Scotland 2025
October 3-19, 2025

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Tuesday – Kinlochleven to Fort William
14.5 miles / 23 km

Today was the last day on the West Highland Way. It was amazing to me that the time (and distance!) had gone by so quickly. I was enjoying the solo walking, and yesterday’s second half was much more to my liking. It was a pleasant surprise that today’s hike would be a continuation of that enjoyment.

We all left our B&B together after a hearty breakfast and walked to the far side of the town before taking a forested trail marked with the WHW signage. It was an immediate climb up out of the valley of the loch, although this climb was a little more relaxed than yesterday’s Staircase. We leap-frogged a couple of fellow hikers and soon broke out of the trees, enjoying an amazing view across the loch and back across Kinlochleven and the mountain we had descended yesterday.

Shortly after this point Dan left Petra and I behind, and the two of us strolled purposefully along the old military road. Seeing the trail stretch out for miles ahead, along the shoulders of the valley, was inspiring. In the distance I could sometimes hear the rutting deer calling out to rivals. I picked up bits of litter which had been thankfully rare on the hike.

The last hour of the trail was fine, but I was very much ready to be done and off my feet. I was walking alone by this time, a strong and steady pace while negotiating a narrow track through a mix of forest and low growth. I passed some people along the way, but I had the trail mostly to myself.

But then I reached a gravel road and rounded the bend to see Ben Nevis before me. Well, most of Ben Nevis: the clouds were low enough that the top half of the mountain was hidden from view. At this point the walk was verging on tedious: the road was wide and went steadily down. Once it reached the valley bottom, it flattened out and followed the main road in and out of Fort William. It was not pleasant at all, and I was all too ready to be done with the walk. It was even harder to keep walking when I literally walked passed our lodgings for the night, the Craig Nevis Guest House, knowing that I would have to come back this way in an hour or so.

Adding to the dismay, I came to the original “End of the West Highland Way” signage at the edge of the town center – but they had since moved the official End to the other side of town. Sigh. I trudged along the high street, not really enjoying the shops and restaurants that lined the way. It felt like a marketing ploy to me at this point. “Come to Fort William, but make sure that you walk through the entire town!”

And then I saw Dan. And the official end of the WHW sign. And the statue on the bench, “Sore Feet”, perfectly arranged for a photo op. It was done. I was done. Dan had been in town for an hour and a half, and Petra joined us about an hour later. We took a seat at a local pub, the Black Isle, and ran out to greet fellow hikers as they appeared. The feeling of accomplishment was palpable and there were many celebratory beers consumed!

Dan, Petra, and I finally made our way back to our guest house. I felt more than a little guilty to realize that our host was in the middle of dinner. But Gogs (that’s the name he gave us) was the most genial, friendly, person I’ve met in years. He joked with us and showed us to our room, which I was a little nervous about since it was directly off the main road, and there was a motion-activated light just outside our door. But the room itself was a nice size, and the bathroom was huge with an excellent shower. Ah – it is the little things that make my days better, it seems.

Gogs gave us some dinner recommendations back in town (yay – more walking) but when Dan asked him about catching a taxi to the base of Ben Nevis in the morning, Gogs was aghast! There was no way that he would allow Dan to get a ride to the parking lot there (which would otherwise be a 30 minute awful walk along the main road). The two of them agreed that after breakfast service was done in the morning, Dan would get a ride from Gogs to the start of his little “bonus hike” up Ben Nevis. Petra and I, on the other hand, were done with any serious walking and were content to stay in town and take it easy.

Wednesday