Jump to content

The West Highland Way


Lex

Recommended Posts

On 08/04/2014 at 08:22, MangoBroccoli said:

What's the best time of year to give this a go? The plan was always to go in April but it didn't even cross my mind to suggest another month.

I've got a lot of free time May-June but was thinking it may be heaving with folk trying to catch the good weather.

Just finished this the other day. Really enjoyed it, good experience.

 

Didn't expect it to take 4 years, though. Feet are killing me

Edited by MangoBroccoli
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
31 minutes ago, The Chlamydia Kid said:

Quite fancy giving this a bash maybe about August with my daughter.

I take it you need to book the digs in advance?

In about 5 minutes I'd say, it's got mad all over the North and West the last few years. Camping might be an idea.

Edited by welshbairn
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...
In about 5 minutes I'd say, it's got mad all over the North and West the last few years. Camping might be an idea.
Listened to BBC Out of Doors podcast today, Mark Stephen has walked this route for the 40th anniversary of the WHW.

I've never done it, and it's one of those things I always think "one day...".

Quick Google, and I've found a "specialist" offering a week-long package in May 2021 for £1,105 to stay in a rag-tag collection of hostels, cow barns and bus shelters.

Admittedly this is including bag transfer which I'm sure I'd probably pay handsomely for in my worst throes otherwise.

If I don't want to camp (I don't), any decent tips for booking to bring the cost of this into something approaching decency?

I should say, I'm paying a single supplement in the price above as I'm assuming I'll not be able to persuade any of my friends to join me in a 96-mile march into midge hell.

Alternatively this becomes £725 pp for All You Good Good People who can bear to share bedrooms with your intimate others or friends.

So a 52% premium to have your own personal space to weep into your sodden pack and regret your life choices every night, which seems a bargain to me.

Would very much like to walk this next year, would like to save my reckless spending decisions for other pressing matters such as the car I will likely need to buy next year.

Tips welcome!

Ps. Mark Stephen spoke about the stretch towards the northern end of Loch Lomond in the same disregard I hold for Princes St on Hogmanay. Can it be so bad?!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is if you follow the most conventional overnight stops of Balmaha and the Drovers Inn. The going isn't actually treacherous but it's the fact that you're making very slow progress at the end of a 20 mile day that sends people (including yours truly) into heads gone territory. If you stayed at Rowardennan or Inversnaid and cleared it earlier in a day then I doubt it would be an issue.

The best way to convince other people to forget the midges is to do it in the late spring, which is also the dry season for the west of Scotland.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Le Tout P'ti FC said:

Listened to BBC Out of Doors podcast today, Mark Stephen has walked this route for the 40th anniversary of the WHW.

I've never done it, and it's one of those things I always think "one day...".

Quick Google, and I've found a "specialist" offering a week-long package in May 2021 for £1,105 to stay in a rag-tag collection of hostels, cow barns and bus shelters.

Admittedly this is including bag transfer which I'm sure I'd probably pay handsomely for in my worst throes otherwise.

If I don't want to camp (I don't), any decent tips for booking to bring the cost of this into something approaching decency?

I should say, I'm paying a single supplement in the price above as I'm assuming I'll not be able to persuade any of my friends to join me in a 96-mile march into midge hell.

Alternatively this becomes £725 pp for All You Good Good People who can bear to share bedrooms with your intimate others or friends.

So a 52% premium to have your own personal space to weep into your sodden pack and regret your life choices every night, which seems a bargain to me.

Would very much like to walk this next year, would like to save my reckless spending decisions for other pressing matters such as the car I will likely need to buy next year.

Tips welcome!

Ps. Mark Stephen spoke about the stretch towards the northern end of Loch Lomond in the same disregard I hold for Princes St on Hogmanay. Can it be so bad?!

The last time I did it was about 4 years ago and think the average price for 3 of us doing it was 25 pound per person per night. Maybe harder just for yourself obviously but if I were you I would just plan your rough days and book around that to save a fair bit of cash. I would book a fair bit in advance though as some stops don't provide much in the way of accommodation so they get booked up quick. I didn't use the bag shuttle service as we packed light and usually ate out along the way so didnt bring much in the way of cooking stuff etc, dont think I even packed a sleeping bag as generally sheets are provided or can be rented at hostels. A lot of these hostel places have drying rooms as well if you get soaked. I assume covid has fucked the hostels so it would be hard to do it now without camping tbh unless you pay extra for hotels.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Aye £1k to do it seems a bit excessive. I did it in 4 days for charity a few years and organised accommodation for 15 of us and it wasnt anywhere near that.

Our stops were

Rowerdennan (youth hostel)
Tyndrum (tyndrum inn)
Kingshouse (think there is only one hotel)
Fort william (cant mind)

Did it all ourself and had bag carriers. Was very easy to organise as did it direct with hotels and wasnt expensive

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've done it 4 times, including in 4 days carrying full kit with a like minded idiot as well as in 7 days with my wife using a bag carrying service.

I found the ideal combo was doing it in 5 days using a bag carrying service. Enough for you to be feeling tired and like you've put in a good shift every day, but still very enjoyable.

The one piece of advice I give everyone is that if you want to be fresh enough to enjoy a few celebratory drinks in Fort William, the last day has to be Kinlochleven to FW (16 miles), rather than Kingshouse to FW (24 miles).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Forgot to add, my favoured route stops at Balmaha, Inverarnan, Inveroran, Kinlochleven, Fort William.

You can get a B&B/hotel in each of those places for £50/60 max even as single occupancy.

Another thing, the two main bag carrying services, AMS and Travel Lite are literally the same company. When you see their posters at the WHW stops, it's the same poster with a different logo. I paid by card with one and it showed up on my statement as the other!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've done it 4 times, including in 4 days carrying full kit with a like minded idiot as well as in 7 days with my wife using a bag carrying service.
I found the ideal combo was doing it in 5 days using a bag carrying service. Enough for you to be feeling tired and like you've put in a good shift every day, but still very enjoyable.
The one piece of advice I give everyone is that if you want to be fresh enough to enjoy a few celebratory drinks in Fort William, the last day has to be Kinlochleven to FW (16 miles), rather than Kingshouse to FW (24 miles).


Yeah we made the mistake of having our third day finishing in kingshouse. We were finished by 2pm as third day was only 16 odd miles. Ended up getting absolutely plastered. Some of the boys kept drinking till 5am then basically just picked up their bags and started walking with no sleep and absolutely hammered. It was pishing rain and they said it was a laugh for about 15 minutes then became a slog.

Still had a cracking night out in fort william after it
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, Aufc said:

 


Yeah we made the mistake of having our third day finishing in kingshouse. We were finished by 2pm as third day was only 16 odd miles. Ended up getting absolutely plastered. Some of the boys kept drinking till 5am then basically just picked up their bags and started walking with no sleep and absolutely hammered. It was pishing rain and they said it was a laugh for about 15 minutes then became a slog.

Still had a cracking night out in fort william after it

 

One time I arrived in Kingshouse about 5pm, pitched my tent in the small island in the river and went to the bar. It was during WC 2006 and there were two matches on the late afternoon/early evening. I sat and drank about 8 pints and numerous whiskys and by 10pm was blazing and stumbled back towards my tent in the dark. It was no longer a quick hop over a couple of boulders to my tent and I had to crawl through the river (only a few cm deep as weather had been glorious), before spewing in the tent porch and hauling myself, still soaking into my sleeping bag. I eventually began walking at midday, with in 26 c plus heat, with the worst hangover of my life. I got into FW just before midnight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, invergowrie arab said:

I suppose if people find camping and carrying their own kit too exhausting there is always the option of just driving it.

 

'I suppose if some people find running a marathon too exhausting, they could just drive it' logic there.

If/when I want something that's a real gruelling physical and mental challenge, I do something that fits the bill.

If I want an easy enough scenic 20 mile  walk per day walk with friends and 4 pints every night, I'll do the WHW.

It's not a look how experienced/tough I am cock measuring contest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 25/02/2017 at 02:38, sjc said:

Agree with this. I done it in 4 days with my parents when I was 13yo. The last day being 30+ miles to Milngavie being particularly exhausting. 

Take the 5th day and enjoy the scenery at a more leisurely pace would be my advice. 

Going the opposite direction and not having to look to Milngavie for sanctuary would be my advice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, Am Featha *****h Nan Clach said:

 

'I suppose if some people find running a marathon too exhausting, they could just drive it' logic there.

If/when I want something that's a real gruelling physical and mental challenge, I do something that fits the bill.

If I want an easy enough scenic 20 mile  walk per day walk with friends and 4 pints every night, I'll do the WHW.

It's not a look how experienced/tough I am cock measuring contest.

It's a long distance hiking trail. I would have thought at least some of the attraction was some form of self sufficiency.

Doing it with a backpack on isnt exactly the Marathon des Sables given tens of thousands of people of all ages manage it every year.

Each to their own though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...
48 minutes ago, hearthammer said:

Shown very recently on BBC Scotland.  May give pointers to anyone considering doing the walk.  Only changes i could see from 2003 when i did it was the facade of the Kingshouse hotel.  I don't remember it being so modern looking.

 

I watched both episodes and he did give a good guide to what happens, and has a dry sense of humour. Mind you he adds in a wee jaunt up Ben Lomond and Ben Nevis, which would have stopped me on Day 2! It has sent me back to revisit all the photos I gathered from my 2008 Walk. We did it via BnBs and hotels so Ian appears to have done most of it in overnight tent-again not for me nor the good lady!  Worth watching it on catch up etc.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Chapelhall chap said:

I watched both episodes and he did give a good guide to what happens, and has a dry sense of humour. Mind you he adds in a wee jaunt up Ben Lomond and Ben Nevis, which would have stopped me on Day 2! It has sent me back to revisit all the photos I gathered from my 2008 Walk. We did it via BnBs and hotels so Ian appears to have done most of it in overnight tent-again not for me nor the good lady!  Worth watching it on catch up etc.

 

Was talking to one of the guys i did the walk with.  He said Iain Robertson did the whole walk in 12 days (?), but that included, as you say, detours and climbs.  We did it in 5.  Milngavie to Rowardennan day 1, Rowardennan to Beinglas Farm (stayed in a wigwam), Beinglass to Bridge Of Orchy, BoO to Kingshouse then to Fort William day 5.  Stayed in hotels at each stop other than Beinglas.

Like you, i dug out the photos and relived all the happy times after the programme.  If only i was fit/able to consider doing it again.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...