by Jen Benson
Challenge level:
Start: Annan, DG12 5DY
OS grid ref: NY 192660
Finish: Firth of Forth, Queensferry, EH30 9SQ
OS grid ref: NX 065609
Distance: 125 miles/201km
Maps: OS Explorer 322, 330, 336, 344 and 350
Local Highlights
Along the C2C at Moffat the Annandale Way starts at Annandale Head. This 53-mile (85km) route makes for a great on-foot adventure, and there’s an annual ultramarathon along its length (www.pureChallenge.co.uk).
The Ultimate Scottish C2C Guide by Richard Peace is a highly recommended companion guidebook to the route.
Owned by David Gray, one of the founders of the Scottish C2C, Chain Events offers a full support service to those undertaking the challenge (www.chain-events.co.uk).
6 Ride the West Highland Way
The West Highland Way runs for 96 miles (154km) between Milngavie, on the outskirts of Glasgow, and Gordon Square in Fort William. The route passes through Mugdock Country Park, skirts the shores of Loch Lomond and the foothills of Ben Lomond, winds through Glen Falloch and Strathfillan, crosses Rannoch Moor and passes Buachaille Etive Mor to the head of Glencoe, climbing the Devil’s Staircase and descending to Loch Leven before entering Lairigmor and Glen Nevis, finally finishing at Gordon Square in Fort William.
Designed as a long-distance walking route, it takes most people up to a week to complete it. It is estimated that around 80,000 people use the path every year, of whom over 15,000 walk the entire route. The Way is also popular for running, with several ultramarathons held along it.
In recent years the West Highland Way has also become a popular challenge to cycle, and a two-day completion is achievable by most people with a good level of fitness and good bike-handling skills. Expect to walk plenty of sections, especially those passing under low bridges and following the narrower sections of trail, and also when encountering other trail users, farm animals and wildlife. If you’re happy taking it slowly and enjoying the experience rather than aiming for a fast time it’s a fantastic trail to ride. With the exception of East Loch Lomond, wild camping is permitted on most unenclosed land along the route. Wild camping makes the adventure even more special, but please camp considerately and leave no trace.
Challenge level:
Start: Milngavie, Glasgow, G62 6AQ
Finish: Gordon Square, Fort William, G1 1YU
Distance: 96 miles/154km
Maps: OS Explorer OL38, OL39, 348, 377,
384 and 392
Local Highlights
The Real Food Café in Tyndrum is a must-visit for those completing the West Highland Way.
The annual West Highland Way race is an ultramarathon that takes in the full distance from Glasgow to Fort William each summer. The 53-mile (85km) Highland Fling is a great introduction, held each spring.
7 The Glasgow to Edinburgh Canoe Trail
Following the Forth & Clyde Canal and the Union Canal from Pinkston Watersports in Glasgow city centre across the Central Belt to the heart of Edinburgh, the 54-mile (87km) Glasgow to Edinburgh Canoe Trail is a great way to see the cities and the landscapes between them. It’s also a brilliant and enjoyable challenge, with relatively safe conditions throughout. There are five portages along the route and also several tunnels – we’d advise taking a red light for the stern of your boat and headtorches so you’re visible to oncoming craft when you’re travelling through these. Scottish Canals (www.scottishcanals.co.uk) also recommend that you register your trip before departing so that you can be updated with any information relevant to your trip.
The first four portages are short sections around locks; however, the final portage is around the Falkirk Wheel, a distance of around half a mile (900m). There’s full information at the Wheel, but a portage trolley is advised to avoid a lengthy carry.
You can paddle the trail in either direction, but west to east takes advantage of the prevailing wind. The following sections make for a 5-day trip, stopping where there are facilities and places to stay: Glasgow to Twechar, Twechar to Falkirk Wheel, Falkirk Wheel to Linlithgow, Linlithgow to Broxburn, Broxburn to Edinburgh.
Challenge level:
Start: Canal Bank Street, Glasgow, G4 9XP
OS grid ref: NS 595667
Finish: Edinburgh, EH3 9QD
OS grid ref: NT 246728
Distance: 54 miles/87km
Maps: OS Explorer 342, 349 and 350
Local Highlights
Canoe Hire Scotland offers single-or multi-day canoe and kayak hire, guidance on trips and transport throughout Scotland (www.canoehirescotland.co.uk).
The towpath alongside the canal is a great route to cycle, walk or run. With lots of places to stop on the way, it’s a perfect multi-day adventure, with regular trains running between the two cities to return you to your start point.
8 Loch Leven Heritage Trail
Loch Leven Heritage Trail is a unique trail linking natural, historical and cultural heritage around Loch Leven. This gentle 12-mile (19km) circuit follows a multi-user path right around the Loch Leven National Nature Reserve, taking you to many beautiful spots on the lochside and through varied woods and marshland. It makes for a wonderfully relaxing run or walk, and a great family-friendly cycle or buggy run. If you’re making a day of it, there are several cafés along the route and bike hire is available from the Boathouse Bistro in Kinross.
Set on the southern shore of the loch, the RSPB nature reserve, nationally important for its vast numbers of waterbirds, is great for exploring, although there is an entry fee if you’re not an RSPB member. You might spot ospreys here in the summer and pink-footed geese in the winter.
Challenge level:
Start/finish: Kirkgate Park car park, Kinross
OS grid ref: NO 123019
Distance: 12 miles/19km
Map: OS Explorer 369
Local Highlights
Jump on a boat across to Lochleven Castle, where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned during the 16th century (paid entry).
East of Loch Leven lie the Lomond Hills, where you’ll find some great mountain biking and running trails, as well as the Fife Pilgrim Way, stretching 70 miles (113km) across inland Fife.
9 Carnethy Hill & Scald Law
The Pentland Hills rise from the south-westerly outskirts of Edinburgh and run for about 20 miles (32km) towards the Upper Clydesdale. They’re a great place to explore on foot, with over 60 miles (97km) of clear trails across the open moorland tops. This scenic route takes in the highest point of the Pentlands, Scald Law at 1,900 feet (579m), and the picturesque summit of Carnethy Hill, the second highest at 1,880 feet (573m). The main route provides wonderful running on clear switchback paths that wend enticingly up the hillside. The Ranger Centre in Flotterstone is a great source of information on the Pentlands, including the best places to explore and wild camp. There’s also a good-sized car park here.
The route: from the Ranger Centre follow signs for Scald Law, climbing up to the summit of Turnhouse Hill before taking to the ridge, following a row of cairns. Continue south-west, climbing over Carnethy Hill and ascending to the summit of Scald Law. Heading left from here, a fun, fast descent leads to the road and house at the head of Loganlea Reservoir. Follow the quiet burn track 3 miles (5km) back to Flotterstone.
Challenge level:
Start/finish: Flotterstone Ranger Centre,
Penicuik, EH26 OPR
OS grid ref: NT 232630
Distance: 7½ miles/12km
Map: OS Explorer 344
Local Highlights
Try out the local fell racing scene with the Carnethy 5 Hill Race, a classic on the Scottish fell racing calendar, organised by Carnethy Hill Runners.
Climb the 820-foot (250m) extinct volcano of Arthur’s Seat which overlooks Edinburgh; the city itself is bursting with history, culture and great places to relax and refuel.
10 Ride the Ardgartan Peninsula
Set within Argyll Forest Park, the village
of Ardgartan lies on the western shore of Loch Long. There’s a delightful 20-mile (32km) waymarked circuit that takes you out around the wild, rugged and remote Ardgartan Peninsula with excellent views of the Clyde and the surrounding mountains. Starting on forest roads, the route climbs up to Corran Lochan, where you’ll find some interesting singletrack. There’s an enjoyable descent to Lochgoilhead followed by a stretch of quiet road, then it’s back onto forest tracks. A long climb followed by an even longer descent brings you back to the start. Maps are available from the Ardgarten Visitor Centre (www.activescotland.org.uk). Further afield in the forest park there are many excellent trails to explore, from woodland and lochside trails to the nearby Arrochar Alps, including the Cobbler (see here), and plenty of wild, peaceful swimming spots too.
Challenge level:
Start/finish: Ardgartan, Aberfoyle, FK8 3UX
OS grid ref: NN 269037
Distance: 20 miles/32km
Maps: OS Explorer OL37 and OL39
Local Highlights
Refuel at the Three Villages Café (also known as the Pitstop) in Arrochar village, owned and run by the Arrochar Tarbet Community Development Trust.
Visit the spectacular Donich Falls – there are several waymarked circular walks from the Visitor Centre.
11 Paddle the Argyll Sea Kayak Trail
The Argyll Sea Kayak Trail runs for over 90 miles (145km) between Ganavan, in the north of the county, and Helensburgh in the south, taking in some of the best sea kayaking in Europe. With its naturally diverse coastline, sheltered waters, islands, sandy beaches, caves and incredible wildlife, it is a perfect place to explore on the water. The trail is designed to make paddling along this spectacular section of coastline as accessible and logistically straightforward as possible, with clear information and guidance on paddling provided. Along the route there are nine access points, as well as the Crinan Canal, with guaranteed parking and trailer storage alongside or nearby. Each of the sections between these points can be paddled individually, or you can join together as many as you wish to make a longer trip. Completing the full distance over a few days, wild camping in between, is an experience no paddler should miss.
There are several companies that lead guided trips along the trail, including ISKGA-approved Sea Kayak Argyll (www.seakayakargyll.co.uk).
Challenge level:
(full distance)
Start: Ganavan, PA34 5TB
OS grid ref: NM 861325
Finish: Helensburgh, G84 OAD
OS grid ref: NS 239909
Distance: 90 miles/145km
Maps: OS Explorer OL37, OL38, 357, 358, 359 and 362
Local Highlights
Port Ban camping, right on the Kayak Trail at Kilberry, has camping, glamping and an onsite shop, perfect as a base for exploring the trail or as a stopover on your way through.
The Argyll Sea Kayak Trail is a project aimed at benefiting the local communities as well as kayakers from all over the world. To help develop the project in the future you can provide feedback on your adventure at www.paddleargyll.org.uk.
12 Swim the Secret Coast
Ostel Bay Bay, also known as Kilbride Bay Bay, lies on the eastern side of the Cowal Peninsula on Argyll’s spectacular Secret Coast. This is a place of wild, empty hillsides, pale, sandy crescent bays and clear blue seas.
This part of Argyll is wild and remote, with a rugged, intricate coastline, quiet beaches, hills, glens, sea lochs, clear waters and ancient forests. Edged by the Kyles of Bute and Loch Fyne, it’s a great place for exploring by kayak or paddleboard, with lots of wildlife to spot and plenty of pretty villages and welcoming pubs.
There are no facilities or parking at Ostel Bay, but you do often have the wide, sandy crescent all to yourself, or perhaps there’ll be a few others there on a sunny day, with uninterrupted views out to Arran. To find it, take the B800 from Tighnabruaich and Kames to the crossroads at the village of Millhouse. Turn left towards Ardlamont and follow the single-track road (with passing places) for a few miles until you reach a parking lay-by just past Kilbride Farm (OS grid ref: NR 96103 68215).
Challenge level:
Location: Ostel Bay (Kilbride Bay),
Ardlamont, Argyll, PA21 2AH
OS grid ref: NR 959667
Map: OS Explorer 362
Local Highlights
The Tarbert–Portavadie ferry runs an hourly service throughout the summer across to Tarbert, where you’ll find shops, cafés and restaurants.
National Cycle Network Route 78, the Caledonia Way, takes in a loop of the Cowal Peninsula on quiet roads, part of its epic 237-mile (381km) route from Campbeltown to Inverness.
Stay at the tranquil, tree-lined Glendaruel campsite at the northern end of the Cowal Peninsula (www.glendaruelcaravanpark.com).
13 The West Island Way
The Isle of Bute lies in the Firth of Clyde, just off mainland Scotland. At 15 miles (24km) long by 4 miles (6.4km) wide it has just one town – Rothesay – which is linked by daily ferries to Wemyss Bay, a 40-minute drive or train ride from Glasgow. Lying along the Highland Boundary Fault, the northern half of the island is rugged, hilly and extensively forested, whereas the southern half is lower-lying and more cultivated. The island is an eclectic mixture, with ageing Victorian splendour and Scottish wilderness a backdrop to chic hotels and eco-renovations. The 30-mile (50km) West Island Way was the first waymarked long-distance walk on a Scottish island and it’s a great way to explore. It runs the complete length of the island with a loop at either end, crossing a dramatic landscape, with a beautiful coastline, beaches, farmland, moorland and forests. If you’re up for a challenge you could run it in a day, or walk it in two or more – for the full Bute experience, take a tent and wild camp along the way.
Challenge level:
Start: Kilchattan Bay, PA20 9NG
OS grid ref: NS 108544
Finish: Port Bannatyne, PA20 OLT
OS grid ref: NS 069673
Distance: 30 miles/50km
Map: OS Explorer 362
Local Highlights
Visit Rothesay Castle, encircled by a sandstone wall and associated with the Stewart kings of Scotland. The four towers were added after the Norse siege of 1263. Stay at the Rothesay Castle View Apartment (aviewlessordinary.com).
Refuel at the quirky Ettrick Bay Tearoom.
Swim, sail, kayak or simply watch the sun set over the beautiful, peaceful Kyles of Bute.
14 Cycle Loch Katrine
The long, ribbon-like stretch of Loch Katrine lies in the very heart of the Trossachs, immortalised by the poetry of Sir Walter Scott. The circular cycle route that links it with Loch Ard takes in 35 challenging but beautifully enjoyable miles – and you could always combine it with our Loch Ard swim for a great weekend of adventures. There are some steep climbs through Achray Forest and some remote sections where you’ll need to be confident at basic bike repairs to avoid a long walk should you run into trouble. Cycle hire is available from Katrine Wheelz at Trossachs Pier (summer only) and Go Country in Kinlochard.
The route: head north out of Aberfoyle on National Cycle Network Route 7, at first on road and then heading through Queen Elizabeth Forest Park. The route takes you past picturesque Loch Drunkie – keep an eye out for red squirrels, and even ospreys in the summer months. Just past Loch Drunkie bear left, leaving Route 7 and heading westwards along the southern shore of Loch Achray (caution: road crossing at the A821). Just after the Achray Hotel take the road signed ‘Loch Katrine’ to reach the visitor centre. From there there’s a scenic tour of the loch on very quiet tarmac trail – the landscape here is breathtaking. Finally join public roads through peaceful Loch Ard Forest to return to Aberfoyle.
Challenge level:
Start/finish: Trossachs Discovery Centre,
Aberfoyle Main Street, Stirling, FK8 3UQ
Distance: 35 miles/56km
Map: OS Explorer OL38
Local Highlights
The Trossachs Boulders, above the southeast basin
of Loch Katrine, are a great venue for boulderers. The rock is rough-textured mica schist, on which there’s a wide range of problems of all grades, with good landings.
Sleep at one of the well-furnished eco lodges, right at the edge of Loch Katrine, perfectly placed for stargazing (www.lochkatrine.com).
15 Climb the Cobbler
The Cobbler – also known as Ben Arthur/Beinn Artair – has the most distinctive outline of any mountain in the Southern Highlands. Rising to 2,900 feet (884m), it has three separate summits, with the central, rocky pillar being the highest. The mountain has been used as a training ground by rock climbers since the late 19th century and holds an important place in climbing history. For those with sure feet and a good head for heights, the final moves up to the true summit first involve ‘threading the needle’ – squeezing through a hole in the rock face to reach the rocky, stepped climb to the top. This is a popular mountain for good reason, combining pleasant walking up the recently improved path with an exhilarating finish. Although exposed, the final section is a straightforward scramble and the summit is reached via large hand and foot holds; however, it is an altogether different prospect in very wet or windy conditions or in the winter.
The route: from the car park in the village of Succoth, at the head of Loch Long, cross the road and follow occasional waymarkers to ascend the wide zigzagging path through the trees, the height soon bringing great views down to the loch and across to Ben Lomond. Keep straight ahead, passing a dam, until the three peaks of the Cobbler come into view ahead. Continue following the main path, crossing several streams on stepping stones, until you reach the Narnain boulders, used as shelters by climbers in the past. At Lochan a’ Chlaidheimh (OS grid ref: NN262066) turn left at the path junction and ascend the stone steps, following the clear path to the summits.