The West Highland Way Day 1: Milngavie – Balmaha

Hiking 154 km from Milngavie to Fort William, Scotland

As an outdoor-fan the West Highland Way was on my wish-list for a long time. From 13 -19 October the four of us walked this magnificent trail from starting point Milngavie to Fort William. To walk, camp and fully enjoy the beautiful Scottish surroundings. Although we had some concern because of the notorious wet climate in the western Highlands. As the wiki-page states: “one of the wettest places in Europe with annual rainfall up to 4,577 mm“. I guess all our prayers to the single-malt Gods were not for nothing, the little rain that fell was mostly during the night. During the days we had lots of sunshine, only one morning some light drizzle.
This post will be the first of 6. Each post contains a short video. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to share.

Day 1: Milngavie – Drymen – Balmaha (30.8 km)

We took an early train from Glasgow to Milngavie. From there we started our journey up north. Idea was to walk up to Balmaha. Because wild-camping is restricted between Balmaha and Rowardennan, from the 1st April to the 31st of October, we made camp 4 km before the initial endpoint. From there we had a magnificent view over the beginning of Loch Lomond after the first day of walking. While enjoying some warm food, a small fire and another prayer to a Single Malt God we slept under a clear sky full of stars.

Tips and Tricks

• Use the timings instead of distance to plan your walks. You won’t get an average speed of 5 km/h.

Check the official West Highland Way website for more tips and tricks.

Check Out: Day 2