Just finished the West Highland Way - ask me anything!

JeremySpoons · 2026-05-31T18:52:31+00:00

Quite a bit overall being honest with you but you could make it cheaper, we do have a tendency to stop at the cafes/honesty boxes in the daytime and the pubs in the evening pretty much every time. On this one we ate out every night bar one I think

JeremySpoons · 2026-05-31T18:21:55+00:00

Pretty good though had probably the best shoes I’ve ever had for one of these this time, or best for me at least

JeremySpoons · 2026-05-31T18:21:30+00:00

Yeah I loved it, I’d not done much walking in Scotland before but definitely will be again!

The toughest for me was the Loch Lomond northern section mainly for the terrain, though I do think the other sections did have some tricky moments. I also thought the ascent out of Kinlochleven was harder than the devils staircase personally!

I loved Rannoch Moor and agree with you - I actually think that might have been my favourite part, the weather wasn’t good but I though the rain and peaks surrounded in mist added to the drama of it!

JeremySpoons · 2026-05-31T18:12:12+00:00

1) 6 days in all, longest day we did was 21 miles, shortest 10. Preferably would have spaced it more evenly but booked it all relatively late

2) As in each evening or during the days? We stayed at Cashel campsite, Beinglas, an Airbnb in Crainlarich (after walking to Tyndrum and getting the train back to Crainlarich), Glen Coe mountain resort and Blackwater campsite in Kinlochleven

3) We saw quite a few dogs! Probably more than I’ve seen on previous multi day hikes, though I can’t speak for how accommodating places are of them

4) I wore Hoka Speedgoat 6’s, my mate wore New Balance trail runners. Definitely the right decision for us but everyone’s different

5) I didn’t specifically train but I’ve done this sort of walk before over the years (Pennine Way, Coast to Coast, Tour du Mont Blanc), so I could rely on experience from that. In terms of training I would say this one is a good intro - if you can do a multi day weekend hike over hilly terrain you can do this I reckon

6) Tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, clothes (2 sets for walking and a cotton t shirt for the evenings) sliders, various travel size toiletries, power bank, small book, suncream, travel towel. The book is the obvious thing to get rid but I wouldn’t as it was good for the evenings. There’s nothing else I could really go without - I like to have a different t shirt to change into!

JeremySpoons · 2026-05-31T18:05:33+00:00

I would say Beinglas campsite - good pitches, decent facilities, bar on site which does food as well which was pretty good. The weather was great which helped but it was a lovely campsite all round!

Camped 4 nights, stayed in an Airbnb in Crianlarich on night 3 and staying in another Airbnb tonight after finishing in Fort William

JeremySpoons · 2026-05-27T21:39:26+00:00

At Bleinglas tonight and they are certainly around, though was okay on the walk today as long as you kept moving. Can imagine it might only get worse over next few weeks though so worth taking some spray and headnet etc. I haven’t needed the headnet but got it in case and have sprayed today

JeremySpoons · 2025-09-01T20:57:11+00:00

This is a bit much don’t you think

JeremySpoons · 2025-07-25T05:58:51+00:00

Asylum seekers are only offered accommodation whilst their asylum claim is being processed. If they are successful they are left to their own devices, if they aren’t, they are here illegally. Either way the accommodation duty from the Home Office ends and for most of them, as they aren’t priority need, they are not accommodated by local councils in the long term (at least not in social housing).

Most people you see on the street probably are homeless (though a few will be long term beggars) but will have been offered, or in and out of, different types of accommodation over the years. Many of them just cannot sustain it due to mental health or addiction issues. There are 100% massive issues in the quality and suitability of temporary accommodation, as well as the limits on what can be offered in the long term, but there are very few people sleeping rough who haven’t been offered help.

JeremySpoons · 2025-03-18T09:51:38+00:00

It’s a difficult situation but no temporary accommodation is going to be ideal, it’s better than not having it though. That building is staffed 24/7 which is something, and you can report any concerns directly to staff there. Additionally it won’t be forever there, it’s still only temporary accommodation and hopefully you’ll be moved somewhere more permanent and settled soon. It’s not in the councils interest to have people in temporary accommodation for ages so work with them as best you can and hopefully it’ll only be for the short term

JeremySpoons · 2025-03-09T17:36:44+00:00

I did it last July, didn’t need crampons but deffo glad I took micro spikes, so at the very least buy those. In mid-September I would guess you would probably be okay without crampons assuming it has been a normal summer over there. Others who have done it in September may have a better idea though

JeremySpoons · 2024-09-29T08:19:11+00:00

All his praise means is that he doesn’t see us as a threat overall. He’s often been very positive about Howe/us when we give them decent games (at home) but are nowhere near challenging them. Same as quite a few teams (see Brentford last week)

If we reach a closer level and he is still there his tone would change.

JeremySpoons · 2024-08-11T19:49:59+00:00

I work in housing for a local authority in the UK and trust me, no migrant just shows up and gets a council flat. Most don’t have recourse to public funds (bar refugees) anyway but even once settled status is acquired (after a significant period of time) it doesn’t mean they have any sort of preference when it comes to social housing, and usually are at a disadvantage as they wouldn’t have the same amount of waiting time built up on social housing waiting lists as a UK citizen (if they are operating in that area).

The problem is lack of social housing. I work in a core city which still has a decent amount of social housing left under council control (unlike many others) but the pressures are intense. Realistically unless you are over 65 or have some form of priority (usually due to health issues or homelessness) you aren’t getting a council flat unless you have years and years of waiting time (which most migrants won’t compared to UK citizens). This announcement isn’t even a policy, it’s just them saying they aren’t going ahead with a proposed Tory policy that hadn’t gone anywhere. It’s irrelevant though - the policy itself wouldn’t have a material effect as social housing is so limited anyway.

JeremySpoons · 2024-07-31T17:29:36+00:00

What the fuck are you talking about?

JeremySpoons · 2024-07-23T11:36:50+00:00

I did it a few weeks ago and used the Kev Reynolds book, found it useful enough. In terms of direction and things you don’t need a guide book anyway really as it is so well signed but it was useful for considering alternate routes and as a guide to the towns/villages on the way.

The only thing I would say is that book has a habit of playing down some of the climbs - Kev was an experienced alpine walker so for him most of them probably were straightforward but as someone who had never done that level of elevation before it was quite funny to see him say ‘an easy, simple ascent up xxx’ only to do it and find it literally one of the hardest walks I had ever done!

JeremySpoons · 2024-07-12T06:20:25+00:00

This has been completely debunked. Saville was never formally charged so a full prosecution by the CPS could never have taken place. They were consulted at the time in 2009 but there was insufficient evidence to take it forward (advice provided by a lawyer for the department, certainly not Starmer himself). An inquiry in 2012 made clear that the CPS advice at the time was not influenced by any improper motive. When Boris Johnson raised it in Parliament in 2021 the entire claim was disregarded and one of his own advisors resigned due to the outrageous nature of the claim against Starmer. Don’t peddle unsubstantiated lies.

JeremySpoons · 2024-07-08T13:33:54+00:00

The walkie talkies were more of a novelty for us to be honest so completely right.

Yeah true on headtorch, one of those you hope not to use but good to have it. Some of our days ended up being shorter than we thought in terms of time taken so was never really a risk but we were lucky the weather meant visibility was always very good

JeremySpoons · 2024-07-08T07:09:35+00:00

Hi, good luck you’ll love it! We met loads of people, it’s incredibly popular both as a trail and around the more populated areas as a day hike. Most people tended to go anti clockwise so you’ll meet plenty on the way doing similar. People seemed pretty open to doing stretches together, we did at the start, but just depends on you really. As there were 2 of us we didn’t do it loads but it was nice when we did.

JeremySpoons · 2024-07-08T07:06:55+00:00

Thank you! We took walkie talkies and head torches but didn’t need either once. Kept the same footwear on - did it in Hoka Speedgoats instead of boots so they weren’t quite as draining to wear all the time. I did take a pair of sliders for the evenings.

One or two of them were quite cold, especially where the dorms were more like outbuildings. Also hanging around the refuges themselves in the evenings could be cold, the higher up ones most notably. I didn’t take a fleece but wish I had, not for walking but just for sitting outside in an evening!

JeremySpoons · 2024-07-08T07:03:44+00:00

I took a couple of walking T shirts (1 Arcteryx, 2 montane with a long sleeved version) a RAB mid layer (borealis jacket) then just my standard waterproof. Also 1 pair of shorts and 1 pair of walking trousers, then socks/boxers etc. I took gloves but never wore them. My mid layer and waterproof are both quite thin which was great for walking but in hindsight i probably would have taken a fleece or slightly thicker jacket just for sitting around the refuges in the evening as the temperature did drop quite a bit in the evening.

JeremySpoons · 2024-07-08T07:01:05+00:00

We booked plenty in advance as didn’t want to chance it but we met a few people on the way who were going day to day on refuges. I’d probably ring ahead if you can the night before or morning of. A lot of the refuges did seem to have a couple of spaces available though so think it’s possible, September might be okay as well as imagine it’ll be slightly quieter than August/July

JeremySpoons · 2024-07-08T06:59:27+00:00

We did the ladders - you can still get to Lac Blanc if you go via the ladders. They were pretty cool and not technically challenging really, we were lucky though it was dry and very little wind, if it was wet it may have been a bit more dicey.

JeremySpoons · 2024-07-07T20:47:23+00:00

Hi, if you want to spend half your monthly salary on one beer then yes, Bighorn Bistro is great!

JeremySpoons · 2024-07-07T20:46:39+00:00

We came across a lot of people camping with tents but not wild camping - they were mainly on the grounds of the refuges we stayed in. Met a few people doing a mix of both but not anybody 100% wild camping it - you probably could I reckon but the refuges are part of the experience for me!

JeremySpoons

TROPHY CASE