West Highland Way - Day 1
Milngavie to Cashel - 23.5 miles
The West Highland Way is a 96 mile (154 km) long distance trail that stretches through the West Highlands of Scotland, from Milngavie to Fort William.
In the summer of 2022, I decided, along with a friend from University, to embark on this adventure. The WHW had been on my ‘to-do’ list for some time so when the opportunity came, I lept at the chance to do it. We both had a background of mountaineering and hiking so felt comfortable in both our level of fitness and experience. Our plan was to complete the trail in 5 days, roughly averaging 20 miles a day! We chose to walk in May, just after our exams as a way to potentially avoid the midge infestation that was sure to occur along the banks of the lochs and sodden mountainsides. So, after some planning and organisation we filled our packs with all the necessities (porridge was a MUST!) and set off to Milngavie in the early hours of Saturday 7th May
On arrival into Milngavie, we parked the car at the train station, hauled our lives onto our backs and set off towards the centre of the town, to the official trail-head. I’d some done middle distance hikes and mountain endurance events before, but there was something about this particular challenge that I was nervously excited about. Maybe it was the thought of almost 100 miles between us and the finish line or the swarms of midges that could be waiting at the edge of Loch Lomond, but deep down, I couldn’t wait to get started.
At the monument we had the obligatory, fresh-faced “before” photo taken, (looking back at it now, I don’t think we truly knew what was in store) and then we set off, leaving civilisation in our wake.
The trail began with a walk through the grassy park area and golf course on the outskirts of the town, You could hear the sound of cars rushing by and there was a steady stream of families and their dogs passing us on either side, often with a stick in tow! As we broke out of the suburbs, the landscape opened out into an expanse of undulating grass and rolling hills. They stood proud on either side of the gravel path as it weaved its way into the distance. We passed a herd of Highland cows which put us in good spirits and with fresh legs, we were making good time. For the first half of the day, the trail ran along by the road, cutting through the valley towards Gartness.
One of the things I noticed from the very beginning of the walk, was the sheer abundance of nature and wildlife that lined the trail. Alongside the larger animals such as Highland cows and ponies, the hedgerows were teeming with insect-life which was wonderful to see, the hum of their little stained glass wings, accompanied by birdsong, formed the soundtrack to our first day.
We walked, talked and laughed and the time passed rather quickly. Thankfully, the weather was bright and sunny which made a great difference to our morale.
A view of Loch Lomond from the side of Conic Hill
Having walked alongside the road for a while, we eventually reached the Beech Tree Inn, in Dumgoyne. We didn’t stop for very long, just a brief pause to coo over the three shetland ponies lying fast asleep in their stable. It was another shot of serotonin and definitely re-powered our energy for the next stretch. From here, the trail remained relatively close to the road, snaking along through Gartness and on to Drymen. It is in Drymen where most people walking the WHW will stop for their first night. However, if you hadn’t gathered already, we are rather mad so it was another 10 miles between us and our sleeping bags. We were over halfway, but my goodness was I ready for a cup of tea.
Heading out of Drymen the trail became more wild and rural, leading us through fields and woodland and out towards Conic Hill. The landscapes of our first leg had been incredibly diverse spanning from undulating fields to heather and gorse covered hillsides and acted as a good warm-up for what we’d encounter further down the line; the terrain was relatively flat for most of the way but the views did not disappoint.
On our approach to the foot of Conic Hill, we had our first glimpses of Loch Lomond. It was spectacularly beautiful, a glassy expanse mirroring the highland landscape erupting from its banks and beyond. We made our way to the top and spent a while taking in the panoramic view - There is something I find so special about the natural world. The mountains, valleys, oceans and rivers were here before we existed and will be long after we are gone. It is entirely unforgiving yet there is a sense of safety I feel when out in the wild.
Having soaked in as much of the natural beauty as possible, we began our descent. Our knees were now feeling far from fresh and for once, we craved uphill. After dropping down into Balmaha, we stopped for a quick rest and refuel.
During our planning, we had contemplated booking a campsite in Balmaha but had opted for one slightly further on… rookie error. Oh how we longed for a cosy sleeping bag but alas, we pressed on. Hindsight is a wonderful thing!
Our final destination was Cashel Campsite and the last stretch of the day led us along the banks of Loch Lomond, a brief introduction of what we would be tackling the next day. It was completely different from anything we had walked through already, climbing up and down, up and down through wooded areas and then out onto more gravelly tracks, winding through the trees.
After what seemed like forever, we eventually reached the campsite. This was the only campsite that we had planned to use throughout the trip with all of our other nights to be spent “in the wild!” so, for that reason, we took FULL advantage of the water supply, shower block and flat ground. Despite this having been our longest day, I felt good, albeit a few aches and pains, but that’s to be expected.
When I say we couldn’t wait to sit down, I mean it! We quickly pitched our tent and with our sleeping bags unpacked and feet off the floor, we put together our ‘supper set-up’ and began cooking, the hiss of the camping stove was like music to our ears. Food and nutrition is something that, on endurance walks or sports events like this, can be the make or break between reaching the finish line or not, so we had made sure to plan this well.
Day 2 was going to be another long day, taking us to almost halfway through the entire walk, so it was an early night with the aim to wake up early and make the most of the day. It had been a brilliant start to the trip but we hadn’t even scraped the surface of what the WHW had to offer.