Milgavie to Drymen

6 May 2012 - Milgavie to Drymen

Distance - 12.9 miles

Weather - Cool (mainly) but sunny & dry

We stayed at - Buchanan Arms Hotel, Main Street, Drymen, Stirlingshire, G63 0BQ
Cost £60.00

Tina at start of WHW

Of the long distance walks we've completed, most have a disdain for public transport. I'm not sure how people are expected to get to the start of them or leave from the end. For instance, the Ridgeway, the oldest of them, actually starts at the top of a hill! Admittedly it finishes well - at a pub, with a bus-stop outside, at the centre of a huge standing stone circle and henge.

Anyway the West Highland Way is not like this. It starts at Milngavie, with its train station, open shops and big welcoming sign, only five minutes away from the station. There's even a taxi service available to carry your bags to Drymen if you're lazy like us.

WHW sign post to Kyber Pass

The walk immediately takes you away from civilisation, through a wooded path, up out of the town. This first bit of path is much frequented by Milngavie's large population of dogs, but is surprisingly clean. There's a lot of "up" at the start as you head toward Mugdock Wood, but it then flattens out a bit, and even goes downhill for a bit. We passed the interestingly named Kyber Pass, not to be confused with the Khyber Pass between Afghanistan & Pakistan!

You wander along the side of a pleasant fishing loch, get good views

"Diversion" to Dumgoyne Distillery

of the Strathblane Hills and Dumgoyne hill. As you head along a dismantled railway you have the opportunity to visit the Dumgoyne distillery. They even had a clever official looking diversion sign directing you to them. We passed on this, as it would have added some 500 metres to our day. Also more importantly, it was lunch time and there was a pub waiting for us nearby which did not add 500 metres to our day.

The rest of the day was OK, we started to get views of the hills around Loch Lomond, more of a taster of things to come.

A taster of things to come

We stayed at the Buchanan Arms in Drymen and both our room and the food was good. We've already accepted that there will be a £3 per person "West Highland Way" surcharge added to any meals we eat along this route, I suppose you have to expect it when you have such a regular and captive audience.

Many people decide not to walk this first day of the West Highland Way, mostly because the scenery isn't as spectacular as subsequent days. It's a pleasant enough aperitif though, worth doing if you've the time and haven't taken the taxi along with your luggage.