7-day West Highland Way itinerary

1. Day 1

   Milngavie to Drymen

   5–6 h 12.0 mi (19.3 km) ↑ 320 m (1,050 ft) ↓ 300 m (1,000 ft)

   A gentle start through the woods of Mugdock Country Park and old estate tracks, with the Campsie Fells off to your right and a first glimpse of the hills to come. It is the easiest day on the trail by design, so the seven-day plan can front-load soft miles and leave your legs fresh for Conic Hill tomorrow. Drymen sits just off the Way with pubs and a shop — resist walking on, and enjoy the early finish.

   Example stay The Drymen Inn (opens in a new tab)

2. Day 2

   Drymen to Rowardennan

   7–8 h 14.8 mi (23.8 km) ↑ 770 m (2,550 ft) ↓ 810 m (2,650 ft)

   Your first proper West Highland Way day. Forest tracks lead up Conic Hill, whose short climb opens the trail’s signature view: Loch Lomond and its scatter of islands laid out below. Balmaha on the shore is the natural lunch and your last easy resupply for a while, then the path rolls along the wooded east shore to Rowardennan at the foot of Ben Lomond. The miles after Balmaha run longer than they look, so keep something in reserve.

   Example stay Rowardennan Hotel (opens in a new tab)

3. Day 3

   Rowardennan to Inverarnan

   6–7 h 13.9 mi (22.3 km) ↑ 740 m (2,450 ft) ↓ 750 m (2,450 ft)

   The day most people remember, and the crux of the whole walk. North of Rowardennan the loch-side path turns wild — roots, boulders, and endless small ups and downs that are slow rather than steep, so the distance takes far longer than the map suggests. The Inversnaid Hotel, about halfway, is the one place to pause. You reach this ground with two days already in your legs, so start early, carry food and water, and keep the evening free.

   Example stay The Drovers Inn (opens in a new tab)

4. Day 4

   Inverarnan to Tyndrum

   5–6 h 11.9 mi (19.1 km) ↑ 590 m (1,950 ft) ↓ 370 m (1,200 ft)

   A complete change of scene. You leave the loch behind and climb gently into open Highland glens on old military and drove roads, following the young River Falloch past its falls. Crianlarich lies just off-route if you want a shop or the train. This is the itinerary’s recovery day — straightforward walking after the loch — and Tyndrum at the end has hotels, a store, and the well-known Green Welly stop to resupply properly before the moor.

   Example stay Tyndrum Lodges (opens in a new tab)

5. Day 5 Longest

   Tyndrum to Kingshouse

   8–9 h 18.9 mi (30.3 km) ↑ 650 m (2,150 ft) ↓ 640 m (2,100 ft)

   The longest day on the seven-day split at around 18.6 mi (30 km), and the one to watch the forecast on. Easy track runs past Bridge of Orchy and the Inveroran Inn — both lunch stops, not places to overnight — before the trail commits to Rannoch Moor, a vast, empty, genuinely beautiful expanse with no shelter and no way off. Leave at first light and treat the remote Kingshouse Hotel, at the edge of Glencoe, as a simple one-night stop.

   Example stay Kingshouse Hotel (opens in a new tab)

6. Day 6

   Kingshouse to Kinlochleven

   4–5 h 8.8 mi (14.2 km) ↑ 430 m (1,400 ft) ↓ 670 m (2,200 ft)

   Short on the map but a real mountain day. From Kingshouse the path climbs to the Devil’s Staircase, the highest point on the Way; the name comes from the soldiers who once hauled kit over it, and the climb is over sooner than you fear. What tired legs feel is the long descent into Kinlochleven, with the Blackwater reservoir and the Mamores opening up ahead. A half-day that earns a relaxed village night.

   Example stay Tailrace Inn (opens in a new tab)

7. Day 7

   Kinlochleven to Fort William

   7–8 h 15.0 mi (24.2 km) ↑ 710 m (2,350 ft) ↓ 710 m (2,350 ft)

   The finish, and no easy stroll to end on. A steep pull out of Kinlochleven leads into the Lairig Mòr, a long, remote glen under the Mamores where the sense of wild country is strongest, before forest tracks finally bring Ben Nevis into view. Seven days in, this one is as much mental as physical. The Way ends at the walker statue in Fort William, with trains and buses out the same afternoon — or stay on to climb the Ben.

   Finish West Highland Way Finish

Cross-check: official suggested itineraries (WHW4) . We use their settlement names as a cross-check. Distances are from our trail geometry, not their mile table.

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