Introducing the West Highland Way Trust

In 2025, the West Highland Way reached its 45th anniversary. In this landmark year, a new charity, the West Highland Way Trust, was established to safeguard the future of Scotland’s most iconic long-distance route.

Every year, more than 45,000 people complete the 96-mile journey from Milngavie to Fort William, with tens of thousands more enjoying shorter sections of the route. This popularity brings enormous benefits to Scotland’s rural economy, but it also creates constant environmental wear and tear. Added to this, the effects of climate change – heavier rainfall, flooding, and increasingly fragile ground – are putting the path under unprecedented pressure.

The West Highland Way Trust has been established to fund and support the essential work that keeps the trail safe, sustainable, and spectacular. From drainage and bridge repairs to signage renewal and discreet path engineering, the Trust ensures that the route remains accessible while retaining its wild, natural feel.

By working with the local authorities, communities and volunteers who have cared for the Way since it opened in 1980, the Trust channels public support into practical action. Its mission is simple: to protect the West Highland Way for today’s walkers and for generations to come.

Read below about challenges faced by the maintainers of the paths along the trail. Additionally, you can make a donation to the new Trust to help support the ongoing efforts to maintain the path's accessibility.

Jock MacGillivary, Senior Long-Distance Routes Officer with The Highland Council, has worked on the West Highland Way for more than 36 years and says the effect of the change in climate over recent years has been striking:

“The Long-Distance Route Team are on the path daily, carrying out inspections, maintenance patrols and repairs. We have always strived to carry out any work in a fashion that is effective but discreet.

What has become evident over the last three decades is that the rainfall has become more intense, overwhelming drains and culverts that previously coped and threatening vital structures such as bridges.

What has been especially noticeable is that sections of the route, which have historically been unaffected by winter storms, are now being ravaged during these periods. Our priority has always been to keep the West Highland Way safe and open for walkers, despite the weather, which is unrelenting”

Beneath walkers’ boots lies a network of hand-built drains, steps and stream crossings designed to channel water and stabilise fragile ground. Once subtle and largely unseen, these defences are now being tested as never before. Without continued investment, key sections risk becoming impassable.

That is why the West Highland Way Trust was established earlier this year — to fund the essential, often invisible work carried out by the five Access Authorities, communities and other stakeholders that keep the route safe, sustainable and spectacular.

(Jock MacGillivary, pictured inspecting the West Highland Way path in the shadow of Buachaille Etive Mor in Glencoe)

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45th Anniversary Year Features