You walk into awesomeness

Christian Meermann, landscape photographer

The trail is just breathtaking. The landscape is magnificent even when the weather is bad. I walked it north to south from Fort William to Glasgow, and every step north of Conic Hill was spectacular. In hindsight I’d have walked it the ‘normal’ way, south to north, because then you walk into awesomeness rather than out of it. The southern stuff is all very lovely but it’s the drama further north that takes your breath away.

You should definitely walk it later in the summer. You’ll still get long, warm days but you’ll avoid the midges.

As a photographer I expected mountains and interesting cloud formations, and I found those. But even when the weather was dark and moody, it just helped to make my photos interesting and powerful.

A word on fitness: I am by no means an athletic walker and I found it very strenuous. I’d recommend a bit of training before embarking on it, but if you’re a regular walker and reasonably fit, you will love it.” See Christian’s striking images of the West Highland Way at www.chm-photography.com