West Highland Way - Day 5 - Tyndrum to Kingshouse Hotel

April 10 2026·1586 words·8 mins

Hiking West Highland Way Scotland

West Highland Way - 2026 - This article is part of a series.

Part 1: West Highland Way - Day 1 - Milngavie to Drymen

Part 2: West Highland Way - Day 2 - Drymen to Rowardennan

Part 3: West Highland Way - Day 3 - Rowardennan to Ardlui

Part 4: West Highland Way - Day 4 - Ardlui to Tyndrum

Part 5: This Article

Part 6: West Highland Way - Day 6 - Kingshouse Hotel to Kinlochleven

Part 7: West Highland Way - Day 7 - Kinlochleven to Fort William

Making the Decision to Skip the Next Itinerary Leg
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I had spent the entire evening in my room at the bed and breakfast, resting in bed and at the same time researching options for the next day’s walk. My itinerary had me walking 31 km, first to the Bridge of Orchy and then to the Kingshouse Hotel. Most others I’d talked to so far along the trail had signed up for the itinerary that split these two destinations into two days. I told them I questioned my sanity when choosing my itinerary.

This relatively long next leg of the itinerary would have no services and no option to use an “escape hatch” like a bus or a train except from the small village at the Bridge of Orchy. I looked into what bus connections there were from there, but the bus left far too early and again far too late to be of any use to me. Walking part way to test my ability to continue wasn’t going to be an option.

That lack of an “escape hatch”, my lack of energy, and the fact that the state of my health hadn’t changed much from yesterday — with full-on cold symptoms like constantly having to blow my nose and having to get rid of phlegm from my throat every few minutes — all sealed the deal.

I decided my only sane option was to skip the next Tyndrum to Kingshouse Hotel leg.

After making that decision, I purchased a bus ticket using a phone app, and since the bus left at just after 11 a.m., I had some time to at least do a quick walk around Tyndrum.

Breakfast at Tigh-na-Fraoch B&B
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Tigh-na-Fraoch B&B

There were only a husband and wife duo in the breakfast room when I arrived for breakfast, and at first there was total polite silence. I’m sure it was the wife who broke the silence, as I remember her asking if I was doing the West Highland Way.

That started a conversation involving the inevitable “Where are you from?” question, and I answered “Alberta, Canada.” The reply was “We’re from Calgary.” They were doing a walking tour, but I’m still not sure if it involved undertaking the whole West Highland Way; it was clear, though, that they were taking things slowly and easily.

What a small world it can be!

Exploring Tyndrum
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I bade farewell to the proprietress of the Tigh-na-Fraoch B&B, thankful for her help in figuring out my next steps and helping me identify the bus stop I bought a ticket for, with the odd but practical name “End of Glencoe Chairlift Road”.

The Green Welly Shop

I had a bit of time to kill before I caught that bus, so I decided to go find a geocache along the Way, just north of the Green Welly Stop, a popular convenience store and restaurant stop for hikers. I found the cache quickly, and as I made my way back toward the main road I met a couple of hikers I’d talked to in previous days on the Way. First was the German woman, now walking with a friend, who’d kindly and politely steered me away from thinking I had to negotiate my way down a minor cliff on Day 3 along the rocky-pathed shore of Loch Lomond.

Next I met the New Brunswick couple to whom I’d spoken often over the past few days. I explained my health predicament and happened to mention that my 7- or 8-hour walk would be covered with a 38-minute bus ride instead, where I’d be able to at least rest for a day. They were just getting ready for their daily walk, and although it would be a relatively short one for them to the Bridge of Orchy, she said in fun, “Oh, don’t say things like that!” I knew what she meant. That messes with your head, especially if your legs are hurting.

After buying a bit of food and water at the Green Welly Stop, I made my way to the dodgy-looking bus stop and caught the bus just after 11 a.m., using Google Maps to keep track of my position so I’d know for sure when to get off. When I did disembark, I needed to cross the highway and walk about 1 km to the Kingshouse Hotel.

A pano shot of the magnificient view from the hotel

At Kingshouse Hotel
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I was anxious to make the most of my rest day, so I went directly to the front desk at the hotel and asked about check-in times. I started off by saying I was taking a rest day from the West Highland Way because I was feeling ill, and the efficient young woman at the front desk told me that the usual check-in time was 4 p.m. but to perhaps come back around 3 p.m. to see if I could check in then. I told her that was expected and I’d just wait around until then.

The couch in the sunlit lobby felt so comfortable, and it seemed like I was glued to it for a good while before the young woman came over to ask if she could get me a drink of water or coffee while I waited. I had plenty of water, so I declined the offer and thanked her very much for asking. That was “above and beyond” service right there!

I decided to finally get up and walk around the grounds a bit, first exploring the bridge over the River Etive that runs immediately past the hotel. I migrated back to the hotel around 1 p.m., and the young woman must have spied me and came over to say that my room was ready and I could check in whenever I liked. I was so grateful to her and for this kind of thoughtful service! I’m sure she must have sent word to make up my room ahead of schedule.

The Kingshouse Hotel was not only the highest class accommodation I experienced during my entire time in Scotland in terms of the facilities, but also the highest class in terms of caring when caring was needed.

After resting in my room for a while, I decided to try to get some laundry done because I was pretty well out of any clean clothes to wear. Laundry could be done in the “Bunkhouse” close to the hotel. It was made up of dormitory rooms usually used by backpackers. There was only one washer and one dryer, and I’d hoped to get two loads done, but in the end only got one done before hikers started to descend on the place. As it turns out, one load was enough.

My next task was to get some supper, so I went down to the Way Inn, the oldest part of the hotel, which was also a bar. I ordered a hamburger and chips, and while paying for it with my debit card, I noticed it was costing CDN $38. My goodness! A $38 hamburger and chips: ridiculous but necessary in the moment, so strangely, worth it. In the end, I ate the meal back in my room and it was very good.

Then it was time for what I thought was going to be a real treat. This place had a bathtub, a first in all the places I’d stayed in Scotland so far. I’m used to baths at home, but today I thought a hot bath would be great for warming up my chest, perhaps speeding my recovery a little bit. The bath was good, but since the water never got all that hot, the lustre came off the idea that it would help health-wise.

That said, I did feel better just by resting for most of the day. The excellent, deep sleep I had that night — again aided by a muscle relaxant pill — was welcome and no doubt helped me gain the energy I needed to undertake the next day’s hike to Kinlochleven.