The Devil's Staircase on the West Highland Way

This page lists long-distance footpaths in Scotland. Scottish Natural Heritage have defined such paths as meaning a route that is at least 32 kilometres (20 mi) long and primarily off-road, or on quieter roads and tracks.[1] This definition is consistent with that of the British Long Distance Walkers Association.[2]

Classification

Cowal Way marker post above Donich Water.

Under Scots law the public has a right to responsible access to most land in Scotland, in accordance with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, and access rights for new routes do not generally require to be negotiated. Many named walks have therefore been developed by local authorities, tourist organisations and guidebook authors.[3] There is thus no single register or list of such paths, however some classifications have been developed by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH):

  • Scotland's Great Trails: these are routes judged as meeting standards defined by Scottish Natural Heritage. There are 29 such routes, offering over 3,000 kilometres (2,000 mi) of trails in total.[4] Each of the routes is clearly waymarked with a dedicated symbol, and run largely off-road. They range in length from 24 to 210 miles (40 to 340 km), and are intended to be tackled over several days, either as a combination of day trips or as an end-to-end expedition. They are primarily intended for walkers, but may have sections suitable for cyclists and horse-riders.[5] One of the trails, the Great Glen Canoe Trail, is designed for canoeists and kayakers.[6]
  • Heritage paths are routes that have historically been used for a specific purpose, such as Roman roads, drove roads, pilgrimage routes and miners’ paths.[1]
  • Themed routes are routes based on a specific topic, such as the social history or literary associations of the area through which the route passes.[1]
  • Virtual routes are routes which have do not have any official recognition or waymarking, but which have been promoted via media outlets such as websites, guidebooks or television programmes.[1] A subcategory of these routes are "epic routes", defined as being routes that provide challenging travel over often rough ground in more remote ‘wild country’, being suitable for more experienced walkers with good navigation skills. These routes are not waymarked, so as to protect the ‘wild country’ qualities and to retain the element of challenge.[7]
  • Finally, the 6 miles (9.7 km) of the Pennine Way terminating at Kirk Yetholm are in Scottish Borders, Scotland, but are designated as one of the National Trails of England and Wales.[8]

List of Trails

Trail Distance (km) Start/Finish points Description Classification
Affric Kintail Way71Drumnadrochit & MorvichFollows Glen Urquhart and Glen Affric between Loch Ness and the west coast.Waymarked route
Annandale Way90 (or 85)Moffat & Newbie BarnsFollows the valley of the River Annan from its source in the Moffat Hills to the sea in the Solway Firth.SGT
Arran Coastal Way107Circular routeAround the coastline of the Isle of Arran.SGT
Ayrshire Coastal Path161Glenapp, Ballantrae & SkelmorlieAlong the length of the coastline of Ayrshire.SGT
Berwickshire Coastal Path48Cockburnspath & Berwick-upon-TweedAlong the length of the coastline of Berwickshire.SGT
Borders Abbeys Way109Circular route: Kelso – Jedburgh – Hawick – Selkirk – MelroseA circular route in the Borders passing the ruins of many abbeys.SGT
Ca na Catanach35Dorrery Lodge & AchentoulA medieval drovers' road in Caithness and Sutherland.Heritage path
Cateran Trail103Circular route: Blairgowrie – Kirkmichael – Spittal of Glenshee – AlythA route following old drovers' roads, minor paved roads and farm tracks in Perth and Kinross and Angus.SGT
Cape Wrath Trail330Fort William & Cape WrathAcross the Northwest Highlands.Virtual route
Clyde Coastal Path 176 Weymss Bay & Milngavie Following the River Clyde until it reaches and crosses the Erskine Bridge. The path then goes inland across to Milngavie to the start of the West Highland Way. There are also two spurs to Paisley and Partick.[9] Waymarked route
Clyde Walkway65Glasgow & New LanarkAlong the course of the River Clyde.SGT
Cross Borders Drove Road82Little Vantage (near Livingston) & HawickA route across the Borders region of Scotland, following tracks formerly used to drive cattle southwards for sale in England.SGT
Dava Way38Grantown-on-Spey & ForresFollow the trackbed of a closed section of the Highland Railway.SGT
Deeside Way66Aberdeen & BallaterLargely follows the trackbed of the former Deeside Railway.[10]Themed route
East Highland Way132Fort William & AviemoreLinks the West Highland Way and the Speyside Way.[11]Virtual route
Edinburgh the Walk69EdinburghFollows paths, roads and cycleways through Edinburgh's green spaces.[12][13]Virtual route
Formartine and Buchan Way66 (or 68)Dyce & Fraserburgh / PeterheadFollows the track of the former railway line the Formartine and Buchan Railway which closed in 1970. The path branches into two sections at Maud.[14]SGT
Forth-Clyde/Union Canal Towpath106Bowling, West Dunbartonshire & Fountainbridge, EdinburghFollows the towpaths of the Forth and Clyde and Union canals between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde.SGT
Great Glen Canoe Trail96Fort William & ClachnaharryFollows the canals and lochs of the Great Glen.SGT
Great Glen Way125Fort William & InvernessRuns generally to the west of the canals and lochs of the Great Glen.SGT
Great Trossachs Path45Callander & InversnaidA route through the forested hillsides of the Trossachs.SGT
John Muir Way215Helensburgh & DunbarNamed in honour of the Scottish conservationist John Muir, who was born in Dunbar in 1838 and became a founder of the United States National Park Service.[15]SGT
John o' Groats Trail235Inverness & John o' GroatsA largely coastal route in the North Highlands.[16]Waymarked route
Kintyre Way161Tarbert, Argyll & MachrihanishA route across the Kintyre peninsula.[17]SGT
Loch Lomond and Cowal Way92Portavadie & InveruglasAcross the Cowal peninsula.SGT
Moray Coast Trail72Forres & CullenAlong the coastline of Moray.SGT
Mull of Galloway Trail59Mull of Galloway & Glenapp, BallantraeLinks the Ayrshire Coastal Path to the Mull of Galloway.SGT
North Highland Way241Cape Wrath & Duncansby HeadAlong the north coast of Scotland.[18]Virtual route
Pennine Way429Edale & Kirk YetholmThe northernmost 10 km are in Scotland.National Trail (England and Wales)
River Ayr Way66Glenbuck & AyrFollows the course of the River Ayr.SGT
Rob Roy Way127 (or 154)Drymen & PitlochryLinks sites connected with the folk hero and outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor.SGT
Romans and Reivers Route84Ae & HawickMuch of the route follows former Roman roads in the Borders.SGT
Roman Heritage Way241Wallsend & MelroseHeads north from Hadrian's Wall into the Scottish Borders.[19]Virtual route
Scottish Coastal Way-N/AA proposed route around the coastline of Scotland.Proposed virtual route
Scottish National Trail864Kirk Yetholm & Cape WrathDevised by writer and broadcaster Cameron McNeish.[20]Virtual route
Sir Walter Scott Way148 or 151Moffat & CockburnspathLinks places connected with Walter Scott.[21]Virtual route/themed route
Skye Trail128Rubha Hùinis & BroadfordA trail across the Isle of Skye.[22][23]Virtual route
Southern Upland Way338Portpatrick & CockburnspathA coast-to-coast walk across the Southern Uplands.SGT
Speyside Way107Buckie & Aviemore (spur to Tomintoul)Follows the course of the River Spey form near its source down to the sea.SGT
St Cuthbert's Way100Melrose & LindisfarneA route linking sites associated with Cuthbert of Lindisfarne in both England and Scotland.SGT
Sutherland Trail111Lochinver & TongueA trail across Sutherland, devised by writer and broadcaster Cameron McNeish.[24][25]Virtual route
Three Lochs Way55Balloch & InveruglasLinks Loch Lomond, Gare Loch and Loch Long at the southern edge of the Highlands.SGT
West Highland Way154Milngavie & Fort WilliamScotland's first and most popular long-distance walking route.[26]SGT
West Island Way48 (or 52)Kilchattan Bay & Port BannatyneLocated on the Isle of Bute, this was the first waymarked long-distance route on a Scottish island.[27]SGT

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "SNH Commissioned Report 380: Developing the network of longer distance routes" (PDF). Scottish Natural Heritage. 2010. p. 0 (Key Definitions). Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  2. ↑ "What is an LDP? [long-distance footpath]". Long Distance Walkers Association. We list ... walking routes that are 20 miles or more in length and are mainly off-road.
  3. ↑ "SNH Commissioned Report 380: Developing the network of longer distance routes" (PDF). Scottish Natural Heritage. 2010. pp. 13–15. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  4. ↑ "Discover Scotland's finest long-distance trails". Scotland's Great Trails. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  5. ↑ "FAQs". Scotland's Great Trails. Retrieved 2018-07-05.
  6. ↑ "Great Glen Canoe Trail". Scotland's Great Trails. Retrieved 2018-07-05.
  7. ↑ "SNH Commissioned Report 380: Developing the network of longer distance routes" (PDF). Scottish Natural Heritage. 2010. p. 49. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  8. ↑ National Trails
  9. ↑ "Clyde Coastal Path website". Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  10. ↑ "Deeside Way". BDS Digital. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  11. ↑ "East Highland Way". www.easthighlandway.com. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  12. ↑ "Edinburgh THE WALK". Retrieved 2022-10-04.
  13. ↑ "Edinburgh's new walking route reveals the city's quieter side". Retrieved 2022-10-04.
  14. ↑ "The Formartine and Buchan Way". www.walkhighlands.co.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  15. ↑ "The John Muir Way". walkhighlands.co.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  16. ↑ "John o' Groats Trail". The Friends of the John o’ Groats Trail. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  17. ↑ "Route information and maps". Kintyre Way.
  18. ↑ "North Highland Way". Ian Ellis. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  19. ↑ "Roman Heritage Way". Long Distance Walkers Association. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  20. ↑ "Scottish National Trail". Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  21. ↑ "Sir Walter Scott Way". I-Net Support. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  22. ↑ "Skye Trail". Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  23. ↑ "Skye Trail: The Route". Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  24. ↑ "Sutherland Trail". Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  25. ↑ "Sutherland Trail". Long Distance Walkers Association. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  26. ↑ "Scotland's Great Trails - The West Highland Way". www.walkhighlands.co.uk.
  27. ↑ West Island Way

See also

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