The West Highland Way - A natural tour

On leaving Drymen, you soon enter  Garadbhan Forest  as you approach Conic Hill from the East.

The view from the top of  Conic Hill  - a SSSI - is world class: stretching across the world famous Loch Lomond is a chain of islands that mark the Highland Boundary Fault, the literal threshold between the lowlands and the highlands of Scotland.

At Balmaha, you can find out more from the  National Park Visitor Centre  and also get right up to the shore of Loch Lomond for the first time. The Way then winds through the Atlantic oak woodlands around the eastern shore of the loch, passing by the Milarrochy Tree and the entrance to Cashel Native Forest. Here there are 300 acres of ancient and restored native woodland with a  network of paths  which you can explore, also giving great views over Loch Lomond.

What might I see?

You might decide to get a boat out to discover islands on Loch Lomond, such as Inchcailloch – famous for its bluebells in late Spring – plus birdlife such as blackcap, willow warbler and chiff chaff. You may spot red squirrels (sightings can be reported  here ) or fallow deer and birds of prey including buzzards and hen harriers on the open hill. In the summer, you will see a wide variety of wildflowers, including orchids, harebells, foxgloves and thistles. 

Rowardennan is the starting point for  Ben Lomond , Scotland’s most southerly Munro at 3,193ft/974m. If you do not want to add to your step count too much, the one-mile Ardess Hidden History Trail might suit you. You will also see the circular stone and granite sculpture which marks the  National Memorial Park . 

The Way carries on along the rocky, eastern shore of Loch Lomond through the Comer Estate to Inversnaid – Rob Roy country - with its waterfall and  RSPB Inversnaid Reserve . The latter is part of The Great Trossachs Forest project and an internationally important example of rare Atlantic oak woodland - a habitat so rich that it is also referred to as temperate rainforest. Pollochro Woods at Inversnaid is designated as a SSSI, as well as a  Natura 2000  site.

Although they may look pretty, rhododendron around areas like Inversnaid need to be cleared as they are an  invasive non-native species  (INNS) which inhibit the growth of native trees and shrubs. 

What might I see?

The National Trust for Scotland looks after the summit of Ben Lomond, along with the woodlands and fields of the lower slopes, peatland and moorland. Look out for  wildlife  including ptarmigan (which give their name to Ptarmigan Ridge) and ravens, skylarks and wheatears, black grouse and even pine martens or an adder. You may also encounter some wild goats or be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a peregrine, osprey or golden eagle. 

Depending on the season, you may see carpets of bluebells, distinctive yellow gorse, or heather across the slopes; for much of the year the area is alive with the sound of birdsong, including the distinctive call of the cuckoo. 

In the autumn, you should listen out for rutting stags high up on the hills and you may see rare ferns and mosses or find a huge milkcap fungus.

Past the northern end of Loch Lomond, you will now enter a different landscape; one of soaring mountains and long glens in Breadalbane, ‘The High Country’. Initially following the river through Glen Falloch, you will catch glimpses of the Falls of Falloch and then go through a SSSI Caledonian Pinewood.  The  Crianlarich  Crossroads marks the halfway point of the 96 miles giving you views to the Munros and SSSIs of Ben More and Stob Binnein to the east and Ben Lui to the west.    

Onwards the surrounding hills shepherd you towards  Tyndrum , initially following the River Fillan across the valley floor, rich in brown trout, salmon and perch, then the River Cononish into the village via  Tyndrum Community Woodland  consisting of mixed native woodland, downy birch, Scots pine, and willow amongst others, with areas of bog land, rough grazing and some extant areas of old spruce plantation.

What might I see?

The  Strathfillan landscape  is unique and biologically diverse, featuring some of the richest montane flora in the UK, along with the National Park’s only remaining Caledonian pinewoods at Cononish near Tyndrum and in Glen Falloch, the most southerly remnant ancient pinewoods in Britain.

Notable species in this area include golden eagle, raven, peregrine, ptarmigan, dotterel and other upland birds, red deer, mountain hare, lower plants and lichens.

Wild Strathfillan is one example of a project within the National Park’s  Future Nature  routemap which aims to deliver landscape-scale nature restoration in line with the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy 2045.    

Shortly after setting off from Tyndrum, you also leave the National Park, before reaching the Auch Estate, with great views towards the 1,076m summit of Beinn Dorain and into Gleann Achadh-innis Chailein classified as  Wild Land Area 10: Breadalbane – Schiehallion . The West Highland Way traverses the edges of this wild area towards Bridge of Orchy and its eponymous bridge. After Bridge of Orchy the Way joins the Old Military Road. A short climb up the hill gives a dramatic viewpoint across Loch Tulla and the Black Mount.

What might I see?

The predominantly hill land of Auch Estate is home to thousands of sheep, cattle and deer, plus salmon in the estate's own private beat of the River Orchy. Influenced by the altitude, weather conditions and historical management, the Estate also has unique and distinctive communities of rare plants. 

Around Loch Tulla, Old Scots pine woods line the southwest and west of the Loch, where you might spot the common crossbill. The west end of the Loch is shallow and ideal for waders, such as common greenshank, dunlin, common ringed plover and common sandpiper. Osprey nest on the banks and you might be lucky enough to spot a white-tailed eagle.

Beyond Inveroran, the remote Rannoch Moor beckons, an expanse of around 50 square miles (130 km2) of boggy moorland to the west of Loch Rannoch.  This is a wild and remote section of the West Highland Way and one of the last great wildernesses of Europe. Rannoch Moor is designated as a SSSI and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). About half-way across, you will cross Ba Bridge, with the surrounding area known as the Black Mount. Not long after, the mountains to the north and west come into view, including the ‘great herdsmen’, Buachaille Etive Mor. Much of the western part of the moor lies within the Ben Nevis and Glen Coe National Scenic Area, one of 40 such areas in Scotland.  

What might I see?

The Rannoch Moor SAC/SSSI is designated for a variety of upland habitats which are blanket bog, hollows with Rhynchospora alba, dry heath, quaking bogs and wet heath. Watercourses and bodies of standing water are a frequent and significant feature of the Rannoch Moor landscape, varying in size from the main River Ba to small tributaries, lochans and pools. It is a very challenging environment but still supports varieties of flora and fauna.

A wealth of plants, insect, bird and animal life can be seen here - look up to see eagles, buzzards, lapwings, cuckoos, stonechats, wheatears and skylark soaring above you. Closer to the ground keep an eye out for grouse, deer, cottongrass, bog myrtle, bog asphodel, heathers, and heath spotted orchid.  

The Way continues through the Ben Nevis and Glen Coe National Scenic Area, across the Kingshouse SSSI and the Black Corries estate, 30,000 acres of mountain, moor and loch. Buachaille Etive Mor dominates the views to the west, before you reach Altnafeadh, where the Way zigzags up the Devil’s Staircase. 

At the top of here, you reach the highest point of the West Highland Way at 548m (1800 ft) and views over the Mamores will then open up to the north, before you see the western end of Blackwater Reservoir and descend into Kinlochleven.   

What might I see?

The acid, peaty soil is ideal for Scots Pine and you will also see a lot of heather moorland. 

Red deer are commonly seen around Kingshouse and keep an eye out for birds of prey such as buzzards and eagles, grouse and other smaller birds such as pipits and skylark.

The boggy ground means much of the plant life is similar across these sections of the Way - plenty of opportunities to stop and identify!