The Southern Upland Way, stretching from coast to coast, offers another obvious path from Melrose to Traquir, home of the oldest inhabited building in Scotland, Traquir House. From here, the course of disused railway lines (Cheers Doc) and canal towpaths are mostly used following a north westerly direction to reach the beginning of another long distance path at Milngavie, on the outskirts of Glasgow.


The West Highland Way heads north from the lowlands, follows the shores of its largest freshwater loch, crosses the Highland Boundary Fault and heads on into the Scottish Highlands. Flexibility in planning allows for high-level alternate routes along the way from here. The route includes the summit of Ben Nevis, the highest point of the island at 1343m above sea level, before dropping to Fort William and heading on to the next objective to the west.


Rounding Loch Eil to the north and heading southwest from Glenfinnan along the southern shore of Loch Shiel, the route then strikes westward out to the end of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Mull to the south, Muck to the north, the Point of Ardnamurchan in Argyll, the western most point of the British mainland, looks out beyond the Inner and Outer Hebrides to the Atlantic Ocean.


From the lighthouse, the final leg of the journey initially returns to Loch Shiel then heads north east, winding its way through the North West Highlands via Knoydart, Glen Shiel, Glen Affric and Torridon. Walking from Ross to Sutherland, and on to Caithness, John o' Groats offers an opportunity to acknowledge a popular achievement on the penultimate night. The final day, strolling along the coast, with the Orkney Islands to the north across Pentland Firth, will provide an exceptional ending to the challenge at Dunnet Head.