Ninety-six miles from the outskirts of Glasgow to the foot of Ben Nevis, Scotland's oldest long-distance path earns its reputation one boggy mile at a time.
I started at Milngavie, the unglamorous suburban trailhead marked by a granite obelisk, and within two days the path had already traded pavement for the open moor of Rannoch. The route runs north along Loch Lomond's eastern shore, a section locals warn you about more than any other, since it narrows to a scramble over tree roots and boulders for several hours near Inversnaid.
Camping wild is legal and common here, and I pitched most nights within sight of water: Loch Lomond, Loch Tulla, the River Orchy. The middle days across Rannoch Moor are the emotional heart of the walk, a flat expanse of heather and old drove roads with Buachaille Etive Mòr rising like a broken tooth on the horizon.
Book the Kingshouse or Inveroran for at least one night if you'd rather have a bed and a dram than a tent — both sit right on the route and fill up fast in summer. The path ends in Fort William beneath Ben Nevis, and if your legs have anything left, the extra day up Britain's highest mountain is worth tacking on before the bus home.
