It's been on the radar for several years so I thought "Let's set the hares running on this one!"
The route itself is 96 miles long and runs from Milngavie (a suburb of Glasgow) to Fort William and takes in a huge variety of scenery including lochs, open moorland and high mountains.
There are various suggested itineraries breaking the route up into manageable sections. For this walking holiday I am proposing that the group walks two or three sections of the route, possibly around Bridge of Orchy, Kinlochleven and Fort William leaving us with the option to bag a few Munroes if the chance presents itself. So we'd likely end up walking about 1/3 of the whole route.
Logistically, walking a linear route throws up a few questions:
"Where will we be staying?"
"What about our change of clothing and luggage?"
"Where will we eat?"
To keep costs down, I am going to rule out paying a baggage handling company to move our kit on and plan on staying reasonably central to the walks in the beautiful highland village of Kinlochleven situated at the eastern edge of Loch Leven.
We'll base ourselves in this village with several pubs, a huge indoor ice climbing centre and in the middle of the Mamores mountains and Glencoe with the West Highland Way passing through it.
Again, to keep costs down I am looking into accommodation which gives us the flexibility to cook ourselves by buddying up and taking it in turns or to head out to the village pubs instead!
Hostels and bunkhouses in this area are well equipped with kitchens, communal rooms and drying areas.
Yes, the accommodation will be basic but I believe this option will prove to be a bit more adventurous, whilst keeping the cost down and not having to adhere to a strict timetable.
The duration of the holiday is to be decided but I have an idea of maybe three or four nights in Scotland. This will give us four days walking and then participants have the option to travel independently and stop off on the way up and on the way back. A minibus could also be an option.
I am proposing this holiday takes place either in spring or autumn of 2024 to avoid the holidays and of course the dreaded midges.
Drop me a line if you like the sound of this.
