West Highland Way - Day 6 - Kingshouse Hotel to Kinlochleven

April 11 2026·2282 words·11 mins

Hiking Geocaching Scotland West Highland Way

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: West Highland Way - Day 5 - Tyndrum to Kingshouse Hotel

Part 6: This Article

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

My Route Today
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Setting out from the Kingshouse Hotel
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The magnificent view from my breakfast table

The Kingshouse Hotel was the best accommodation I experienced during the entire trip. It’s an upscale hotel, so I guess that’s to be expected.

I had a deep, dream-filled sleep at the hotel, which is not too surprising maybe given I’d zonked myself out with a full muscle relaxant pill. I only ever, very periodically, use half a pill at home, so taking a whole pill really did the trick.

I wasn’t over my head and chest cold by a long shot, but I felt like I had a store of energy again. I’d decided the day before to skip the 31 km leg from Tyndrum to the Kingshouse Hotel, feeling it was absolutely necessary because of the state of my health. That turned out to be the wisest decision I could have made. After a day of rest and a great sleep, I again had the strong urge to get out walking.

Today’s leg was shorter than most, an estimated 15 km, but it involved climbing the Devil’s Staircase. The name itself instills a certain amount of dread, which I half-assumed was at least partly mere “marketing”. In fact, though, the climb involved reaching the highest point along the entire West Highland Way and is one of the steepest climbs. This would be no cakewalk.

I was now in the habit of frequently checking the weather reports that covered the leg I was about to walk, and saw that it was snowing in Kinlochleven, my end goal for the day. I knew there would be a pretty substantial elevation gain, so that meant inevitable wind, and that would mean inevitable cold. I decided to put on my light thermal long underwear, both top and bottoms, and for the first time wore the same toque I wear during Edmonton winters. I also packed an extra top layer in case I needed it. Preparing for the cold really made a difference today because, despite any strong, cold winds, I stayed relatively warm the entire day.

Bidding farewell to the Kingshouse Hotel

Breakfast at the hotel was nothing less than “high class”. It was buffet style with selections of many kinds of fruit and of course all the compontents that make up a full Scottish breakfast. I enjoyed it and only thing I had to watch was eating too much of it.

I left the hotel around 9 a.m. and started out on the trail again. It felt so good to be out walking! And I was so lucky and thankful there were blue skies, at least during the first half of the trek oday. The first part of the morning’s walk was truly invigorating, partly because of the periodic blue skies, but mostly because of the awesome, postcard-worthy views of the mountains early in the hike.

After leaving the hotel one follows a track which eventually shifts to an old, rocky military road undulating with a little bit of elevation gain and loss.

A magnificient valley between mountain "herdsmen"

Gallery of Images Taken North of Kinghouse Hotel Before Reaching The Devil’s Staircase
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An iconic trail marker - Now I know why I've seen this shot so many times before - it's the company the marker keeps

I couldn’t help but be snap-happy during this initial section of the trail today. I was surrounded by magnifient mountains and with the clear, lightly clouded blue sky I could actually see them!

The star of the show in most of these pictures is Buachaille Etive Mòr. The Etive is the primary river running through the valley here and the mountain’s name translates as “The Great Herdsman of Etive”. Multiple sources says it’s probably the most photographed mountain in the country. I had no idea about that at the time, but the number of photos I took of it and around it shows how enthralled I was with it.

(Click to see a larger version)

The Buachaille Etive Mòr from a distance

A view to the south from the trail afer starting out from Kingshouse Hotel

The Buachaille Etive Mòr ahead on the trail

The transition onto another section of military road.

You can tell this road is old weathered and well-beaten down.

The Buachaille Etive Mòr commands the view

Buachaille Etive Mòr at right and the West Highland Way trail at left

A trail marker with the hut called the Wee White House Glencoe in the background. It is owned by the National Trust and Scottish Mountaineering Club

The Devil’s Staircase
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The "entrance" to the Devil's Staircase

Then came the Devil’s Staircase. Honestly, I wasn’t overly nervous about the climb. A mindset had settled into my mind that I had signed up for this trek, and anything ahead, no matter how seemingly daunting, was simply part of what I had signed up for. There was no use whinging about what you were facing: it was simply to be accepted as what had to be done. There’s no bravado here. If I got tired, I’d rest. When I was rested again, I’d continue. It was as simple as that.

In the end, though, I admit, prairie boy that I am, I found the Devil’s Staircase to be a tough climb and I needed to rest fairly often on the way up. But it was the same for everyone around me. In fact, a pattern developed: a woman with a blue jacket, a guy with a black backpack and I just happened to continue leap-frogging each other as we gradually ascended the slope. While I rested, one or both of them would pass me by, and in turn I’d pass one or both of them while they took a breather.

Me near the highest point on the West Highland Way

My cold symptoms didn’t help while I climbed. My nose was stuffed up and I had to clear it of mucus pretty frequently. I had about a 15-minute coughing fit at one point while I continued to ascend. I think it’s because my nose was stuffed up and breathing through my mouth tickled my throat.

At the top — which is the highest point along the entire West Highland Way — the woman with the blue jacket signalled, asking if I wanted her to take a picture of me. I gave her my phone, she took a few, and I swear while she was doing that the wind at the top where we were almost blew me over. I had to plant my feet solidly just so the wind wouldn’t topple me over while she took the pictures. I offered to take her picture, but she indicated she wasn’t interested in that.

Descent to Kinlochleven
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Now, for almost the entire remaining section of the walk it was downhill all the way into Kinlochleven. Of course, going downhill generally wears harder on the knees than going up, so as I walked I did all I could to put pressure on my poles in front of me to ease the strain on the knees. My right leg did start to complain on the way down, but not to the degree that it slowed me down much.

It was a long, long steep descent to Kinlochleven, but almost entirely on established roads. I arrived around 1 p.m., and my accommodation at Allt Na Leven B&B was advertised as not being open until 3 p.m. I rested on benches for a while, checked out the local Co-op since I knew I’d be buying food there for supper, and walked around the village for a bit.

Allt-na-Leven Guesthouse

I eventually tried and was allowed to get into my room around 2:15, and after the proprietress’s explanation about the place I got into my room and had a glorious, warming shower. I followed that with an immediate hopping into bed under the covers. So there I am, lying in bed. It’s around 3 p.m. and I’m SO happy to be clean, warm and resting again.

I later got up and walked across the street to the Co-op, where I got a prepared sandwich, a quart of milk and a protein bar for supper.

I had a very good sleep again at Allt Na Leven B&B, again with the help of a muscle relaxant pill to help me sleep.

Tomorrow would be the very last leg of the entire West Highland Way.