05/08/2025
Day 4 started with a little rain but we were well rested after a good feed and getting semi dry at Beinglas. We set off heading for The Bridge of Orchy, the miles are really starting to pick up now and this day averaged around 20 miles or so.
The trail would take us up and over some great hills with beautiful views. We headed straight for Tyndrum in the hopes of using the drying machines around the back of The Green Welly Stop. On our route we bumped into a Loch Lomond Ranger who we stopped and chatted to just after The Lochan.
As we arrived at Tyndrum we were gutted to see the drying machines were 'Out Of Order' so any hopes of drying some clothes to remove unneeded weight were quickly washed away (pun intended). The Green Welly Stop is a great stop with a few cafes and pubs. We nipped inside the pub directly next to The Green Welly Stop 'The Tyndrum Inn' and had some lunch and of course a pint of Guinness. The little convenience store just a short walk from The Green Welly is cheaper for most things, so go here for extra supplies and snacks.
We left Tyndrum and had our minds set on reaching the Bridge of Orchy, the weather again was a mixed bag of rain and sun. We passed the soon to be opened '60 mile inn' glamping pods which were a sign we were close to the Bridge of Orchy. The camping wild camping spot for the Bridge Of Orchy is just behind the hotel and over the bridge, you can't miss it. A word of warning, the midgies here are horrendous haha, be prepared. We set up a toe hospital on the table and dressed our feet with blister plasters whilst we waited for our food to rehydrate. We ate our food, some snacks, and played some cards before heading off to bed. When we arrived at the site we were the only ones, but when we woke there was about 7 tents, so its a popular spot.
We both used small air mattresses on this trip to sleep on. They folded away nicely, were relatively small and light which definitely helped us.
Day 5 - Bridge of Orchy to Glen Coe. This day would be around 15 miles or so and the views on this section were spectacular. It is relatively flat once you descended into Inveroran. We stopped at the little shop here for some snacks and couldn't resist a bacon roll and coffee. After a good few hours of hiking through Rannoch Moor taking in the incredible views we arrived at the famous Kings House Hotel. The bar to the side has plenty of tables and charging spots (plugs and USB sockets). We had a steak pie and shared a Venison Burger which was absolutely beautiful. They also had Murphys on draft which was the boost I needed, twice in fact haha. From here it was just a few miles to our final camping spot, the bottom of the devils stair case. If you cross over the road, walk down the path, just on your right there is a perfectly flat area of grass which is ideal for a couple of small tents. We sat with a dram of Glengoyne and a Cornish Pasty and took in the views, truly stunning. We zipped up our tent for the final night and headed off to bed, knowing tomorrow would not only be our last day but the longest day we would have ever hiked in our life...starting with the devils stair case,
Day 6 - Glen Coe to Fort William - Our Final Day.
We woke up excited, we were on the final day, the final stretch, after a quick breakfast we packed up our tent and headed over the road to take on the famous 'Devils Stair Case'. Now a lot of talk about this being a real leg killer, honestly....its absolutely fine, even with my bad knees and Abi's dodgy foot. Maybe it was because we tackled this first thing, who knows.
After the descent into Kinlochleven we took a small break to rest up and reapply some deep heat. There is a small co-op shop here where you can stock up. There's also a cafe serving rolls, sandwiches, cakes and drinks.
The path out of Kinlochleven in my opinion is way worse than the Devils Staircase. You could have named this section The Devils Staircase and I would have agreed with you, but the views were worth it.
We then took the old military road (part of the whw route) pretty much all the way to fort william. This valley is beautiful. Do not forget to look back, it is easy to just keep walking and focusing on the path ahead, but the views are worthy of a look back.
After what seemed like a lifetime of walking, we climbed our last hill, turned a corner and was greeted with the view of Ben Nevis, we are so close now!
The path down hill is a gravel path, rather large, but brutal on the toes and knees. It leads straight to the main road. From here its about 50 minutes of walking on the pavement to reach Fort William Town.
Once we arrived, we took our finish photo and headed straight to the pub.
The West Highland Way Challenge was a great experience, something we are lucky enough to be able to do and we don't take it lightly. It is tough, do not underestimate it, but it is so worth it. Oddly we didn't get much footage over these days as we were busy taking it all in!
Enjoy
Day 4 started with a little rain but we were well rested after a good feed and getting semi dry at Beinglas. We set off heading for The Bridge of Orchy, the ...
