I loved the West Highland Way – so what can I walk next?

Many, many thousands of people enjoy walking the West Highland Way. Scotland’s most famous long-distance walking trail is a great goal and can be completed comfortably as part of a week’s holiday. Then, once you have returned home, thoughts will inevitably turn to the next walking holiday. So where can you walk next if you have completed the fantastic WHW?

Seven more ideas for WHW fans

1) Walk it again: It might surprise you to know that many people return again and again to walk the WHW. Some people make it an annual pilgrimage. You could walk it during a different season, with different people or in a different season. What is striking is that each time people walk the WHW they say it looks or seems different so it is possible to enjoy a whole new experience each time you walk the way.

A West Highland Way runner. Pic credit: Robin McConnell on Flickr

2) Run it: There are the West Highland Way Race maddies, who run the full 96 miles in less than 24 hours. If this sounds like a bit too fast, you could choose to run the route in three or four days.

3) Walk another great Scottish trail: There are dozens of fantastic long-distance walking trails in Scotland. Choose from superb multi-day walks such as the 79-mile Great Glen Way (which aptly begins at the end of the West Highland Way).

Hadrian's Wall walk

4) Walk a UK trail: Walking holidays are a brilliant way to explore new areas so how about walking another trail in the UK? There are many National Trails in England, especially the Coast to Coast and the Hadrian’s Wall walk, and multi day walks such as the Pembrokeshire Coast Path in Wales.

5) Walk a national trail in Europe: The famous GR Routes offers walks a superb way to see new areas while following waymarked trails. There are more than 100 GR routes in Europe, including the GR10 through the French Pyrenees, the GR 20 in Corsica and the GR36 in the Dordogne. Read more about the GR routes .

Walking delights in Corsica

6) Follow in the steps of the pilgrims: Many people who walk a long distance trail and discover they enjoy it will look to world-famous routes for their next trip. Some of the most acclaimed are the various routes of the Camino de Santiago. The walking routes all lead to the shrine of the apostle St James the Great in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain. Walking a pilgrims route can be a hugely uplifting experience. If you have 40 days to spare why not walk the full Camino?