Scotland’s World Famous Long Distance Walks

Scotland’s most famous walks are its long distance epics. Scots are pretty spoilt for choice with Visit Scotland listing over 20 long distance walks on their dedicated walking website www.visitscotland.com/see-do/active/walking. Enough articles have probably been written about the world famous West Highland Way from Milngavie to Fort William to cover the entire 96 mile route in paper and it is justifiably popular, taking in a broad swathe of Highland scenery as it plunges through the glens in a swirl of history.

Scotland’s Long Distance Treks are Renowned Around the World

Less heralded, but equally worth the effort, long distance walks include the Borders Abbeys Way (64 miles), Great Glen Way (73 miles), Fife Coastal Path (93 miles), Speyside Way (65 miles), St. Cuthbert’s Way (62 miles) and the Loch Lomond and Cowal Way (57 miles). Maps are available for all routes with some form of waymarking also on hand on all to assist walkers. Scotland’s big long distance treks may be renowned amongst walkers around the world, but if you are new to walking or are short on time the good news is that there are walking opportunities in and around Scotland’s urban centres too, from city parks and old railway lines, through to nature reserves and coastal trails. With a bit of imagination walks can be worked into a commute or be part of a journey to see friends at weekends.

The Southern Upland Way

Then there is what has to be Scotland’s most underrated long distance trail, the Southern Upland Way, which sweeps all the way coast-to-coast from the picturesque resort town of Portpatrick on the Rhins of Galloway in the west 212 miles across the eponymous uplands to the village of Cocksburnpath, to the south of Edinburgh. Even in summer you often have large tracts of the route to yourself as you negotiate rounded hills, forest shrouded paths and old drovers’ roads on a journey that really needs over a fortnight to cover. A good six day option with moderate daily distances averaging 13 miles is the recently dubbed ‘Galloway Trail’ section from Portpatrick to St. John’s Town of Dalry.

Since the Southern Upland Way celebrated its twenty-first birthday in 2005 there has been a concerted effort from its dynamic organisers to bring in more walkers. They coined the catchy ‘Scotland’s Ultimate Walk’ tagline, jazzed up their website and made on-line booking simpler. Two of the main criticisms levelled their way – that accommodation is hard to source and that transfers are tricky to organise – have been addressed as they can now organise whole trip packages.

More Information

InsiderScotland’s Hike Your Way Around Scotland guide

InsiderScotland’s guide to Scotland’s Walking Festivals

InsiderScotland’s guide to walking Gear, skills and safety