West Highland Way

Opened in 1980 as Scotland's first official long-distance route, the West Highland Way remains the country's most popular trail and one of the great walks of the world. The route begins in Milngavie on the outskirts of Glasgow and heads north through increasingly spectacular Highland scenery, with the landscape growing more dramatic with every passing day.

The early stages follow rolling farmland and the wooded shores of Loch Lomond, Scotland's largest loch, before the trail climbs Conic Hill for the first of many views that stop walkers in their tracks. Beyond Loch Lomond the route crosses the vast, haunting expanse of Rannoch Moor, passes the brooding peaks of Glencoe and climbs the Devil's Staircase to the highest point on the trail. The final descent through Glen Nevis brings walkers into Fort William with Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles, rising above the town.

Few long-distance walks deliver such a compelling sense of journey, or such a dramatic change of scenery from start to finish.