Copyright National Geographic
The West Highland Way in Scotland stretches 96 miles across the Highlands from Milngavie to Fort William. Considered by many to be a moderate-to-difficult trail due to steep ascents and occasionally technical terrain, roughly 45,000 hikers attempt to complete the trail each year, with about the same number tackling individual stages or sections. As the country’s first and most popular waymarked trail, it has become a wildly important cornerstone of the communities along the route over the past 45 years since it opened on October 6, 1980. The West Highland Way Trust, a non-profit charged with protecting and maintaining the trail, estimates that the trail contributes roughly $26.6 million annually to Scotland’s rural economy. “The continued growth in popularity of the West Highland Way represents an opportunity for all,” says Kenny Auld, head of Visitor Services for Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority. “Everyone who benefits from the route, whether hikers, partners, or hundreds of businesses such as hostels and baggage handling services, has a responsibility to help protect and maintain it, whether those benefits are physical, social, or economic.” Unfortunately, I didn’t have the usual six to eight days to hike the entire trail. So, I decided to tackle about a third of it in just two days by casually running the flats and descents from the Bridge of Orchy to Fort William. Seeing more in less time is just one of the many advantages of trail running on vacation. (Where to go for a beginner's gravel-biking adventure in Scotland.) Heading into the Highlands Although the West Highland Way begins on the outskirts of Glasgow, I want to get right into the thick of the Highlands. So I hop onto a ScotRail train at the Queen Street Station in Glasgow on a comfortably brisk afternoon for an easy two-and-a-half-hour journey to the Bridge of Orchy. When I arrive and the train pulls away, leaving me on the wooden platform with a duffel bag and my backpack for the trip, I’m charmed by the quiet and relative remoteness of my surroundings. There’s a drizzle, a gentle, cool breeze, and already the faint smell of the pine forests beckoning me into their natural playground. I can’t help but smile. The Bridge of Orchy Hotel—which gets its name from the stone bridge in Orchy—sits just around the corner from the train station. Following the Battle of Culloden in 1746—the last pitched battle on British soil—the British government built military roads between the Scottish Lowlands and Highlands to move its forces quickly throughout the region. Today, the hotel and village of about 150 are a mainstay of the West Highland Way. (Hiking in the Scottish Highlands: Expert tips on five challenging routes to the peaks.) Leaving civilization I grab breakfast as early as possible to start my day on the trail by 8 a.m. There are limited options for food or drink along this stretch of the West Highland Way, so the Bridge of Orchy Hotel offers packed lunches for backpackers. I add the cheese sandwich and crisps to my fastpack alongside my mix of energy gels and Clif bars, then ditch my duffel bag in the lobby with Highland Transfers, a company that transfers luggage between hotels for hikers and cyclists. I warm up with a slow walk over the actual Bridge of Orchy, pausing to admire the roaring River Orchy underneath. But I don’t wait too long to start my mix of hiking and running to get the blood pumping. The rain is already spitting, and there’s no telling what you’re going to get with Scottish weather. This section of the West Highland Way quickly leaves the paved confines of civilization and turns into a single-track dirt path that cuts through knee-high green grass with splashes of purple-pink bell heather. Scots pines, the national tree of Scotland, dot the edges until I reach the open, rolling hills of the Highlands. (An eco-conscious adventure through the Scottish Highlands.) The Highland Clearances I was drawn to these sweeping, cinematic landscapes because they served as the filming location for movies like Braveheart. that were partly filmed here. But I now know that these scenes are a relatively new development. People have been clearing the land for farming and grazing for several centuries. They cut trees for timber, fuel, shipbuilding, and town construction during the Iron Age. More recently, there were the Highland Clearances of the 18th and 19th centuries. Landlords evicted tenant farmers so they could profit from sheep farming and later hunting estates. Sheep and deer overgrazed the land, preventing forests from regrowing, which is why much of the Highlands today appears as bare moorland rather than wooded hills. Today, several rewilding efforts are underway to restore some of the lost natural ecosystems. Ken Sinclair is a retired operations support officer for Scotland’s state forest service. He says charities like Trees for Life, led by the Dundreggan Rewilding Centre, are slowly converting forests back to their more native woodland with oaks, junipers, and aspens. “[They’re] letting the native woodland regenerate naturally to try and bring it back to a more ancient woodland,” he says. “It’s far better for the soil, the wildlife, and the animals. In the meantime, the occasional metal gate pops up to control livestock and deer along the West Highland Way. But they’re merely a brief reminder of the trail’s continued connection to the sheep farmer’s life. The gates quickly disappear behind me, with panoramic views of the highlands grabbing my attention. I often pause to stand on the edge and take it all in, especially as the clouds part and a rainbow appears. I feel like I can actually see the base and walk into the light. Minding the midges I wake up the next morning at a Blackwater Hostel in Kinlochleven, one of the largest villages along the West Highland Way, with roughly 800 inhabitants. Besides the hostel, there are a couple of inns, like the Highland Gateway Inn and Tailrace Inn, where you can spend the night and grab dinner or a pint for a traditional Scottish pub vibe, surrounded almost exclusively by fellow hikers with their backpacks resting in the corner near the entrance. My legs are feeling every bit of yesterday’s 21 miles and 3,100 feet of climbing. After packing up for the day, I head back down to the hostel reception to leave my duffel bag in storage for pick up and transfer later in the morning. Breakfast options are limited, so I grab a coffee and vegan cheese toastie at Leven Bites. There’s a thru-hiker waiting ahead of me, a gray-bearded solo trekker from the U.S. who teaches scuba diving in Thailand. He takes his order to go. I scarf mine down on a bench overlooking the River Leven, hurrying only to avoid the sudden onslaught of Scotland’s notorious midges. It just might be the question you’re bound to get most when hiking in Scotland: How were the midges? Indeed, the shops along the trail sell nets to protect your face while hiking. Visit Scotland devotes an entire page to preparing in advance for the small insects, including clothing tips (avoid dark colors), creams for treating bites, and popular repellent brands such as Avon Skin So Soft, Mosi-Guard, Mozpro, Jungle Formula, and Smidge. Fortunately, I’ve missed the brunt of the midges by traveling in early September and only came across them during my breakfast in Kinlochleven. Hiking to Fort Willam and beyond Back on the trail, I trudge up a winding, forested trail covered with rocks and roots until the landscape once again opens to a wide vista of rolling munros and streams. I pause on the damp, crushed gravel trail to admire the nearly 400-footSteall Waterfall spilling far in the distance, feeding the brooks that slide across the hillsides, under my feet, and further below to a rumbling river flowing over beds of rock and boulder. It’s some of the most stunning scenery I’ve come across in 15 years of travel. I finish my romp along the West Highland Way in Fort William after 15 miles of storybook trails. Fort William is, in many respects, the touristic heart of the Scottish outdoors, given its access to Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the United Kingdom. I officially end my run at The Wildcat, a cozy vegan café in the heart of Fort William’s pedestrianized High Street. I saddle up on a stool overlooking the street and tuck into a warm Cornish pasty and soul-soothing, hearty bowl of lentil soup. Although Fort William was the end of my trek on the West Highland Way, it is also the start of Scotland’s famed long-distance trails, the Great Glen Way. Adventurous hikers should keep an eye out for the mythical Loch Ness Monster before the trail’s final stop in Inverness.
