West Highland Way Day 7: Kinlochleven to Fort William

We got lucky with the weather on our final day! Having been well fuelled with a good breakfast (fish cakes and poached eggs), we were on our way around 9 am.

Climbing out of Kinlochleven

The initial climb out of Kinlochleven is the toughest part of the day. It zigzags back and forth for quite some time making for an interesting route profile!

We met a few familiar faces on this section of trail, everyone on the final leg of their journey to Fort William.

A new face we met was Ben, visiting from New Zealand. He was an interesting chap to chat to – mountain leader, photographer, part of the search and rescue team – and we easily passed a few miles with him.

Wonderful Views

Once up the initial slope the views are absolutely stunning all the way to Fort William.

The walking is relatively easy with wide tracks for the most part. Underfoot conditions were good, the trails were dry and I was happy that I’d chosen to wear my Lone Peak running shoes rather than boots. My feet felt so much happier and more cushioned.

We passed a couple of old ruins and contemplated what it would be like to live out in such a wild place. Some other folks that we were chatting with thought it would be idyllic; perhaps in summer, I’m not so sure about the winter!

We stopped at various points to look back as the views were equally impressive in both directions. This is one section of the way that you could happily go either direction, and indeed we did meet various folks on bikes and on foot doing just that.

Ben Nevis Makes An Appearance

Continuing along, at some point you climb higher, drop slightly and all of a sudden Ben Nevis comes into view. On a clear day like today it is absolutely stunning and becomes more resplendent the further you progress.

We took so many photos of this magnificent mountain!

On the final stretch of our walk we met John who we’d chatted to very briefly a couple of days ago. The chat with him was great, talking about our experiences of the way, plans for next week (we know where we’re headed, and discussed various options for them), also getting some information about American National Parks for future reference.

Reaching the road, we shared a dram with John before parting ways. We finished our walk at the statue in the centre of Fort William, posing for the traditional photo before heading off to refresh ourselves in all regards.

Our day ended with pizza and beer in the Black Isle Bar and a quick stop off at the Grog & Gruel where we met some fellow walkers who we’d only had brief contact with but so enjoyed their company this evening. That’s what this is about.

West Highland Way, you’ve been outstanding!