The West Highland Way - Thoughts in Conclusion
The start of The West Highland Way at Milngavie
As is customary, we thought we would put together a few thoughts that may help in the planning & execution of walking The West Highland Way. Most of these points are pretty generic to long distance walking and are therefore much the same as in previous blogs we have written. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and the advice given is not exhaustive. The best form of research is other people’s blogs, guide books and using plain old common sense. Some of the advice and thoughts below may be repeated from the Planning & Preparation page at the start of this blog - apologies for that!
The walk itself
As walks go this promised a lot and did not fail to deliver. The first leg to Drymen gets an unfairly bad press in my opinion. The West Highland Way is a long distance walk and cannot deliver stunning scenery for the entire length of it. That being said, in my humble opinion there are no 'dull' sections, just parts that are not as magnificent as the others. During the Season (April to October) the route is notoriously busy however during the winter months (November in my case) I only saw 3 other people who were walking the route, and I did not see them until 3 miles from the finish. I just looked for a decent weather window and went for it - I'm glad I did. The route is extremely well way marked and with a bit of forethought can be split down into manageable chunks to fit whatever your stamina & walking pace.
Having now completed The West Highland Way it is fair to say that, whilst a shorter walk than ones we have completed before it certainly provides the walker with an ever changing variety of walking terrain, views & scenery and is jam packed full of historical interest.
Give it a go and see for yourself.
Planning and Accommodation
Unlike other long distance paths we have done before, we made the decision that as we were heading to Scotland at short notice that I would complete this walk solo. To that end we based ourselves near Balloch on Loch Lomond for the first 3 days walking then moved up the route to Crianlarich for the final 4 days. This worked very well and on most days Angie headed out with me at the start of the day and walked out to meet me at the end of the days walking. The accommodation itself, whilst of a different type met our needs perfectly and the entire 8 days arrangements, travel and logistics were seamless.
Kit & Medical
Medically, we used a fair bit of Vaseline on our feet and micro porous tape that resulted in no blisters. In a nutshell, each morning tape up any areas where you have had blisters appear in the past and then rub a light coating of Vaseline over the rest of each foot and in between your toes. It really does pay to rub your feet at night with some foot lotion and also buddy up getting your feet ready in the morning. No matter how much training you have done before the walk, your feet will hurt at some stage. When resting up or whilst having lunch, get the boots off and air your feet and change your socks if necessary.
After about 20 minutes walking have a stretch of the hamstrings, calves, groin and quads. Repeat this before and after any lengthy stop and on completion of the days walking. This stretching routine will pay dividends.
It goes without saying that a basic first aid kit is a must.
Rucksacks
Apart from your Boots this is the second most important piece of kit you have. Make sure it is comfortable and fits your needs. As stated earlier, we used a couple of Osprey Daysacks (with rain hoods) and these were just the job. One thing we would say is fill it up and test it out before you start - make sure it feels comfortable and get out and walk with the weight in it. Additionally, make sure you have dry-bags in your kit for those rainy days.
Water
There is a link below to Refill - a website giving information with regard to water refill points etc. Another thing you could do is just apply common sense - if you get the chance then top up. Cafes and shops you visit - they will more than likely help you out. Scotland has also adopted water fill up stations in villages and I saw evidence of these in Balmaha & Fort William.
Mapping
We carried the relevant OS Maps, two Compasses, a GPS and the West Highland Way guide book complete with hand drawn mapping. Suffice to say we did not get lost. Additionally, we have the OS Locate App on our phones and should the GPS have failed the App would give us a 6 figure Grid Reference which I could then plot on the relevant paper map. It pays to have a navigation back up system. Despite all of this, the route is so well signposted that it would be really difficult to lose your way in good visibility.
Useful Links
The West Highland Way Official Website - a must read for anybody thinking about undertaking this fabulous walk (and this blog of course!)
www.westhighlandway.org
Accuweather - a very good weather update service.
www.accuweather.com/en/gb/united-kingdom-weather
Refill - a national, practical tap water campaign to aid you in topping up your supply on route. Well worth "tapping in to" (nyuk, nyuk).
refill.org.uk
The walk itself
As walks go this promised a lot and did not fail to deliver. The first leg to Drymen gets an unfairly bad press in my opinion. The West Highland Way is a long distance walk and cannot deliver stunning scenery for the entire length of it. That being said, in my humble opinion there are no 'dull' sections, just parts that are not as magnificent as the others. During the Season (April to October) the route is notoriously busy however during the winter months (November in my case) I only saw 3 other people who were walking the route, and I did not see them until 3 miles from the finish. I just looked for a decent weather window and went for it - I'm glad I did. The route is extremely well way marked and with a bit of forethought can be split down into manageable chunks to fit whatever your stamina & walking pace.
Having now completed The West Highland Way it is fair to say that, whilst a shorter walk than ones we have completed before it certainly provides the walker with an ever changing variety of walking terrain, views & scenery and is jam packed full of historical interest.
Give it a go and see for yourself.
Planning and Accommodation
Unlike other long distance paths we have done before, we made the decision that as we were heading to Scotland at short notice that I would complete this walk solo. To that end we based ourselves near Balloch on Loch Lomond for the first 3 days walking then moved up the route to Crianlarich for the final 4 days. This worked very well and on most days Angie headed out with me at the start of the day and walked out to meet me at the end of the days walking. The accommodation itself, whilst of a different type met our needs perfectly and the entire 8 days arrangements, travel and logistics were seamless.
Kit & Medical
Medically, we used a fair bit of Vaseline on our feet and micro porous tape that resulted in no blisters. In a nutshell, each morning tape up any areas where you have had blisters appear in the past and then rub a light coating of Vaseline over the rest of each foot and in between your toes. It really does pay to rub your feet at night with some foot lotion and also buddy up getting your feet ready in the morning. No matter how much training you have done before the walk, your feet will hurt at some stage. When resting up or whilst having lunch, get the boots off and air your feet and change your socks if necessary.
After about 20 minutes walking have a stretch of the hamstrings, calves, groin and quads. Repeat this before and after any lengthy stop and on completion of the days walking. This stretching routine will pay dividends.
It goes without saying that a basic first aid kit is a must.
Rucksacks
Apart from your Boots this is the second most important piece of kit you have. Make sure it is comfortable and fits your needs. As stated earlier, we used a couple of Osprey Daysacks (with rain hoods) and these were just the job. One thing we would say is fill it up and test it out before you start - make sure it feels comfortable and get out and walk with the weight in it. Additionally, make sure you have dry-bags in your kit for those rainy days.
Water
There is a link below to Refill - a website giving information with regard to water refill points etc. Another thing you could do is just apply common sense - if you get the chance then top up. Cafes and shops you visit - they will more than likely help you out. Scotland has also adopted water fill up stations in villages and I saw evidence of these in Balmaha & Fort William.
Mapping
We carried the relevant OS Maps, two Compasses, a GPS and the West Highland Way guide book complete with hand drawn mapping. Suffice to say we did not get lost. Additionally, we have the OS Locate App on our phones and should the GPS have failed the App would give us a 6 figure Grid Reference which I could then plot on the relevant paper map. It pays to have a navigation back up system. Despite all of this, the route is so well signposted that it would be really difficult to lose your way in good visibility.
Useful Links
The West Highland Way Official Website - a must read for anybody thinking about undertaking this fabulous walk (and this blog of course!)
www.westhighlandway.org
Accuweather - a very good weather update service.
www.accuweather.com/en/gb/united-kingdom-weather
Refill - a national, practical tap water campaign to aid you in topping up your supply on route. Well worth "tapping in to" (nyuk, nyuk).
refill.org.uk