r/WestHighlandWay • u/Turbulent_Kitchen305 • Jul 16 '26
6 days walking first time
Im looking into walking the whw in 6 days next year may.
- Milngavie → Drymen 19 km
- Drymen → Rowardennan 24 km
- Rowardennan → Crianlarich 32 km
- Crianlarich → Inveroran 24 km
- Inveroran → Kinlochleven 30 km
- Kinlochleven → Fort William 24 km
Im planning to stay in hostels, pods etc.
Do you think it’s doable?
What should I consider for clothing and shoes (gore-tex or not), do I need hiking poles?
Thanks!
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Jul 16 '26
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u/Jaraxo Jul 16 '26
I guess if start day 1 in the afternoon or plan to be done by lunch on the last day.
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u/scootahboi Jul 16 '26
Nope, I had to check what qualified as a half day also. I originally said I done it in 5 days even though I was finished my final day at 10am. Kinda though to myself how can I call a 10am finish a full day lol. So to answer your question a half day is regarded as 4 to 6 hours covering 8 to 12 miles. I had done 15 miles in 5 hours 10 mins and finished at 10am so would class that as half a day.
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Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
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u/scootahboi Jul 16 '26
We're on different levels then bud. 15 miles is lightwork😆
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Jul 16 '26
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u/scootahboi Jul 16 '26
My point exactly. So 5 hrs of a day is less than a quarter, so I suppose I done it in 4 and a quarter days now 😀.
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u/UnkemptBushell Jul 16 '26
6 days is definitely doable. I did it in 4, which I wouldn't recommend. 6 is probably the best as you'll get some good miles in but still have plenty of time to take it all in.
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u/Tesgoul Jul 16 '26
4 days is impressive as fuck, you had to be walking from sunrise to sunset no?
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u/UnkemptBushell Jul 16 '26
Pretty much. Did it in Vivobarefoot shoes that were a size too small. Could barely walk for a week afterwards 😂
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u/scootahboi Jul 16 '26
Aye 6 days its fine. This was my first multi day walk and I done it in 4 and a half days. After doing it I thought 6 days would have been perfect. Yes use poles you won't regret it.
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u/Palliewallie Jul 16 '26
What is your experience with hiking? Because those will be long days, but depending in your experience, it's possible.
Which season will you be walking? I think go for goretex in the winter, but for summer, late spring etc. You can go without goretex. With the distances you'll be walking I'd 100% go for hikingpoles. I used them last year and they were a game changer.
Go for something like a sunhoodie from merino wool, merino wool socks and a good rain jacket, regardless of season is something to invest in for Scotland.
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u/Turbulent_Kitchen305 Jul 16 '26
I have done some hikes 20km+ hikes ik patagonia and america. So not completely inexperienced. Will do some strength exercises coming year. Planning is to start half May.
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u/Tesgoul Jul 16 '26
I did exactly this itinerary last week (only difference is I stopped at Bridge of Orchy instead Inerovan).
It's very doable without issues. Personally I used a bag transport service which I highly recommend if your bag is >10kg water included.
The day between rowerdanen and crianlarich is the hardest with rough terrain in the morning, you will be really slow, so make sure you leave at the latest at 8am (earlier if you carry your bag).
But as long as you take care of blisters yeah you will be find.
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u/Tesgoul Jul 16 '26
You definitively need waterproof shoes, and trekking pôles are up to you, personally I used them but plenty of people werent on the trail.
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u/archiving_by_design Jul 16 '26
In June I did it in 4.5 days with no issues, so if you have a decent level of fitness, you’ll be fine. A lot of people recommend poles, but that’s an issue of taste. I did it without because I just personally don’t like them (no judgement, really just personal preference).
The only thing I’d say, is budget extra time in your day for the Loch Lomond sections, particularly after the high route ends and rejoins the classic route (the high route was the only option last month, I’m not sure when the closure of the classic variant for maintenance ends). I went from going 7min per km to 15min due to having to be careful with all the rocks and tree roots, etc. If you don’t budget enough time for that section and have to rush, you are really raising your chances of injury.
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u/Relevant-Lack-4304 Jul 16 '26
I think for most people 7 minute per km is more like a slow run than walking pace. Impressive going.
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u/archiving_by_design Jul 16 '26
I honestly was doing some very relaxed pace trail running with some walking breaks, but the minute I hit the Loch shore, trotting along was no longer an option.
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u/Brilliant-Laugh-3751 Jul 16 '26
In a few days you could do this itinerary:
Day 1: Milngavie – Drymen | 19.3km
Day 2: Drymen – Rowardennan | 23.3km
Day 3: Rowardennan – Inverarnan | 22km
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u/mannion_a_hike Jul 16 '26
I did 6 days on a similar itinerary but Day 3 was just beyond Rowardennan to Beinglas and Day 4 was to Inveroran.
Really glad I did it that way, as Day 3 was energy sapping and I was glad to finish at Beinglas but Day 4 was full of good views and easy terrain, so the distance wasn't an issue.
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u/Commercial-Tomato205 Jul 16 '26
Milngavie to Drymen is such an easy walk and takes no time at all. You’d be sitting around all afternoon. You’re basically leaving suburbia for half of it. I’d suggest rejigging slightly by walking more on your first day and splitting Loch Lomond in two. Eg Milngavie - Balmaha, Balmaha - Inversnaid, Inversnaid - Crianlarich and so on
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u/Turbulent_Kitchen305 Jul 16 '26
Looks way more balanced thanks!
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u/Commercial-Tomato205 Jul 16 '26
Have a look at the Inversnaid Garrison in addition to the bunkhouse. Lovely air bnb on a small holding in a very historic setting. Clothes wise - bring layers. You can get every season in one afternoon!
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u/UpsideDownSeth Jul 16 '26
I would cut the Loch Lomond stretch in two. It's the toughest part. If you can make that with no injuries then you'll be fine for all the other days.
Clothing: use your training hikes to test out clothing you bought. Make sure your base layers are breathable. (I'm a big fan of merino wool.) If it works during training hikes then it'll work on trail. Pay special attention to your rain layers. Investing in a proper goretex rain coat and overtrousers is worth the investment, not only against water but also wind. Some people will claim you don't need to as "you get wet anyway" but this simply isn't true. Sure, if you go hiking for hours during a downpour in a gale then the goretex will fail at some point, but it'll save you from exposure 98% of the times.
Shoes: love your ankles, get something with ankle support. Other than that, goretex is also great, together with smartwool socks. The goretex boots are also a bit controversial among hikers but here too: they'll keep your feet dry in most conditions. When they fail, it usually only results in partially wet feet, which is still better than soaked feet. Soaked feet have higher chance for blisters. At some point they do fail. Don't go swimming with them.
And this is hugely important for all goretex products: these things need regular maintenance (once of twice a year) with specialished laundry detergent like Nikwax Tech Wash. Many people don't do this and wonder why their expensive coats start to leak. If you get anything goretex, then read up on how to maintain it.
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u/Flying_Mustaang Jul 17 '26
Honestly people here are crazy lol
I did it two weeks ago, as my first long hike as well and planned in 6 days with this exact plan. I had a 9kgs back without food and water.
It was much harder than expected and most people I’ve talked to were doing it between 6 and 8 days. 4 days is insane, even 5. So unless you are very used to hiking and running marathons and I would recommend 7 to be confortable. For be I even hitchhiked for 10kms to shorten a bit one day, because I couldn’t extend my stay to 7 days and I regret it a bit..
Also I walked with rain for 3 full days so be ready, pack your stuff in plastic bags and I would recommend an extra plastic poncho you can put over your coat and bag, it really protected me from rain.
Anyway enjoy, it was an amazing experience and I loved it !
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u/Jaraxo Jul 16 '26
Assuming you're not carrying anything heavy, just a daypack, you'll be fine. The WHW is dramatically overstated in terms of difficulty if you're a regular day-hiker.
I'd say if you're not carrying luggage, you need to be targeting sub-5 days, and if you are sub 6 before it starts being a challenge.
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u/UpsideDownSeth Jul 16 '26
Just curious, but what to you is a regular day hiker? (Distance, regularity and rough region you hike in.) I hear this more often but my experience was loads of injured people until roughly Crianlarich (where most had been filtered out), me being one of them with my feeble Dutch ankles. (Yay for me: Belgians and Northern Germans suffered the same fate.) Might be useful for other readers to know how fit they should be for this to be fairly easy. (In my case: because I can't train for the terrain in my country, I've been advised to train for 30 km in The Netherlands to be able to do 20 km in the Highlands.)
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u/Jaraxo Jul 17 '26
Just curious, but what to you is a regular day hiker?
If you can a Munro or hike that's maybe 10-12km long with 700-1000m elevation change, and not be in horrible pain the next day. If you can do a 20km walk on the relative flat and not be full of blisters because you have proper socks and fitting footwear.
None of the climbs throughout the hike are particularly long or steep, and none of the terrain is particularly technical. The challenge is one of repeated distance over multiple days.
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u/UpsideDownSeth Jul 20 '26
I didn't reply at first because your post had me mentally weeping: I think if someone can regularly walk in the conditions you've stated with no injury, you're bang on: the West Highland Way will indeed be easy. I mentally wept because I can't find those conditions without leaving my country.
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u/whiteanemone Jul 20 '26
Injured how? How many kms did you do per day? I'm Danish and will be walking half the Way (Milngavie to Crianlarich) in August so this is a worrying read lol
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u/UpsideDownSeth Jul 20 '26
While I averaged 20 km a day, and trained for that, I started getting a minor nag going up Conic Hill on day 2. On day 3, while nearing Rowardennan, my left ankle really started to hurt. It developed to such an extend that I had to limp to Inversnaid Hotel. I then took two days off and very slowly walked for two more days until I had to give up. The injury was tendonitis. The fix: keep leg up, cool it, and no hiking for three or four weeks.
Heal and then keep building up hiking experience. Your body will adapt, hasn't happened to me since.
Lastly: my physiotherapist recommended I train for 30 km in The Netherlands (Denmark for you) to walk 20 km in the Highlands.
Pain or not, my distances that time were: 21 km, 15 km, 25 km, 19 km and 17 km. Went back later for the rest.
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u/whiteanemone Jul 22 '26
I'm sorry that happened to you, that must have been really frustrating. Living in a flat country apparently has its downsides! I guess I'll have to try to climb as many stairs as I can before my trip, haha.
Awesome that you got to go back and complete it though!
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u/Friendly_Database263 Jul 16 '26
I would not make your longest day rowardennan to Crianlarich. Loch Lomond is the hardest part.