The East Highland Way offers a crowd free through route between Fort William and Aviemore, taking in wild glens, natural woodland and Lochs. The walk is 82 miles in length. Whilst becoming remote at times the route passes through several towns and villages and so is both suitable for those looking to stay in B&B's or those looking to camp. I would suggest that the ideal blend for this route is a combination of camp site, wild camping, with a night somewhere on route in B&B or hostel to dry out if necessary.
There is something special about a wild camp. It brings you back to something which our lives in a modern society often no longer fulfill. For myself it is that feeling of being part of nature, not remote from it. Once you move away from habitation you have only yourselves to rely on. Solutions here need team work and sometimes a deal of energy.
Along the East Highland Way there are some beautiful and wild spots to camp. The posts below describe some of the spots we found.
Who is this walk for? Families, solo walkers, small or larger groups. We completed our walk over 6.5 days. Our group consisted of two families, 7 of us altogether with 3 dogs. The youngest of the children aged 9. There are few way marks, however navigation is fairly straight forward. We made 2 small errors only along the whole route. We used a gridpoint app to get back on track, having gone a few hundred metres off the route.
Maps: Harvey 1:40000 XT40 East Highland Way ( whole 82 mile route on one map)
Books: The East Highland Way by Kevin Langan with a forward by Cameron McNeish.
Best app: Gridpoint ( gives your smart phone a grid ref, what more could you want?), Everytrail app.
Best Websites: www.easthighlandway.com, www.walkinghighlands.co.uk, www.outdooraccess-scotland.com
www.outdooraccess-scotland.com/
Best blog: Carrot soup for the soul by walkaboot - link here
Water: Bottled water can be purchased or aquired at Aviemore, Kincraig, Kingussie, Newtonmore, Laggan, Spean Bridge and Fort William. The section between Newtonmore and Spean Bridge has few places to buy bottled water. Chances are, unless you intend to carry large volumes of water, you will need to think about filtering / chlorinating natural water. Along many parts of this walk we found the water to be peaty, so when good water is available 'camel up'. The water found in Glen Banchor was of a good quality, this is fortunate as this is the remotest section of the walk. We used an MSR hyperflow filter several times a day to keep our group hydrated. The advice given generally, such as on maps and in books is carry as much water as you will need each day. We found carrying such volumes was not practical. So, you will need to asses the risks of purifying your own from available sources along the route, or whether you should carry all of your water in. On our trip no one became ill. We generally obtained water from fast running burns or streams, and boiled water where we had any doubts.
Wild Camping: Wild camping is not illegal in Scotland. There are rules however. See - outdoor access Scotland - link here. Many parts of this route go nearby to regular camp sites, and through towns where B&B acomodation is available. We wild camped the whole route, except for one night in B&B at Spean Bridge and a campsite at journeys end in Fort William; 5 nights of consecutive of wild camping. Whilst there exists the right to camp in many places, suitable camping spots are not always available when you need them. i.e .after your daily mileage has been achieved. This was a little frustrating for us in the forested sections, the ground is often tussocky and the streams run with peat tannin. I have given grid refs for the places we camped to within 100 metres in the posts below.
Food Supplies: If you are walking from Aviemore to Fort William, stock up for at least 3 days at Newtonmore. If walking from Fort William to Aviemore stock up for at least 3 days at Spean Bridge. At other times 1 days food only need be carried with a meal in reserve.
Best month to go: April if its not snowing. We walked at this time of year. We saw no midges. The sun shone for much of the trip. The temperature did fall drastically in the evening, expect frosty nights at this time of year.
Best kit recommendation: Short and long sleeve woolen baselayers - one for day one for evening, water filter, down jacket for evening, wool socks, old plimsolls or similar for burn crossings, sleeping bag rated to -5.
Best pub grub: Glen Nevis Camp site: Haggis neeps and mash in whiskey sauce
Best wildlife: Red Squirrel, deer, wildcats if you are very lucky or attend the wildlife park along the route.
Itinery (over 6.5 days.)
Aviemore to Drakes Bothy
Drakes Bothy to Kingussie area
Kingussie to Glen Banchor
Glen Banchor to Loch Doire nan Sqaith
Loch Doire nan Sqaith to Fersit area
Fersit to Spean Bridge
Spean Bridge to Fort William
Favourite Section: Kingussie to Glen Banchor
Favourite Camp: Drakes Bothy area.
I have described our journey below along the EHW, together with the grid refs for the sites where we camped. Enjoy!
Click here for Day 1 - Aviemore to Drakes Bothy
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