West Highland Way
Slighe Taobh an Iar na Gàidhealtachd · Slighe na Gàidhealtachd an Iar · וסט היילנד ויי
OSM hiking route in the Scottish Highlands (153.2 km line). Vertical figures sampled from Copernicus GLO-30. Days (13) is a placeholder from round(lengthKm/12), not the published 5–10 / Wikipedia 7–8 thru-window (unverified).
Last verified 2026-09-24 vs NatureScot / Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park
Cite this record
The Hiking World, West Highland Way, verified 2026-09-24, https://www.thehikingworld.com/trails/west-highland-way
How we verify · last checked 2026-09-24
Byline
- The Hiking World editorial · author
Desk byline for seed records. Named surveying editors replace this once a trail is verified.
Figures marked provisional are seed data and still need verification. Source and last-checked date sit under each cited value.
Conditions
No live feed — No machine-readable closures feed from the West Highland Way or NatureScot as of 2026-08-23. Check the official notices page before travel; do not treat this record as a live open/closed status.
Official noticewesthighlandway.org · 2026-08-23 · official · provisional
Permits and fees
| Permit | Cost | Quota / restriction | Issuer | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No walking permit (Scottish Outdoor Access Code)Unverified — not officially sourced | Not recorded | — | NatureScot / Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park | Issuer page | Unverified |
Local ethics / Leave No Trace
Walking needs no permit: recreational access on foot is a right under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (NatureScot).
outdooraccess-scotland.scot · 2026-08-20Wild camping inside Loch Lomond & The Trossachs Camping Management Zones requires a camping permit from 1 March to 30 September (park authority). That is a camping rule, not a walking fee.
lochlomond-trossachs.org · 2026-08-20
Line download is the stored OSM geometry, simplified. It is not a surveyed GPS track. GPX · GeoJSON
Editorial v1 · Provisional catalog
- SAC T2
- Mountain hiking. Continuous trail, some steep ground, sure-footedness helpful.
- YDS Class 1
- Class 1. Walking on an established path; low fall risk.
Log in to view the elevation profile
Ingested from OpenStreetMap relation 16287 (ODbL). The mapped line and 2D length are derived from that geometry. Ascent, descent, and high/low points are sampled from Copernicus GLO-30 (copernicus-dem:glo-30) and remain provisional. Ascent/descent use a 10 m minimum-elevation-change threshold on the stored elevation profile (not a re-fetch); high/low are unchanged. Water, permits, and hazards were not taken from OSM tags and must be verified.
OSM 2D length is 153.2 km (relation 16287, superroute stages snap-joined). The official route page cites 154 km / 96 miles from Milngavie to Fort William (https://www.westhighlandway.org/the-route/, checked 2026-08-20); Wikipedia agrees. Those figures are cross-checks only, not this DataPoint.
typicalDays 13 is Math.round(lengthKm/12), a placeholder. Wikipedia cites seven to eight days, sometimes five or six (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Highland_Way, checked 2026-08-20). The coverage-pack 5–10 day window is a lead, not written into this field.
Wikipedia infobox cites 3,155 m cumulative gain and a high point of 550 m on the Devil's Staircase (same page, checked 2026-08-20). Vertical DataPoints stay with Copernicus GLO-30 after DEM sampling.
Water was not mapped to named WaterSource points. Treat burns and loch water; do not assume it is safe to drink untreated.
Water
No water sources recorded.
Surface
Surface is not recorded. This field is filled only from an OSM surface tag, not from the grade.
Permits & fees
No permit required.
Getting there
Sourced legs to the Milngavie base start station — where this trail record begins. This is not a route planner: durations are approximate and marked provisional until an official transport page confirms them.
Rail · Glasgow Queen Street / Central → Milngavie
ScotRail. About 23 min. 2–3×/hour. About 23 min. Official WHW start. The stored OSM polyline begins at Fort William (finish) and ends at Milngavie.
westhighlandway.org · 2026-08-20 · official · provisionalRail · Fort William → Glasgow Queen Street
ScotRail. About 4.25 h. West Highland Line, about 4–4.5 h. Does not stop at Milngavie. Intermediate stations serve section walkers.
westhighlandway.org · 2026-08-20 · official · provisionalBus · Glasgow → Fort William
Scottish Citylink. Stops at Inverarnan, Crianlarich, Tyndrum, Bridge of Orchy, Glencoe, Ballachulish.
westhighlandway.org · 2026-08-20 · official · provisional
Caledonian Sleeper London↔Fort William is widely used but was not confirmed on an official page this pass — omitted.
Plan from your location
Type a city, then pick a match. These links open external search tools — they do not fetch fares or timetables.
Getting there car-free
- Start (OSM line): car-free flag unknown. No transit note stored, so this is not a way to get there.
- End (OSM line): car-free flag unknown. No transit note stored, so this is not a way to get there.
Trailheads
- Start (OSM line) car-free: unknown
- End (OSM line) car-free: unknown
Log in to view trailhead transit detail
Hazards
Questions
Do I need a permit for West Highland Way?
No trail permit is listed as required on this record for West Highland Way.
How difficult is West Highland Way?
West Highland Way is graded SAC T2 · YDS 1.
How long is West Highland Way?
The OSM 2-D length on this record is 153.2 km (provisional). Published figures may differ. See /guides/how-long-is-the-trail
How do I get to West Highland Way?
The record’s base start is Milngavie. A primary gateway on the record is Glasgow Airport (GLA). Trailhead transit notes are not included in this public FAQ.
Related trails
- Hadrian's Wall Path · United Kingdom
Featured in
Related links
- OfficialWest Highland Way (official)westhighlandway.org · 2026-08-23 · official · provisional