“On the Bonnie Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond”

The West Highland Way is a 95 mile (152Km) walk from Milngavie just north of Glasgow to Fort William. This wonderful journey provides a broad and exciting cross section of walking experiences as it makes its way from the suburban outskirts of Scotland’s largest city, past the splendours of Loch Lomond, Glencoe and Ben Nevis the highest mountain in the UK to our destination in Fort William. ‘The Way’ was officially opened in 1980 and follows ancient Highland footpaths, drover’s tracks, disused railway lines and 18C military roads. The going is mixed and whilst there are some challenging sections overall The West Highland Way provides relaxed walking amidst the glorious Scottish Highlands.
We start our walk in the centre of Glasgow, the famous Sauchiehall Street to be exact, and walk out of the city by following the banks of the Kelvin River all the way to Milngavie which is the ‘official’ start of the West Highland Way. This not only provides a relaxed and easy introduction to the holiday but also adds a certain and important ‘completion’ to the route.
The next day we start The Way proper and head towards Dryman and on towards the pretty village of Balmaha on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond the largest body of water in the UK. For the next two days we make our way along its shoreline and explore its delights first up to Rowardennan and then onto Inverarnan at the northern end of the Loch.
After Loch Lomond water is still a feature as we follow the east bank of the River Falloch and pass the famous Falls of Falloch as we make our way towards Crianlarich for our next overnight stop.  The hills, especially to the west, start to dominate the landscape as we head for Tyndrum and the Bridge of Orchy our entry point to the remoteness of Rannoch Moor.
Soon we reach Kingshouse and fix our eyes on the distant peak of Bauchaille Etive Mor which guards the entrance to Glen Coe. We pass across the eastern end of the valley and climb through the hills via The Devils Staircase and descend onto an old military road which takes us through to Kinlochleven.
Our final push through to Fort William takes us up and across the lower slopes of Stob Coirena h-Eirghe and soon our track enters a small forest and as we emerge we get our first full view of the summit of Ben Nevis. All too quickly we plunge back into woodland and the substantial Nevis Forest which will be our companion until we emerge on the outskirts of Fort William where we celebrate our achievement in the appropriate manner.
The final day of our holiday involves choosing from three options: you can relax in Fort William, go for a boat trip on Loch Linnhe or, weather permitting, walk to the summit of Ben Nevis. All three provide an ideal finale to a wonderful holiday experience.