Not the West Highland Way: A Mountain High Way

Mountain alternatives and backpacking ideas to link with the West Highland Way
Guidebook to the best mountain alternative routes deviating from Scotland's iconic West Highland Way. Includes 14 variants/side loops plus trail extensions, with options to bag nearby Munros. For intrepid walkers with an affinity for hills.

Experience the West Highland Way as you’ve never seen it before. Not the West Highland Way: A Mountain High Way explores a series of alternative day walks, mountain routes and multi-day options that run alongside, above and beyond Scotland’s most popular long-distance trail. From Milngavie to Fort William, these routes swap busy paths and low-level tracks for high ridges, classic peaks and sweeping Highland views, offering a wilder, more challenging way to engage with this iconic landscape.

Designed for walkers who want to go beyond the standard 96-mile route, this guidebook shows how to build tougher, more adventurous itineraries using high-level detours, standalone mountain days or linked multi-day routes. It’s ideal for experienced hillwalkers, return visitors to the West Highland Way, or anyone looking to combine iconic scenery with greater challenge and solitude.

• The guidebook includes 14 alternative mountain variants and side loops, ranging from roughly 10–29km with ascents from around 650–1600m, giving you options for single high-level days above almost every stage of the standard West Highland Way
• Two beginner-friendly two-day backpacking trips are also described, offering a gentle introduction to wild camping and hut nights while staying close to the security and facilities of the main trail
• Three extended multi-day adventures go beyond the West Highland Way itself – including routes such as Corrour to Dalwhinnie and Fort William to Inverie – opening up wilder corners of Rannoch, Knoydart and the central Highlands for those with extra time
• Practical information on access, mapping choices and mountain safety is woven throughout, helping you judge weather, terrain and commitment levels before leaving the valley path for more exposed hill crossings in the Highlands
• Get the level of navigational detail you expect from a Cicerone guidebook: detailed route descriptions, OS mapping and GPX files for digital navigation across unbeatable Scottish landscapes

Featuring iconic landscapes such as Ben Lomond, Ben Lui, the Black Mount, the Mamores, Loch Etive and Glen Nevis, this guidebook unlocks some of the Highlands’ most dramatic scenery. These routes lift you above the crowds, turning well-trodden glens into high-level mountain journeys defined by sweeping ridges, cascading waterfalls and expansive Highland views.

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