The Wildness of the West Highland Way

I'll admit, I didn’t know much about the West Highland Way.  I’ve done long trekking routes in the Peruvian Andes, Torres del Paine, Alaska, Montana and Central America, but I’ve never been on a multi-day hike in Europe or the UK.  I knew that it was 100 odd miles between Glasgow and Fort William and I knew we were staying at inns each night, so I understood that there would be some semblance of civilization, but I  didn’t realize how MUCH civilization there would be between those villages. 

The western United States has a good amount of wild land, especially in Montana. I can leave my house and be in a roadless area within a half mile.  From there, I can walk almost uninterrupted to Canada without seeing houses or crossing much more than a dirt Forest Service road.  I definitely realized that the first day of walking (leaving Milngavie north of Glasgow) was going to have a good deal of development.  After that, I expect we would be hiking in wilderness, dropping down into valleys at night to sleep in B&Bs.   

A good deal of the West Highland Way trail is on old military roads dating back to the Jacobite uprisings, so you are walking either on two-track stone or dirt roads for a good bit.  There is usually a major highway in the same valley, so you are often within eyesight and earshot of traffic.  The route along the eastern shore of Loch Lomond was among my favorite parts as it is heavily wooded with a dirt path.  Glen Coe to Kinlochleven, beyond the Devil’s Staircase also had some nice sections away from any roads.  There is also a short section of gorgeous forested trail just after Crianlarich, but it’s currently being logged.  After that, there’s a massive clear cut, which is such a delightful feature to hike through as an international tourist.    
From a landscape management perspective, it was fascinating walking the West Highland Way, evaluating the different ways that trails and lands are managed in Scotland versus the United States and other places I’ve worked and traveled in.