Trekking the West Highland Way

Have a briefing in the lobby at 3.00pm (hotel details will be provided in your final documents) and make the short transfer (30 minutes) to the village of Milngavie (pronounced ‘Mill-guy’). On arrival, our guide will welcome you and give you a briefing on the hike which lies ahead in the coming days. There will be a little bit of free time to explore the town, before having the first dinner with your group.

Overnight Milngavie – Best Foot Forward Guest House or similar (B, D)

After breakfast, we pick up our daypacks and begin hiking! Your main luggage will be transferred to the next hotel while we hike. Although we’re still fairly close to Glasgow, we are soon walking through open countryside. This part of the journey follows what was an important route in preindustrial times and your guide will help you spot some standing stones from the late Stone Age. We’ll arrive at the accommodation tonight in time to settle in before enjoying a welcome dinner - and possibly a dram of the local Glengoyne whisky too.

Total hiking time approx. 6 hours, distance 19 km (12 miles).

Overnight Drymen – Ashbank Guest House or The Hawthorns Guest House (B, L, D)

The trail leaves Drymen and passes through Garadhban Forest. Leaving the forest, we’ll take a detour to climb Conic Hill. Though just 361 metres (1,185 feet) high, it offers fantastic views over Loch Lomond. Reaching the eastern banks of Loch Lomond at Balmaha, we follow the shore through forest until you reach the tranquil setting of Rowardennan, which is nestled at the foot of Ben Lomond.

Total hiking time approx. 6 hours, distance 21 km (13 miles).

Overnight Rowardennan – Rowardennan Hotel or similar (B,L,D)

Starting out with views of Ben Lomond - which translates as Beacon Hill - this is a challenging stage but the combination of differing terrain, scenery and views make it very rewarding. Rougher terrain means that the going is slower but it’s wonderful to be in such wild country. The trail improves towards the end of the day as we near our next destination, the tiny settlement of Invernarnan.

Total hiking time approx. 7-8 hours, distance 23 km (14 miles).

Overnight Inverarnan – Bheinn Ghlas Guest House or similar (B,L,D)

Our day begins with a walk through Glen Falloch before we turn northwards into Strath Fillan. The landscape gets wilder and your guide will point out some of the hardier plants that grow in this region, and explain how they were used by the clansmen and women in the past. As we approach Crianlarich, we are rewarded with wonderful mountain views in all directions. Reaching the tiny village of Crianlarich, it’s the end of our hike, so you can kick off your boots and sit back and enjoy the views with a drink. We then make the approx. 2-hour transfer to Edinburgh, arriving at approx. 4pm.

Total hiking time approx. 4 hours, hiking distance 12 km (8 miles).

Overnight Edinburgh. (B,L)

Enjoy breakfast at your leisure this morning. If you are continuing on with our Wild Scotland voyage, you have a day at leisure in beautiful Edinburgh before joining your fellow expeditioners tonight for a pre-voyage briefing and welcome drink. If you are not joining our voyage, please speak to our team about ongoing arrangements. (B)