What kit do I need for the West Highland Way?
It depends how you do it:
- Are you going to be camping, or AirBnb’ing, or hostelling?
- Are you doing it in 5 days, 7 days, 10 days?
- Will you be having your luggage carried or will you be hauling them along yourselves?
- What time of year will you be doing it?
However, there is one thing that you will need no matter how, or when you do it…
Midge Nets
If you haven’t heard of midges then you’re in for a shock.
The swarming, biting, crawling, festering, relentless insects are most prevalent along the West Highland Way route from May to September.
You can check the midge forecast for the time you are going, but honestly its best to just assume that they’re going to appear at some point and buy yourself a protective net.
Without a net, a midge swarm is practically unbearable. With one, you should be able to pack up your tent and make a run for it.
Essentials
Other than midge nets, which have their own section as they are something a non-Scot might not think of when going for a hike, there are obviously a bunch of other things you’ll need no matter how you choose to do the West Highland Way.
Don’t treat this as exhaustive — I’m not going to tell you to bring a toothbrush with you (or indeed to cut your toothbrush in half, which is what my friend did, with the aim of saving a few grams of weight…)
- Water container — bottle, CamelBak, old-timey canteen. I’m not fussed so long as you take enough with you
- Waterproofs — for your upper half, lower half and rucksack. You might get lucky with the weather, but you never know when its going to turn
- 2 x Shoes — your chosen hiking attire, and a lighter set, e.g. crocs, for the evenings. You don’t want to be wearing your big heavy stompers 24/7, believe me
- Long-sleeved tops, long trousers — you can take shorts and t-shirts too, but long clothing will help with the midges, and you won’t overheat, so long as your gear is light enough
- Socks, underwear — however many you’ll be comfortable with carrying. There are places along the way you can do some washing, but you might have to be okay with a reuse here or there
- Warm clothes — even in Summer it can get cold at night, and it will sometimes be cold during the day. Make sure you have enough to keep the chills at bay
- Blister plasters — a first aid kit will be good too, but make sure you’ve got some blister plasters in there
Camping
If you’re going to be camping then there are some things you’ll need that you won’t if you’re staying in hotels, e.g. a tent (I’ll give you that one for free)
- Sleeping mat (don’t skimp on this one. You don’t need the fanciest blow-up bed money can buy, but if you’re going to be on it for days on end then you don’t want one thinner than public toilet loo roll.
- Pillow — you might be tempted to leave this one at home, but it’ll be a great help in terms of giving you a good sleep
- Sleeping bag — if you’re going as a couple, you can get double sleeping bags, which was a new discovery for me
- Towel — a small microfibre towel will come in handy on the rare occasions that you get a proper wash. Not because there aren’t showers, but because you’ll be too tired out from walking all day to get one
Cooking
If you’re camping then you’re probably going to be cooking at least some of your meals yourself. This is an area where you’re going to want to try and save as much space as possible.
- Stove — you can get really small camping stoves these days, which are super light and don’t take up much room
- Gas — you can get a big gas canister, or a little one. There are plenty of places along the way to get another one if you run out
- Pot — you’ll want to try and get by with a single pot for your stove. If there are more than three of you then you might want to go with a two-stove, two-pot set up
- Mug/bowl — if space is an issue, you can eat a meal out of a mug, which will also do for teas and coffees, obviously. Or just eat out of the pot
- Cutlery — you’re not going to be sitting down to a fancy meal, lets be honest, so a plastic spork should do for both the cooking and the eating. A multitool with a knife will also be very useful, and not just for the cooking. We used ours for cutting plasters down to size.
- Scrubber/washing up liquid — you’ll want to wash your pots and mugs, right?
Miscellaneous
- Pack of cards
- Kindle — or other e-reader
- Notebook and pen
Basically, some things to keep you occupied when your phone runs out of charge. Oh…
- A portable charger for your devices would be a good shout too.
If you can think of anything else please let me know in the comments.
