DaveWalks.co.uk
This is the story of my walk
I had an absolutely fantastic time completing this walk – and it was a pleasure to be able to share my videos along the way.
Here I have written a short journal about my experience along the way – I hope you have an much fun reading it as I did walking it and writing about it!
Don’t forget to check out my image gallery with some of the photographs I took along the way:
And if you haven’t yet, please consider donating. The whole walk was to raise funds for Cancer Research UK – the fundraising page is still open and you can find it here:
David McKellar is fundraising for Cancer Research UK (justgiving.com)
Thank you and enjoy the story of my walk…..
Jump to a section:
1
Day One – Monday – 13th May 2024
Day One started out from my home just over 8 miles from Milngavie and the beginning of the West Highland Way. I set out on an overcast but dry morning and had a lovely walk down through the Torrance Golf Course, over the River Kelvin and along to Milngavie, arriving there in 2 hours 30 minutes, just in time for lunch.
After a sausage roll and a quick video to update everyone I set off along the West Highland Way. The first part runs through the back of Milngavie, and around Mugdock country park. From there it is quite flat along past Glengoyne distillery and towards Drymen. Just when I thought it was going so well I reached Gartness road, where I found the first honest box of the route. I’m so glad I stopped as a Coca-Cola and a Cornetto later I was heading out of Gartness and finding the first uphill section of any note on the way.
No matter though, I was keen to get to Drymen and after a short excursion across a farmers field (definitely part of the route) I was walking into Drymen for 6pm.
I really felt my luck was in, as no sooner had I arrived at the front door of my hotel and the rain started, and just got heavier and heavier. I got checked in and my wife came and took me for dinner in Drymen on my first night! A great end to a great first day.
2
Day Two – Tuesday – 14th May 2024
After a lovely night in the Buchanan Arms Hotel I set out this morning heading for Inversnaid. This was due to be a slightly longer day than yesterday but looking at the charts I wasn’t too worried…..
The morning started wetter than yesterday as the rain hadn’t yet cleared, but nothing too serious. No need to break out the shorts just yet though! The first section out and over Conic Hill toward Balmaha was lovely. The path of the West Highland Way crosses Conic Hill around two-thirds of the way up, so I made sure I took the time to walk up the extra third to the top. I had planned to make a little video up there but the really stong wind put a stop to that; I did at least get a photograph to show I’d made it to the top!
The route dropped back down into Balmaha and I was feeling it was time for tea and a biscuit – although maybe I’d have pushed on if I knew what was next. I set out from Balmaha at 12.30pm feeling good about my progress
The next section of the route was the beginning of the walk along the shores of Loch Lomond. It took me out of Balmaha and up to a nice viewing point before dropping back down to a beach at Loch Lomond, from where it followed along the shores and banks of the Loch for a distance. At first the paths were easy to walk and along the shoreline was relatively flat but soon the paths got narrower and rockier and as the path moved away from the immediate Lochside more elevation change definitely slowed my pace. I didn’t arrive in Rowardennan until just after 4pm, over an hour later than I had been expecting. I had a quick lunch / dinner in the Rowardennan Hotel but wanted to get away as quick as I could as I was getting worried the next section up to Inversnaid would also take me much longer than I had expected.
The section to Inversnaid was just as tough going as it was to Rowardennan, the path is narrow and rocky, with frequent short but steep elevation changes. These would climb up away from the Loch edge to avoid rocks or a waterfall flowing into the Loch, only to drop back down again shortly after. This was the story of the walk the entire way from Rowardennan to Inversnaid and it took me 3 hours to complete, rather than the 2 hours 30 I was expecting.
The rain had also came on a lot heavier and more persistently for the final 45 minutes or so, meaning I arrived me into Inversnaid approaching 8pm in the evening, tired and soaked through!
I had been walking for around 8 and-a-half hours by now and I was just delighted to get there. I also got to spend the rest of the evening gazing out of the window at Loch Lomond, and the little jetty where my wife and I got engaged back in 2017! Happy memories.
3
Day Three – Wednesday – 15th May 2024
Day Three began with breakfast and an early start in the Inversnaid Hotel. I was really worried about today – I already knew that it was going to be the longest day of the entire journey, and had expected it to take me eight hours to complete. But I had taken an hour longer than I expected yesterday, and if I kept up that pace I could be looking at a 10 or 10 and-a-half-hour day today!
Not wanting to get to Bridge of Orchy at 8pm or later I was up and away from Inversnaid at 9am on the Wednesday morning. The weather though was much brighter – sunshine with only the occasional cloud, not a drop of rain and no breeze or wind to contend with – lovely!
The first section of the day was from Inversnaid up to Inverarnan at the top of Loch Lomond, and this proved to be just as challenging as the section along the Lochside had been yesterday. I had hoped to complete this in around 2 hours 30 minutes but was just over 3 hours when I reached Inverarnan. Not wanting to waste any time I stopped very briefly to grab a drink and then headed immediately back onto the path headed for Tyndrum. Target time to Tyndrum was another 4 hours
2 hours later and after walking through some gorgeous countryside in the beautiful sunshine I arrived at the signpost for Tyndrum or Crianlarich. This point marks the half way point of the West Highland Way and there were a group of people stopped at this point congratulating each other. I got some horrified looks when I explained I wasn’t yet half way done as I had another 80 miles past the end of the West Highland Way and wouldn’t reach my half-way point until 2 days later!
Crianlarich isn’t officially on the West Highland Way, but there are absolutely no facilities between Inverarnan and Crianlarich or Tyndrum, so many people take the opportunity to divert off the path to Crianlarich for supplies. Crianlarich itself is around a mile from the marker post which would have added around 20-25 minutes each way (plus whatever time I spend in Crianlarich itself) to my time for the day. As I was already worried about my arrival time in Bridge of Orchy I decided I couldn’t afford the detour and pushed straight on for Tyndrum.
The next two hours were much the same as the previous two, gorgeous scenery and uninterrupted sunshine leading to very warm temperatures (it peaked around 23C / 73F today) and I arrived in Tyndrum after four hours of walking (plus a couple of brief breaks along the way) I was relieved to have made it through this long section in exactly the time I had expected and I enjoyed my rest stop in Tyndrum much more because of it! Although, with no facilities since Inverarnan, I desperately needed the rest and the sit down when I got there!
After a rest and some food in Tyndrum (thank you Green Welly Stop) I was back on the road to Bridge of Orchy. After a brief but not too taxing (as I had just been fed and watered) climb out of Tyndrum the path opened out into a nice wide glen to walk along, mostly in sight of the railway line leading along to Bridge of Orchy. I really enjoyed this section as I was feeling much better about the time it had taken me between Inverarnan and Tyndrum and the path was much, much better, with no more scrambling over rocks and boulders at the Lochside.
It was so much better that I made it to Bridge of Orchy in 2 hours 30 minutes, 30 minutes quicker than I had been expecting to take. This meant in total I had been walking for 9 and-a-half hours (not including breaks) – better than I had feared this morning! I was feeling so good when I got to the hotel I sat outside and ordered my dinner before heading up to my room – and then wished I had done it the other way around as the view from the hotel room was absolutely spectacular – check it out in the gallery section here!
Straight off to bed though as tomorrow begins with a steep uphill climb away from Bridge of Orchy before a downhill to Inveroran! If the weather stays as good though I might even get to use my shorts!
4
Day Four – Thursday – 16th May 2024
Firstly I can thoroughly recommend the Bridge of Orchy hotel! The dinner was lovely, the views from my room amazing and the breakfast was terrific, with a balcony on their dining room overlooking the next section of the West Highland Way uphill from just behind the hotel!
Setting out from Bridge of Orchy after a good nights sleep and having had my breakfast I made much lighter work of the uphill section than I expected! I was soon on the descent back into Inveroran and arrived there a few minutes ahead of what I expected. The had been a little misty when I set out today but I decided to risk it and wore shorts – I was very glad I did as soon the cloud wore off and it was inbroken sunshine for the rest of the day.
Having got to Inveroran earlier than I expected this gave me the drive to press on and I was soon back uphill again crossing the moorland towards Kingshouse. I was beginning to really enjoy this walk as the paths had been much better since leaving behind the lochside section at Loch Lomond, and I had completed the longest day yesterday, which I had been really nervous about since deciding to do this walk and setting my itinerary.
The walk over the moors was lovely and I arrived in Kingshouse sooner than expected, in glorious sunshine and feeling really great! I had a great lunch there and shared a table with a lovely Canadian couple visiting Scotland on holiday. The husband turned out to be a Cancer Research scientist back home in Canada – what an amazing coincidence of all the people there that day that I should sit next to!
After lunch I was off to do the Devils Staircase – I had thought this was right outside the Kingshouse Hotel, but it is actually about an hours walk along fairly flat ground to reach the bottom. By now it was mid afternoon and I was climbing in the days peak temperature of 24-25C / 75-77F – it was really steep and the hot temperature really took it’s toll. I had to stop what I thought was around half way up for a rest. No matter though as I was ahead of schedule and feeling good. I felt even better around 15 minutes later when I reached the top – turns out I had been much closer to the top than I realised when I stopped!
I got a passer by to take a picture of me and my money tin at the top of the Staircase looking back down into the Glen below towards Kingshouse and then it was onto the next section of the path, along the top of the pass, before the long but steep descent down into Kinlochleven.
The descent down took a while – longer than I expected – but I was feeling relaxed as I was ahead of schedule and had a shorter day than the previous two had been, so I was under no time pressure to get to my overnight stop in Kinlochleven. I took my time and arrived there feeling good at just before 7pm in the evening.
I was there so early and refreshed I had time for a stroll into Kinlochleven before heading back to the hotel for dinner – and I wasn’t disappointed again as I got to eat dinner as the sun began to set over the most incredible view over Loch Leven – check the pictures from today out here!
5
Day Five – Friday – 17th May 2024
The final day of the West Highland Way!
Today started with breakfast in the MacDonald hotel in Kinlochleven, overlooking the same amazing view I had at dinnertime last night. Today is a shorter day, but like the section from Inverarnan to Tyndrum on day 3 there are absolutely no facilities along the way. I wasn’t under any time pressure again today so I took the time to head along back into Kinlochleven and get a packed lunch and some extra juice and water for the walk today – the temperature again was 22C / 71F – so I wanted to make sure I had as much as I needed!
The walk starts with a very steep, long uphill climb out of Kinlochleven. This feels almost as steep as the Devils Staircase was yesterday, although it does climb up through the woodland, which gave some welcome shelter from the Sun, and the stiff breeze that was blowing through the Glen as I set off. The energy sapping climb meant I was really conscious of the extra weight in the bag though!
The difficult climb up is rewarded though as upon reaching the top I was rewarded with a lovely view back down towards Kinlochleven – pictures are in todays gallery – available here.
After that the path follows a lonely path along an enclosed Glen, with no roads or railways running alongside it. When walking along here I could not see another person along the path, it was easy to feel like the only person on the planet heading along here. The path is really nice though and I really enjoyed this part of the walk.
There was very little shelter though and when I thought I was around two-thirds of the way there I was considering stopping for lunch when I reached a sign saying I had reached the mid-point between Kinlochleven and Fort William. I decided to keep going a little further, hoping that I would come across a nice spot with some shade to stop and have lunch. My patience was rewarded as around half an hour later the path descended into a small wooded area and I found the perfect spot alongside a little stream to stop. It was absolutely blissful to sit there and I was lucky enough that after sitting there for a while I was passed by a walker going in the opposite. They were kind enough to take my photo sitting under the tree, and I made sure to take one of my spectacular view from my picnic spot!
After setting off again the path eventually winds it way down towards Fort William. However, I found the final section to be a bit uninspiring! The West Highland Way ends by leading you out and along the pavement on a 60 miles-per-hour road through the outskirts of Fort William towards the town centre. After such a lovely peaceful walk along the Glen it felt like there must be a more scenic path down to Fort William, but I guess it wouldn’t then be the “correct” West Highland Way!
I arrived in Fort William feeling good though and made it to the Official End of the West Highland Way signpost. Stopping to take a photo and make a little video I was then off back along Fort William High Street towards my hotel, stopping only for an Ice Cream cone to celebrate on the way!
Was feeling delighted to have made it this far – and was now past the half way point of the whole walk! At 182 miles I needed 91 miles to get to half way and I reached that shortly after leaving Kinlochleven this morning where I took the photograph looking back down towards the town.
I had a day off booked in Fort William on the Saturday before setting out again for Inverness along the Great Glen Way on Sunday 19th May!
6
Day Six – Sunday – 19th May 2024
The first day of the Great Glen Way!
I had looked into the route of the end of the West Highland Way on Saturday and discovered there was a path leading around “Cow Hill” which would bring you out in the centre of town, although this would shorten the route slightly. I had a much shorter day today so I decided to go and see this in the morning. I wanted to know what it was like as it was described as having great views down to Fort William and over Loch Linnhe. The path is lovely and the climb up to the top not too challenging. I’m glad I did this as I got a lovely picture of me overlooking Fort William with Caol in the background.
The path would be a lovely way to finish the West Highland Way, but this would involve altering the route, and would stop the walkers from having to walk past all the B&Bs, hotels and Pubs in Fort William, which I’m sure rely on their passing trade!
The shorter day today though was because I had found what I hoped would be the most amazing place to stop at overnight. Nadurra But & Bed was a little self contained holiday pod in Gairlochy, next to Loch Lochy. There is very little accommodation here so I was very lucky it was available and wanted to take full advantage. As there are no other facilities though I needed to carry all my provisions for that evening and the next morning with me, so I was back to a much heavier bag today!
I set out at lunchtime to begin from the End of the West Highland Way – walking along the 1/4 mile to the start of the Great Glen Way. The path starts through the outskirts of Fort William, heading into Caol and around to the Caledonian Canal and up to Gairlochy for my stop off. It was lovely path mainly along canal towpath which was easy to walk on, although I was slower than I expected due to the heavy, heavy bag.
The path takes a route right around the outside of the village of Caol, which struck me as strange as it would be much quicker (and more direct) to go through the middle and come out on the canal bank. Having walked it though I can now see why it doesn’t do this. The walk around the periphery gives amazing views back over Loch Linnhe towards Fort William. It then joins the Caledonian Canal path at the locks where it enters the loch, this spot is very pretty indeed. While the walk straight through Caol might be shorter, it is definitely not as picturesque as this. Definitely worth the extra steps!
I stopped off at The Lochy pub for a late lunch and a drink, where the people were lovely and insisted on buying me lunch as I was walking for charity (I put the money I would have paid for lunch in the charity tin instead!) This was a lovely gesture and I had a great lunch here before heading on for Gairlochy. The path was flat canal towpath the entire way, but I was still glad to get to Gairlochy and Nadurra and take the heavy bag off my shoulders!
The Nadurra But & Ben was every bit as spectacular as I had hoped and I spent the evening sitting out on it’s terrace with it’s firepit lit, watching the shadows lengthen in the Glen as the sun descended and Ben Nevis disappeared into the black night sky. It was awesome.
7
Day Seven – Monday – 20th May 2024
The new longest day!
The sunrise in Nadurra was as beautiful as the sunset had been the night before. I should have been getting ready to leave but instead I sat back outside watching the sunrise light up the Glen in front of me for hours! Pictures of the view are in the gallery – click here.
Today was set to be the joint longest day of the whole journey (along with day 3 when I really struggled on the West Highland Way) and I was a bit apprehensive as it was to be lochside walking again along Loch Lochy in the morning and Loch Oich in the afternoon. I should have set off early but I was enjoying Nadurra so much I stayed every last minute I could until the cleaners turned up at check out time and I had to leave!
The first morning section went really well. Loch Lochy had beautiful scenery and although the path doesn’t walk right alongside the Loch, the pathway is much easier going than it was along Loch Lomond. I even found a beach which I had time to stop and have a juice on and take some pictures – although I had to share the beach with some bears!
I arrived for lunch at Laggan Locks after 4 hours, which is exactly what I expected. I had a nice lunch from the cabin at the locks and set off for Fort Augustus, the afternoon was to be along the side of Loch Oich and was slightly shorter, I expected to take around 3 hours 30 minutes to reach Fort Augustus.
I was soon in for a surprise though!
Shortly after leaving Laggan I came to a diversion sign. The Great Glen Way along the east of Loch Oich is closed due to forestry works in the area making it unsafe for walkers. A diversion has been put in place via the “Invergarry Link”
Following the Invergarry Link immediately introduced a significant incline and long ascent up into forestry tracks above the loch. This did allow for some spectacular views across Loch Oich from higher up than I had been at Loch Lochy this morning. This route continued until a descent back down into Invergarry to cross the River Garry.
Immediately after crossing the river there was a second, equally tough, steep ascent followed by a long walk through the forest above the Western Shore of the loch. The scenery remained equally good although views of the loch this afternoon were usually screened by the forestry I was walking though.
The diversion finally rejoins the Great Glen Way at Bridge of Oich around 4 and-a-half miles from Fort Augustus. From there it is a much flatter journey up the canal path of the Caledonian Canal, which is very pretty.
Overall the diversion added around 2.5 miles and 2 significant hill climbs to my day which I was not expecting. This meant the afternoon took me over an hour longer than I expected and I arrived in Fort Augustus just after 8.30pm
I am definitely not complaining though, as the paths were good, the scenery was spectacular and most importantly, I made it to Fort Augustus!
The hotel in Fort Augustus was lovely (the Lovat) and I went to bed feeling tired, but glad that such a long day was now behind me. Overall it had ended up being over 27 and-a-half miles today! I am now over 75% of the way there though! I’ve added a total of 49 miles since the 91 miles after Kinlochleven, meaning I’m now at 140 miles completed (not counting the extra 2.5 mile detour today!) with only 43 miles to go
Hoping to get another 23 miles completed tomorrow!
8
Day Eight – Tuesday – 21st May 2024
The penultimate day!
Another absolutely beautiful morning this morning – gorgeous sunshine from first thing this morning saw me put shorts back on for the walk today. Heading out from Fort Augustus gave me the first view of Loch Ness. The day was split into two sections – the first one quite short (9 miles) to Invermoriston followed by a longer section (14 miles) in the afternoon to be in Drumnadrochit for my overnight stop.
After a great breakfast in the Lovat Hotel I hung about Fort Augustus for a bit to watch a boat navigate it’s way through several locks, before the main road through Fort Augustus was swung out of the way and the boat could sail on into Loch Ness – it was quite a sight to watch, I was mesmerised for at least half an hour!
The first section was lovely, and with nice scenery I made light work of it and was in Invermoriston to have a photo at the bridge over the River Moriston at lunchtime. After a lovely rest stop in the Glen Rowan Cafe where they again refused to take any money from me (it went in the collections tin instead!) it was back out onto the path.
There is a steep climb up required out of Invermoriston followed immediately by a choice – did I want to take the “Low Route” thriugh the trees and along the banks of Loch Ness (very similar in scenery to this bit I’d just done between Fort Augustus and Invermorriston) or did I want to take the “High Route” which trailled high up onto the hillside but apparantly offered spectacular views along Loch Ness. Having just finished my lunch and feeling energetic I decided to go for the High Route.
And I am absolutely delighted with my choice. The route begins with another looong climb up and away from Invermorriston, it didn’t feel overly steep but did seem to go on for a very long time. First there is an unusual sculpture which is designed to be like a viewfinder, and was interesting to get a photograph next to it. Eventually though the path clears out the top of the trees and the rewards are incredible.
A view is offered which stretches along the Loch for as gar as the eye can see, and when you can see no more loch I could just pick out through the haze of the afternoon sunshine the outline of Ben Nevis in the backgroud. It truly was a spectacular sight and well worth the extra effort of the climb.
I took two videos and loads of photographs at the highest points in this walk. The videos are available on the My Progress section and the photos are in Tuesdays photo gallery.
Beyond that the path slowly wound it’s way back down towards Drumnadrochit through Woodland, Farmland and Moorland so there was quite an array of scenery on show. It did begin to feel like the descent was taking forever as it is definitely a lot slower on the way down that in was on the way up.
The paths today were fantastic again, and I really enjoyed the walk today, and was absolutely delighted to have chosen to take the higher route! They paths have all been well maintained, easy to walk on, well constructed paths with little in the way of tree roots to disturb the path or boulders and rocks to scramble over. Even on my detour I found the paths to be well constructed, the diversion seemed well thought out and was well signposted. I have really enjoyed walking on these pathways and I would highly recommend the Great Glen Way for anyone looking to do a long distance trail, or even just a short section of one. The ability to choose how strenuous you would like the route to be (yet still end up in the same destination, with very similar distances) seems an inspired piece of thinking!
Once I arrived in Drumnadrochit my hotel, the Loch Ness Inn was great, and having arrived in plenty of time I went for a stroll around and was able to get some dinner before heading back to prepare for my final day tomorrow.
9
Day Nine – Wednesday – 22nd May 2024
The final day – Will I make it all the way to Inverness?!
YES !
I started out with a much greyer day today, and looking like it could rain at any moment. It was similar to the final stage of the West Highland Way in that there are no facilities on the way, it is done in a single stage and I will need to carry everything with me that I will need that day.
Having had a nice breakfast in the Loch Ness Inn I headed to Drumnadrochit to collect lunch and supplies for todays walk. It is also the first day of the Great Glen Way that doesn’t follow the lochside or canal-side path, moving instead more inland away from Loch Ness before dropping back down towards Inverness. I had hoped to cover the route in around 7 hours.
The route from Drumnadrochit starts with a walk through the town (similar to the walk through Fort William on the West Highland Way). However, on reaching the end of Drumnadrochit the route contiunes along the pavment adjacent to the A82. This meant the lorries and buses using that road are going by at speed – it seemed out of place compared with the rest of the route.
Eventually the route turns off the A82 and across some farmland, where the ascent begins. This is exactly what I was expecting – a very long, continuous uphill section which I really struggled with, and at points thought I would never reach the end of! The extra weight in the bag felt so much more than it did in the shops this morning! The path winds it’s way up through the farmland and continues onto some very dense forest, eventually opening out onto a wider track which continues up until eventually reaching a viewing area looking over Loch Ness. I assumed this would mark the top – but I was wrong! This is simply the last chance to view Loch Ness, the track now veers left away from the Loch and inland, still uphill, into moorland.
Eventually I reached a sign informing me of a choice, continue along the original Great Glen Way or take a short detour which takes me to the highest point on the walk today and a viewing point at Carn na Leitire, where the views should be spectacular. Having climbed this far I decided to push on and go for it and climbed up to the viewing point.
And when I got there I saw absolutely nothing! By now the weather and mist had really closed in and I could see very little in any direction! I’m very glad I chose to do the climb though or I would be writing this conclusion while wondering what I could have seen from the top! I did take some pictures from the top and along the route today and you can check them out here.
Following the detour the route takes a sharp descent to re-join the original Great Glen Way and then continues on through some woodland until another road is reached. This was a narrow minor road with no pavement. The route turns left and follows this road for a considerable distance. It follows it for so far (without any signposts confirming it is still the Great Glen Way) that more than once I stopped to look at my own tracker page on DaveWalks.co.uk to make sure I was actually still on the Great Glen Way. These road sections felt very out of place an feel as though they could do with a bit of a re-think; with so much beautiful countryside on offer there simply must be a better solution than this!
Eventually, the route turns off the road and onto a gravel path running alongside the road. The two soon separate and the gravel path heads over a final small hill and the begins it’s long descent down into Inverness. By this point the rain had started and the mist took away any views down from the hillside.
The path winds it’s way down the hillside to the outskirts of Inverness, passing through 2 newish housing schemes on the way, before finally crossing the Caledonian Canal followed by the River Ness. The final steps of the walk are taken going North along the banks of the River towards the City centre before the very short uphill section finishes underneath the castle at the official finishing post.
The scenery wasn’t as breath-taking towards the end but this was partly due to the weather. It had really started to rain in the final 90 minutes towards Inverness and I was absolutely soaked through by the time I reached the finishing post beside Inverness Castle. I really couldn’t have cared less though, it was all for such a great cause and I was so delighted to be there it did not matter to me in the slightest that it was raining – the most important thing was that I had made it!
After getting a photo at the finishing line it was soon off to the hotel to record my finish-line message from inside the hotel looking out to the Castle!
I had an absolute pleasure doing this walk and I hope you have enjoyed reading about it as much as I have enjoyed writing about it. Don’t forget to check out the image gallery here for all the pictures along the way, and if you haven’t yet done it, the donations page is still open and you can click to donate right here: David McKellar is fundraising for Cancer Research UK (justgiving.com)
THANK YOU!