A hostel to hostel adventure via foot and bus: Glen Nevis YH to Kinlochleven on the WHW



For those who haven't read part 1 or 2 of the series here's a quick summary. After a year of poor health and a back injury putting me out from exercise the whole of the summer, I was slowly making a come back by September. However, with the 2023 bad luck still looming over me, the disappointment wasn't quite over yet. Having only bee on 2 hikes back post injury, I suffered from a random seizure which led to the loss of my driving license for up to 6 months. I could've stayed in the flat and continued to mope about the situation, but this is where the car-less adventure series was born... it is possible!

The 3 day adventure began on November 22nd with the usual 0230 wakeup to catch the nightbus into Edinburgh followed by the 0430 M90 to Glasgow, then the 0630 Uig bus up to Fort William. The first day was spent enjoying the typical West Coast elements doing the Cow Hill circuit for the first time, followed by a pitstop at Costa for my usual caramel latte comfort, the to Aldi for some essentials to create a gourmet meal in the hostel kitchen. I am aware there is an infrequent bus service up to Glen Nevis, however for the adventurous vibe I walked the 2 miles up to the hostel in the rain with my re-useable Aldi bag in hand, full waterproofs on and a rucksack on my back. Even with the Aldi bag in hand I could've easily been mistaken for looking like I was off up Nevis.

After what was indeed a gourmet meal consisting of the best hostel steak I've ever cooked, and a great night sleep being the only one in my dorm - I headed off on my adventure. The combination of excitement and steak fuel provided for an easy ascent out of Glen Nevis which otherwise on a bad day could've been pretty gruelling. As most people on here have probably done this section of the WHW, I'm going to be less descriptive and add more pictures of the adventure.









The section where the Old Military road curves round before descending into Kinlochleven was probably my favourite part as I realised what I was seeing in front of me was the back of the Aonach Eagach ridge - a perspective I hadn't seen before. The views only opened up even more the further I descended with amazing views of the pinnacles on the ridge with loch Leven below, the Pap of Glencoe and then Beinn a' Bheithir eventually coming into sight. I think the view was made even more interesting by the fact that I'd climbed all of the hills in sight before.



Once I got back to Kinlochleven I had about an hour to wait until the next bus to Glencoe so I nipped to the co-op for post hike pizza to have at the hostel and began pacing the bench I was sat up to try and warm myself up (typical raynauds at it again). I was so thankful when a local told me that the bar across the road was open despite it looking closed, so I sat in there for a good half an hour enjoying an incredible hot chocolate.



The day was finished with the bus to Glencoe followed by another 2 mile walk along the road to the Glencoe YH. Then the next day I spent on a slow plod around the Lochan before catching the bus back to Edinburgh for work the next day (the joys).

Thanks to everyone who has enjoyed reading my series so far!