The best walking holidays in Scotland

The Hebridean Way

Taylor St. John

• Distance: 156 miles
• Duration: 12 days
• Start point: Vatersay, Barra
• End point: Stornoway, Lewis & Harris
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Suitable for: All levels

In the westernmost reaches of Scotland, embrace Gaelic culture, archaeological wonders, and remote and wild landscapes. The Outer Hebrides island chain stretches from Barra in the south past North and South Uist, to Harris and Lewis in the North, with smaller islands dotted throughout. This is Scotland at its wildest, and The Hebridean Way makes for an excellent long-distance walking holiday, island hopping over no fewer than ten islands over around 12 days.

If you feel an urge to go further west still, take a boat to the island of St. Kilda where a 3.5 mile loop walk takes you to the highest point on the Hebrides – 1,410-foot Conachair – passing abandoned villages, and surrounded by Europe’s largest seabird colony. You can also visit the Callanish Stones in Lewis, dating back to 2900 BC, and don’t leave without sampling Stornoway Black Pudding, so coveted it now has its own protected status.

Calmac ferries depart from Oban, Mallaig, Ullapool, and also from Uig on Skye. You can then travel the 130-mile length of the islands by connecting ferries and causeways. An easy way to island-hop is with Calmac’s Island Hopscotch ferry ticket, running from Oban up through the islands and back to Ullapool. Like the Inner Hebrides, island accommodation and car spaces on ferries books up extremely quickly, so it’s best to make your plans well in advance. Travellers can fly with Loganair to Benbecula, Stornoway or Barra (the only airport in the world where scheduled flights use the beach as a runway.)

The John Muir Way

Taylor St. John

• Distance: 134 miles
• Duration: 10 days
• Start point: Helensburgh
• End point: Dunbar
• Difficulty: Moderate

For a less-trodden slice of Scotland, I can highly recommend the 134-mile John Muir Way which traces the emigration route of the famous Scottish-American naturalist. The moderate coast-to-coast walk is normally done from Helensburgh in the west to Dunbar in the east. The well-waymarked route takes roughly ten days to complete and cuts through the rolling landscape of the Central Belt, following part of the Forth and Clyde Canal, touching the banks of Loch Lomond, and hugging the coast along the Firth of Forth.

Knoydart Peninsula

Taylor St. John

Towards the west coast, the wild Knoydart Peninsula is for true backpacking expeditions, largely accessible only by foot or by boat to the village of Inverie. Guided hiking is advisable for all but the most competent navigators. A good challenge for experienced hillwalkers is climbing the three munros of Luinne Bheinn, Meall Buidhe and Ladhar Bheinn.

The Great Glen Way

Fergal MacErlean

• Distance: 78 miles (125km)
• Duration: Five to seven days
• Start point: Fort William
• End point: Inverness
• Difficulty: First half flat, then some very hilly sections
• Suitable for: All levels

The Great Glen fault line bisects the Scottish highlands to create an epic backdrop for this spectacular hike. The largely low-level Great Glen Way has beautiful and varied scenery throughout as you follow canal towpaths, pass forests, moorland and mountains on a well-marked path.

The Great Glen Way is well served by various walking holiday companies and services. You can book your own accommodation and baggage transfer, or let a specialist organise your entire trip.

The East Highland Way

David Battle

• Distance: 82 miles
• Duration: Six to eight days
• Start/end point: Fort William to Aviemore
• Difficulty: Moderate

I love the East Highland Way as a much quieter alternative to the famous (and heavily marketed) West Highland Way. This trail follows the valleys eastwards through forests and loch side tracks, and into some remote mountain glens. It's not waymarked and is much less well known, so I recommend it for visitors looking for something a little different but not too difficult in the Highlands.

The West Highland Way

Fergal MacErlean

• Distance: 96 miles (154km)
• Duration: Eight days
• Start point: Milngavie
• End point: Fort William
• Difficulty: Moderate with harder northern sections – well-marked route; some remote and hilly parts
• Suitable for: Any reasonably fit walker, family-friendly sections highlighted below

Scotland's oldest and most popular long-distance walking route – the West Highland Way – appeals to serious walkers, strolling day trippers and even runners who race the 96 miles in under 35 hours! Walkers take around a week to complete the distance, travelling from the outskirts of Glasgow, past Loch Lomond’s wooded banks, via Tyndrum and across the wilds of Rannoch Moor before a final stretch to finish in the Highland town of Fort William.

The Northern Isles

Taylor St. John

The Northern Isles feel a world away from the mainland UK—both Orkney and Shetland are closer to the Arctic circle than to London—yet these rugged archipelagos at the collision of North Sea and Atlantic Ocean are surprisingly accessible.

Most walkers here come for centre-based holidays, although there are some 'official' long distance footpaths even up here, such as St Magnus Way and the island-hopping Shetland Walks. There are a handful of walking companies that offer both guided and self-guided holidays on Orkney and Shetland. Keep in mind that longer walks from most rural locations will require a car.

On Hoy, the ‘High Isle’, walk from Moaness to Rackwick Bay through Orcadian novelist George Mackay Browne’s “hidden valley of light.” Continue along a cliff path toward the towering sandstone sea stack, the Old Man of Hoy. The newly developed St Magnus Way pilgrimage route follows the 55-mile journey of the martyred Earl of Orkney as it crosses Egilsay, then zig-zags across the Orkney mainland. On Shetland, ferry to the Island of Noss National Nature Reserve for a challenging 5-mile coastal loop and some of the best birdwatching in the Northern Isles.

Cairngorms National Park

Taylor St. John

In the Cairngorms National Park you’ll find 1,748 square miles of protected heather-covered moorland and mountains cut by meandering burns (small streams). Long-distance walks like the 65-mile Speyside Way and 64-mile Cateran Trail run through the park, and its challenging terrain makes it a popular base for centre-based walking holidays.

The Rob Roy Way

Fergal MacErlean

• Distance: 79 miles (127km)
• Duration: Six days
• Start point: Drymen
• End point: Pitlochry
• Difficulty: Moderate to hard – partly way-marked route, ill-defined path in places; hilly sections
• Suitable for: Any reasonably fit walker, family-friendly sections highlighted below.

Named in honour of the 17th-century folk hero, the Rob Roy Way passes through rugged country closely associated with the irrepressible Scot and follows tracks he would have taken on his many adventures.

Expect quiet pine forests, scenic lochshores, and wilder upland sections where the adventure is tangible. The first four days lead northwards through the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park – a gem among Scotland’s landscapes.

The Speyside Way

Fergal MacErlean

• Distance: 65 miles (105km)
• Duration: Five to eight days
• Start point: Buckie
• End point: Aviemore
• Difficulty: Easy to moderate – well-marked route; few steep gradients; some stiles to negotiate
• Suitable for: Most walkers, family friendly sections

The Speyside Way is one of four official Long Distance Routes in Scotland (the others are the West Highland Way, the Southern Upland Way and the Great Glen Way). It largely follows the course of the majestic River Spey from the Moray coast to the Cairngorms National Park gateway town of Aviemore. Along the route one passes myriad whisky distilleries and stands of ancient pine and birch woods.

St Ninian's Way

Fergal MacErlean

• Distance: 126 miles (202km)
• Duration: 10 to 12 days
• Start point: Carlisle
• End point: Whithorn (for Part 1)
• Difficulty: A largely flat or undulating route with some hilly farmland and moorland sections
• Suitable for: All levels

The Carlisle to Whithorn section is the most scenic stretch of the Way, a second leg (adding a further ten days' walking and 124 miles/ 198km) continues through Ayrshire and across densely-populated central Scotland and ends on the east coast at South Queensferry, by Edinburgh.

St Ninian’s Way isn’t widely offered as an organised walking holiday, although you might find a specialist operator who can help. Most walkers book their accommodation independently, and you might find B&Bs who can arrange luggage transfer on an ad-hoc basis.

Loch Lomond & the Trossachs

Taylor St. John

Within Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park, 3,196-foot Ben Lomond is a good start to any Munro-bagging mission. Slightly to the east is 3,547-foot Schiehallian, easily-scalable on a fine day and where scientists first attempted to weigh the world. With their proximity to the cities of Scotland’s Central Belt, both of these areas are fairly easy-to-reach making them great for a shorter Highland escape.

Fife Coastal Path

Fergal MacErlean

• Distance: 117 miles (188km)
• Duration: Eight days
• Start point: Kincardine
• End point: Aviemore
• Difficulty: Easy first half, easy to moderate thereafter – well-marked route; few steep gradients; rough ground and slippy steps in places; some sections only suitable at low tide
• Suitable for: Most walkers, family friendly sections

Tamer than most Scottish walking routes, this 188km well-signed route passes through picturesque seaside villages, old smuggling caves, and fabulous beaches. In summer it is very beautiful. There are many historical castles and sites too in addition to the stunning sea views; Fife is bounded by the Firths (estuaries) of the Forth and Tay, to the south and north respectively, and juts east into the North Sea. You can even take a boat trip to one of the islands.

The route really lends itself to walking in multiple sections if that takes your fancy rather than one big undertaking. Its character changes a lot from the low-lying easy first half to include some rougher but straightforward parts on the easternmost section, the East Neuk.

Arran Coastal Way

Fergal MacErlean

• Distance: 66 miles (107km)
• Duration: Seven to eight days
• Start point: Brodick
• End point: Brodick
• Difficulty: Challenging and rugged
• Suitable for: Experienced trekkers

This challenging trail gives a rewarding circuit around the beautiful, accessible, Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde, west of Glasgow. The route leads around the coastal fringe of Arran’s mountainous north down its west coast to the sandy beaches, rocky shores and gentler landscapes of the south. The return leg up the east coast leads through forests and woodland, passing Iron Age hill forts and burial cairns.

West Island Way

Fergal MacErlean

• Distance: 30 miles (48km)
• Duration: 2 to 4 days
• Start point: Kilchattan Bay, Bute
• End point: Port Bannatyne, Bute
• Difficulty: Generally suitable for inexperienced walkers, although some sections are strenuous and rough
• Suitable for: All levels

This delightful long distance walk takes in many of the finest sights on the Isle of Bute in the Firth of Clyde. This lesser-known trail boasts secluded beaches, a range of wildlife, and a generally flat profile.

The route crosses diverse landscapes from rocky headlands, seashore and sandy beaches to moorland, farmland and forest. Most of it is level though there is a high moorland section on Day three between Rhubodach to Port Bannatyne which can be boggy, especially in the winter and after long periods of heavy rain. For that reason, as for all west Scotland walks, the optimum months are May, early June and September when the days are warmer, the climate more stable and also when the biting midges are scarcer than in the main summer period.

The Kintyre Way

Fergal MacErlean

• Distance: 100 miles (160km)
• Duration: 7 days
• Start point: Tarbert
• End point: Machrihanish
• Difficulty: Easy road and forest track sections to difficult foreshore and remote hill walks
• Suitable for: Experienced hikers

Less well known than the West Highland Way, this 100-mile (161km) trail zig-zags down through the peaceful and energising Kintyre Peninsula. Along the way you'll pass numerous historical sites on this largely unspoilt landmass ending by the spectacular Machrihanish Bay.

The well-marked Kintyre Way has something for all nature lovers with, on the whole, straightforward walking.

Although the route is generally considered as starting in Tarbert in the north to Machrihanish in the south, the route can also be walked south to north and is fully waymarked in both directions.

The Cape Wrath Trail

David Battle

If you want something truly different, I can highly recommend the Cape Wrath Trail: the UK's most challenging long-distance trekking route and probably my favourite place to trek in Scotland.

With many pathless sections through rough terrain, across rivers and mountain passes, it really lives up to its reputation. The route starts in Fort William, finishes at the Cape Wrath lighthouse, and takes in many of northwest Scotland's best mountain landscapes.

There are a number of variations on this route. For our guests we break the route into three stages, the Knoydart Expedition (57 miles), Cape Wrath Trail South (81 miles), and Cape Wrath Trail North (101 miles). Each section is between six and eight nights, including several nights wild camping, or they can be combined into one single mega expedition!