west highland way itineraries

West Highland Way itineraries vary from 8 or 9 days for those who prefer to have more time on the trail, a relaxed pace soaking up every last detail with no rush to arrive each day. More experienced trekkers could take as little as 5 days to complete the whole trail. If you’re tight on time even three days can be maximised by squeezing some of the best bits of the West Highland Way into a long weekend break. In reality there’s no hard and fast rule – you can take as many days as you want to cover the 96 miles from start to finish. Do what’s best for you.

There are 7 stages to the West Highland Way and you can divvy up most of the stages in any way that you like to suit your accommodation. Places to stay along the trail become more sparse as you head north so the last two stages from Kingshouse to Kinlochleven and Kinlochleven to Fort William always really stay the same. Of course the time you book your West Highland Way itinerary also comes into play here as late accommodation booking can greatly alter your WHW itinerary.

Below I have various West Highland Way itineraries for you to choose from depending on your fitness, time frame and the number of hours you want to hike per day. I’ve also included a family West Highland Way itinerary with much shorter stages to help with little legs for families hiking the West Highland Way but these can also be used for trekkers who simply want shorter stages.