Below is my WHW experience. I am approaching 50, only two 14 miles hikes previously. No real prep training. I walk/run about 6-8 miles a week on a treadmill.Ā
Arrival: Flew into Glasgow with the wife/cruise director. We wanted to take the bus to the hotel, but paid for an Uber instead. After the long flight, it was well worth the non-bs ride straight to the Primier Inn in Milingave. The hotel was āokā. Did the job, no frills, 2 stars. We had Indian up the street, also 2 stars. I am a food/hotel snob btw.Ā
Day 1: AMS Transport picked up the bags at 0800. They loosely weight checked it. We were off right after that. It was about 0.5 miles to the start of the trail. My wife raved about the coffee place right at the start. She is a coffee snob so that gets 5 stars. Day 1 to Drymen was about 15 miles of paved/non-paved roads and trails. We walked through a cow pasture. Arrived at Braeside Hotel in Drymen and stayed in the shed/pod accommodation. It was pretty nice but cramped for 2 with a big bag, 3 stars and recommended. The bag arrived perfectly and was ready for us. AMS does an awesome job. We ate across the street at the Clanach (I think). It was good, 3 stars. 12 miles.Ā
Day 2: We left Drymen for Rowendennen. Another day of paved/non-paved roads and trails. We walked a lot through cow pasture and up to Conic Hill. The hill itself was super steep but not terribly difficult. As usual the walk down was sketchy but also fine. We arrived in Rowendennen and stayed in the lodges next to the Hotel. The room was basic, 2 stars. The bag was left at the hotel across the street, Iām not sure if that is the standard but it wasnāt a big deal and we got it just fine. We ate at the hotel restaurant and it was ok, 2 stars. We also had them make a lunch pack for the next day, 1 star. 15 miles and fairly scenic.Ā
Day 3: We left Rowendennen for the Beinglas Campsite. This is commonly referred to as the difficult day due to the terrain along Loch Lomond. I didnāt think it was terrible, but it dragged on. I think there is about 10 miles of it. Only a few times did I need to use my hands for safety, but Iāve definitely been through way worse on the previous two 14 milers. Immediately after the Loch part ended, it started raining. I should say, raining sideways. It was a mess. We still had 4 miles to go and the trails quickly turned into creekbeds with active creeks. Our shoes we soaked through. You couldnāt avoid it at all and we just went with it (because there is no choice). I embraced the suck and was wet head to toe. We arrived at Beinglas finally. The room we stayed in was ok, 2 stars. This was our longest day at 10.5 hours. We didnāt find out until the next day that they have boot dryers that you could use overnight. That wouldāve been useful. We did laundry here and the machines kind of sucked. I guess you could say the clothes got cleaner, but not clean. We ate dinner at the the campsite restaurant, 2 stars. Breakfast was free, 2 stars. 14 miles and very scenic.Ā
Day 4: We were off to Crianlarich. This was kind of an accident that we left in place because we had just done about 41 miles and day 3 was commonly regarded as the hard day. 7 miles and pretty scenic. Unfortunately we were staying about a mile off the trail at the Best Western and it was not an easy mile at all. This meant it was not an easy mile back either. The hotel was nice and the restaurant was great. We both got pizza and as a pizza snob this was an easy thumbs up. 3 stars for both. I would not recommend this though because of the extra 2 miles.Ā
Day 5: We walked to the Bridge of Orchy. On the way we stopped in Tyndrum. The Green Welly store had an Outdoors section if you need anything you forgot. You can also get shoes here. I seriously considered this but balked. We stayed at the 60 Mile Inn. The walk was ok, pretty scenic, but it rained on us again. Another day of being straight up wet. The 60 Mile Inn, which are really just a cluster of pods, didnāt open until 4 and it was a little unclear how it worked. I called and the bar opens at 4 and you check in through there. No big deal. The pod was super nice, but the hot water system in ours was a little iffy. We made it work. There were also bathrobes and I have never been so happy to be in one. For real, it was a super nice touch. My wife also wants the exact pod we stayed in now. The restaurant was ok, 2 stars is being generous. But the guy was super nice and they had Tennant draft beer which I love, so he gets the benefit. 13 miles.Ā
Day 6: From here we walked to the Kingshouse. The paths were flat and rocky. This was a super difficult day for me because the alternate shoes I was wearing were junk and not right at all for the cobblestoneish like trail. I was underprepared for this one and was holding us back in a big way. It took an extra hour or more because of this. It was very scenic and a nice path otherwise. The Kingshouse was awesome and by far the best hotel. 3.5 stars. Dinner at their restaurant was super good too. 4 stars. And breakfast the next morning was top notch. 5 stars and maybe the best breakfast spread Iāve had a hotel. 12 miles.
Day 7: My feet were still banged up and my wife wanted to put me on the bus which was out of the question. We used a dryer and the good shoes were back in the game. Day 7 to Kinlochleven was the best day IMO. It was very scenic and tons of good photo ops. We arrived at the Devilās Staircase and of course it started to rain again. It wasnāt impossible at all and we got it knocked out. Once at the top, it stopped raining. LOL. We started the descent into Kinlochleven and it was as advertised - you can see it from miles away and it still takes forever. There were a lot of downhills and that was awkward, but it was a great day! We stayed at the Etive Pod. It was ok, 2 stars, but I think it was one of the better places to stay in town. We ate at a bar up the street which I didnāt care for. I canāt remember the name, but it gets 1 star. Particularly for having a limited menu and no Scottish beer on tap. 9 miles.Ā
Day 8: Kinlochleven to Fort William. We left super early because it was a far 15 miles and our train out left at 5:30pm. It was totally unnecessary to leave at 630am like we did, but we made good time and it was great to see the sun come up. The climb out of town was on par with the devils staircase IMO. It was a scenic day and the ruins along the path were great. My wife punked out at wanted to take the lower path with the pavement. It rained and was cold, so thatās what we did. We got the obligatory picture and ate at the Black Isle Bar, 4 stars and really good. The bag was waiting for us in the locked green shed next to the Nevis Center. Caught the train back to Glasgow. One more night and flew home. Everything pretty much went off without a hitch.Ā
Equipment:
Salomon XA Pro 3D GTX low - did awesome
Salomon Speedcross 6 - absolute crap
Vertx Raincoat - did ok
Lightest backpack I had with a cross strap - did awesome
Poncho - shouldāve gotten a better one.Ā
Truewerk T1 and T2 pants - awesome!!!
Carhartt Sun Defender hoodies - awesome
Hiking Poles - absolutely required
AirTag for bag - stress relief
This was my first UK trip. I generally found the food quality to be lacking overall. Iām pretty sad about that, but the views and experience were fantastic. I also noticed that there are a lot of vegetarian choices.
No midges Sept 30-Oct 8. Weather was 40-60 F.
I really messed up with the shoes and shouldāve taken one of the 10 others I had at home instead of the Speedcross. I saw so many people say running shoes, etc, so I thought Iād be fine but it was a disaster. Thankfully my other Salomonās are my go-to and did very well. We also messed up with the ponchos. We were using the disposable junk thinking our raincoats would do the job. It wouldāve been worthwhile to invest in a good one. Regardless, Scotland laughs at waterproof and goretex so youāre going to get wet and be wet.Ā
It was a great hike and totally doable off the couch. Iāll throw another kudo to AMS Transport. The bags made it every time, on time. Do it!!!
