west highland way in one day?

Gman25

hi,
i am planning to tackle the west highland way in one day for charity in august :shock:
from what i have seen there seems to be quite a few people that have achieved this.
but just how tough is it? id really appreciate any info from anyone that has done this.
also i will planning to travel alone is that too risky?

eyes like marbles

i've walked it(not in one day obviously ) but Mr eyes has cycled it in a day the worst sections ( for us both) were the lochside after Inversnaid to Beinglass its only about 7 miles but its it rooty and rocky and Kinlochleven to Fort William ( the first part is straight up wiggly, rocky and last bits about 5 miles of it seem to go on forever where you think you are going in the wrong direction and if goes up and down all over the place) still its worthwhile but can you get a support driver who can meet you and various stops or is part of the fundraising that you are unsupported? i'd suggest a companion to help keep the other going, its tough stuff so when you are low they can boost you and vice versa.

eyes like marbles

i also meant to say good luck!

Banned!

christ! good luck with that mate. ive ridden parts of it over a few days and i certainly wouldnt do it alone. split it into sections, maybe 15 miles, and try to meet up with riders along the way at the beginning and end of each one. that way you'll never be alone and exposed and you will meet riders who will have been doing it anyway and who will know the terrain and conditions. when are you planning this btw? sprng would be the best time, not too busy and the weather can be quite mild.

are you from scotland? if not then be aware that the weather here can change from mild to murderous in a few minutes and the hills are not the place to be when this happens. people die out there quite often. in the summer/autumn you will be plagued by midges and they are an absolute torment.

I would also advise that you start at the top and end at the bottom, for obvious reasons. you dont want a 5 mile climb at the end of the day, better to start it with a 5 mile descent.

Gman25

hi
thanks guys, perhaps one day is a bit much. i think two days is the best option, my brother would be on support car duties meeting me at certain points. i was thinking of doing it in august midweek that way i get plenty of daylight and less walkers or is that wishfull thinking? i was thinking about going north to south as i had heard this to be better for biking. i was thinking of crianlarich as my stop over point? any advice please
thanks

Banned!

august is one of the busiest times on the route and the weather can be almost tropical at times. o would go march/april. much quieter then.

crainlarich is a good stopping point but youre not even halfway by then (i think). if you have somebody supporting you then take a tent, that way you can stop where and when you want. and save money too.

Gman25

yeah i definately want to avoid the bad weather however i want a few months to get my fitness up. id say june would be the earliest i could do but i expect it is busy then? i like the tent idea.

Banned!

the www is busy from may right through until september. we get thousands upon thousands of tourists from all over the world, charity races, boy scouts, army cadets, endurance athletes and so on.

apart from those, the way is broken up into manageable sized chunks for day trippers who just want to go for a nice walk, run, ride or take thier dog out. you would not believe how crowded it can become in the tourist season.

if you want to do it in one day then the best time to do it in would be in june or july. you can start at around 4am and ride right up until 11pm, but even then its going to be really busy for almost all of that time.

I would do it over 2 days and start in march or april. the weather might not be too good but at least you wont have to keep stopping to let huge gruops pass, or slow down until they let you past. some people can be really rude and dont think the www should be used for bikes at all and can get quite uppity about it. you can spot those ones a mile off though.

jeem

Having walked the route 3 times now,

I would advise June as the best month , the route is not so busy and june is also one of the drier months.

Loch lomond side is not pleasent , midges , no view and a really rough path, Dont take the lochside path, done that once , 25yrs ago , still moaning about it

To further avoid the crowds set off later in the week , wed/thursday, most walkers set off at the weekend and the unfit/unprepared will have thrown the towel in by then .

Good luck


Jeem

Gman25

ok thanks,
looks like june is the best bet for me. i have heard lots of bad things about the section around loch lomond whats the best way to tackle it?

jeem

Gman25 wrote:

ok thanks,
looks like june is the best bet for me. i have heard lots of bad things about the section around loch lomond whats the best way to tackle it?

With a sense of humour

Its only 7 miles long , draging a bike , you'll hate it, Its bad enough on foot.

There are a lot of miles you will enjoy though.

Jeem

Banned!

look on the brightside, loch lomond is very nearly the end of it. the path from the loch to drymen and drymen to milngavie isnt very nice, apart from one small stretch from drumgoyne to mugdock park, but thats all uphill.

take plenty of nivea skin so soft. its the only thing that keeps the midges off.

Gman25

yeah thats right, its all part of the experiance. im not interested in riding anything that wont challenge me.
my daughter passed away last year and the hospice we stayed with were fantastic which is why i want to try and raise some money for them by doing this.
im sure it is mentally challenging but after going through what we did with our daughter last year nothing seems difficult.
obviously im not going to be stupid about it and i will be making sure that im physically ready for it.
thanks for all the advice.

eyes like marbles

The Youth Hostel in Crianlarich is great, its cheap comfy and has a good kitchen.
If you are making Milngavie the end then thats just past half way so would be a sensible stopping place.

AlasdairMc

Gman25 wrote:

hi
thanks guys, perhaps one day is a bit much. i think two days is the best option, my brother would be on support car duties meeting me at certain points. i was thinking of doing it in august midweek that way i get plenty of daylight and less walkers or is that wishfull thinking? i was thinking about going north to south as i had heard this to be better for biking. i was thinking of crianlarich as my stop over point? any advice please
thanks

Firstly - I would definitely do it South to North, purely for the nice descent to the Kingshouse, and the even nicer descent from the top of the Devil's Staircase to Kinlochleven.

I must add that I've not done anything South of Tyndrum yet, I've heard it's a bit hike-a-bike but that adds to the challenge I suppose.

I too am considering doing the whole thing in one go later this year, my plan was to get the last train to Milngavie and ride through the night (it gets light pretty early up here in June) and get the last train back down from Fort William. This approach is down to my lack of a suitable support vehicle/supporter, and the fact I'm training up for a 24 hour adventure race.

If doing it unsupported, beware Kinlochleven, it doesn't have a bike shop as I discovered after splitting a sidewall at the top of the Staircase!!!

Good luck with it, I'm sure you'll find it a rewarding ride in excellent scenery

Stoo61

I cycled down Loch Lomond on it, Inversnaid to Rowardenan. Tis a decent ride, quite technical. To my knowledge however the north part is very hard going. I'm sure many people take a boat across the Loch and take the road up the West Side of the loch.

Gman25

ok im getting confused now cant decide if i should do it north-south or south-north :?:

sniper68

Gman25 wrote:

ok im getting confused now cant decide if i should do it north-south or south-north :?:

We've done it both ways,for views S-N the hills just get bigger and bigger,but i personally prefer N-S.
Which ever way you go get the ferry for the far north of Loch Lomond;horrible carry/trudge,we got bit to s*** :x

counterculture

me and 2 mates are doing it in may 6th + 7th with a night over in fort bill on the fighting juice then the train back to milngavie (£20). were starting early morning, and using the van guys to carry our gear (£35) stopping overnight in tyndrum in the wigwams then finishing the next day, were not at the pinnacle of fitness but i reckon its doable. i put a post up a week or so ago and got some good advice and links.

also to avoid the deadly 7 miles on Loch Lomond you can get a ferry to cut it out, but were gonna play it by ear when that point comes up

sniper68

We did it in 4(short) days N-S but also did the Great Glen Way N-S(Inverness to Fort bill)as well.So 6 days in total.Probably 3 days is a good steady number for the WHW,if like us you have a good few beers every night(as you do)

Northwind

Gman25 wrote:

in august :shock:

PACK YOUR MIDGE REPELLANT. A bunch of us camped at Beinglas last august, I thought the sun had gone down early, no, it's just a cloud of midges. Never seen them so bad anywhere else, a bunch of the group were up from England and just refused to go outside where possible, they were so freaked out. Not nice. Skin So Soft is indeed the only thing that works, nice and easy to find in camping shops.