PhotoScapes

A Photographic Travel Blog by Alexander Thorsten Blumenau

In the last week of April 1997 I went on a short trip to Scotland, to finally walk the West Highland Way. This long distance path stretches about 154 km (96 miles) from a small place called Milngavie on the outskirts of Glasgow, all the way up North into the Scottish Highlands to Fort William and Scotland’s highest Mountain, Ben Nevis. On the map to the right (click to enlarge) you can see the route and the places where I spent the nights – most of the time in my tent.

The path is well maintained, navigation in good weather is very easy, and there are lots of campsites along the way. Unfortunately, in the summer it is also well known to be very very crowded. Especially since most stretches of the path – exept the northern part of Loch Lomond – are within reach of roads and villages, one will encounter rather many day tourists. To avoid the peak season I started early in the year – and indeed this reduced the number of people I met to a maximum of 10 to 15 per day.

If conditions are good, You can easily walk the West Highland Way in 4 to 5 days. But there are many things and places to enjoy along the way. So it is certainly worth it if you allow for somewhat more time. I myself spent 9 days walking, and included the summit of Ben Nevis in my route.

Day 1 and day 2: Milngavie to Balmaha (32 km), and on to Craig Royston (17 km).

After my arrival at Glasgow airport I decided to spend the first two nights in a B&B in Balmaha at the southern shore of Loch Lomond. After the first night in the B&B the kind landlady gave me a lift back towards Glasgow to Milngavie, where I started walking.
Unfortunately, on the first two days the weather was mostly very grey and dull. Nevertheless, walking without a heavy backpack (most of my gear I left in Balmaha) can be pleasant in any kind of weather. The way on the first day led me through Mugdock Wood, past the Dumgoyne Destillery, Carbeth, Drymen and finally over Conic Hill to Balmaha at the Loch Lomond shore.

On the second day, after a second night in a warm bed, I left Balmaha early to prepare for a day with a heavy backpack, and thus much slower walking. On this day the path was following the Shore of the Loch, entering “Rob Roy Country”: many places are connected to stories about Robert Roy MacGregor (1671 – 1734), a Jacobite and Scottish hero.
In early afternoon I refilled my water bottles at the Rob Roy Bar at Rowardennan. Actually two locals tried hard to convince me to fill them with whisky! From there I went on to Craig Royston to put up my tent beneath Ben Lomond.