The West Highland Way

by Terry Marsh

This fully-updated third edition of the Cicerone guide to walking the West Highland Way through the Highlands of Scotland describes the route in detail from Milngavie, Glasgow to Fort William and also from north to south. This popular 95-mile long-distance backpacking route takes under a week. It starts by passing through the lush lowlands north of Milngavie into the rugged landscapes of Loch Lomond, Glen Falloch and Strath Fillan before heading for Rannoch Moor and Black Mount. Touching briefly on Glencoe, it climbs finally to the hidden glen of Lairig Mor before finishing in Fort William. Step-by-step route description is illustrated with extracts from OS mapping and colour photos and includes information about the Way's ancient history and geology along the way. Lots of useful tips on preparing for a trekking trip, what to take and how to plan your itinerary (with suggestions for 6, 7 and 8-day schedules).

Genres: Walking, Nonfiction, Travel

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

English writer and photographer Dr. Terry Marsh specialises in the outdoors and travel. He has been writing guidebooks since the mid-1980s, and is the author or revision author/editor of over 100 titles, including the award-winning Cicerone guides to the Coast to Coast Walk (first published in 1993), The Shropshire Way (1999) and Great Mountain Days in the Pennines (2013).

Reviews

[Kath Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfectly, poetically written. More than just a guide book - it helps you see with open eyes as you walk. Did lack some finer detail when trying to follow the path, but certainly gave you a great insight into your surroundings using both historical and present information.

[AJW · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve bought a number of West Highland Way (WHW) books as research preparation for walking it this year. This appears to be the most up-to-date book. I bought it as it comes with booklet containing the OS 1:25,000 map of the route - much better than the 1:50,000 booklet that comes with the The West Highland Way: The Official Guide written by Bob Aitken.

The first part of this pocket sized book gives an overview and practical advice. Then Terry Marsh describes walking the WHW both northwards & southwards. He points out landmarks and places where you can stop for the night. There are also some colour photographs. At the back is an index of addresses and web pages so the reader can search for and book accommodation for themselves.

The Trailblazer book West Highland Way gives a more comprehensive list of accommodation and facilities such as shops & places to eat. Plus it includes a bit about Glasgow. But I’m aware that Covid will have caused changes to what is available so any printed guide is likely to contain out of date information.

Both the Trailblazer & Cicerone books I have are 2016 editions. But the Cicerone book I have has been reprinted in 2021 with updates, unlike my Trailblazer book.

[Patrick McG]

can't review a guide book until you actually do the thing.

[Michiel Nicolaï · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read in preparation for an autumn West Highland Way hike.
Will reread it on the trail. Reread it september 2021 during a hike of the West Highland Way. Very detailed maps and directions for every small turn or things to notice during the hike. Little bit sad that there are so many way markers along the way, which makes it practically impossible to lose ones way. Still an enjoyable read along the road.