r/Glasgow Tools

Title
Author	meepmeep13
Comment	Even if you haven't done much walking, the route is a lot easier than it's reputation - it mostly goes around stuff rather than over them, so doesn't really involve that much climbing at all, and with the exception of part of the Loch Lomond stretch the paths are very good. As a result, you can expect to average about 2 to 3 miles an hour, which means that if you follow the 'recommended' 10 days you're going to be only walking at most 4 or 5 hours a day, which means you'll be done each day by lunch and spending a lot of time sat around campsites being eaten alive. So I'd really recommend going for a 7-day itinerary even if unfit, but even better - don't have an itinerary at all, and leave yourselves the options of different length days depending on the state of your feet and the weather. In terms of prep, you really only need to get your feet sorted. Get them used to walking 10+ miles several days in a row, wearing the boots/walking trainers you're going to use. This will make all the difference between a happy jaunt through beautiful scenery vs a gruelling blisterfest. The other thing is, as I've said, the WHW bypasses all the cool stuff. You get to see amazing mountains, but you don't go up them. Leave yourself a spare day or two to take detours. If nothing else, you might be glad of a spare day at the end to head up Ben Nevis rather than immediately jumping on the train home.
Reddit Link	https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/of2yjm/west_highland_way_advice/h4a6i15/
Created	Tue 6th Jul 2021 10:16pm
Status	normal ()

Even if you haven't done much walking, the route is a lot easier than it's reputation - it mostly goes around stuff rather than over them, so doesn't really involve that much climbing at all, and with the exception of part of the Loch Lomond stretch the paths are very good.

As a result, you can expect to average about 2 to 3 miles an hour, which means that if you follow the 'recommended' 10 days you're going to be only walking at most 4 or 5 hours a day, which means you'll be done each day by lunch and spending a lot of time sat around campsites being eaten alive.

So I'd really recommend going for a 7-day itinerary even if unfit, but even better - don't have an itinerary at all, and leave yourselves the options of different length days depending on the state of your feet and the weather.

In terms of prep, you really only need to get your feet sorted. Get them used to walking 10+ miles several days in a row, wearing the boots/walking trainers you're going to use. This will make all the difference between a happy jaunt through beautiful scenery vs a gruelling blisterfest.

The other thing is, as I've said, the WHW bypasses all the cool stuff. You get to see amazing mountains, but you don't go up them. Leave yourself a spare day or two to take detours. If nothing else, you might be glad of a spare day at the end to head up Ben Nevis rather than immediately jumping on the train home.