland Way.
As first-time walkers in Scotland, my companion and I used a travel company to plan our route, book accommodations and arrange baggage transfers. But we met others who used baggage services and booked their own lodging, along with folks who camped out.
Like the wildly variable Scotland landscape, there’s no end of ways to enjoy the walks.
Walkers we met were a disparate bunch: young Swiss backpackers; mountaineers from Virginia; a Swedish mother with teenage daughters; a Scottish couple, world travellers but out to see more of their own country; an extended family from England ages 16 to 50; and a Louisiana couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. We were mid-50s professionals out for adventure.
We took lots of walks at home to get ready. Knowing June could be rainy and cold, we tested gear beforehand.
Our essentials were good boots, breathable rain jackets, rain pants or shorts, and wool or suitable base layers (no cotton!).
A runner recently set a record walking the West Highland way in under 14 hours. We did the standard itinerary: 150 kilometres in seven days.
The daily itinerary
Day One: Milngavie to Drymen, 19 km
Our first, lovely day transitions from Milngavie, a small town north of Glasgow, into a pastoral landscape dotted with sheep and cows, mossy stone walls and livestock gates. The peaceful walking is on mostly well-worn trails and roads. We stop into Glengoyne distillery for a wee dram, then on to Drymen. We eat that night at the Clachan Inn, licensed in 1734, seated next to a couple who reappear on Day Three to save us in an uncertain moment. We’re soundly asleep by 8 p.m.
Day Two: Drymen to Rowardennan, 22.5 km
It’s pouring rain through moors and forests, then up and steeply down Conic Hill on the boundary fault separating lowland Scotland from the highlands. In good weather, it has glorious views of Loch Lomond (loch means lake). We lunch in Balmaha, a popular resort town, and continue on the rocky lakeshore path toward the Rowardennan Hotel, a rustic lodge.