As the summer is starting to draw to an end I have been thinking about things that I want to do next summer that for a variety of reasons I didn't do this year. One of the things on my list is to walk the West Highland Way, a long distance route from Glasgow to Fort William which covers about 95 miles. Even though it is well sign-posted and well trodden I wanted a guide book of sorts to make the whole planning process easier. This book is well reviewed on Amazon and Trailblazer has loads of similar books covering similar long distance walks.

The book covers just about everything a person could want to know about the WHW and the actual walking part of the book doesn't start until page 95! There are chapters covering the best time to go, what to take, how to get there, safety, conservation, flora & fauna, and also how to climb Ben Nevis. The level of detail covered is really quite remarkable. There are loads of website addresses and contact numbers for companies that a walker might be interested in dealing with. There are quite a few photos but I would have preferred if more of them were colour instead of being black & white.

The walking section of the book contains about 50 hand drawn maps which show the path route and other places of interest along the way. This includes how far from the path the nearest shops are, B&B's, cash points, where to get water etc. These maps look like they could easily be used to navigate the route but I think a pull-out map of the OS type would have been a welcome addition. I really liked the book and I think it will make planning my walk a whole lot easier than it otherwise would have been. ( )

Having walked most of our National Trails it’s hard to explain how it is that among the various guidebooks that steered my trampings, there are no Trailblazer Publications, - but there you go……

The 96 miles of the West Highland Way (WHW) comprise the first of Scotland’s National Trails and adorns the map as tartan defines dress and Andy Murray the sporting prowess of our northern mountainous-landscaped nation. I walked from Milngavie to Fort William in March 2010 avoiding midges and sunshine in equal measure. (See
http://www.flickr.com/photos/summonedbyfells/sets/72157623544951921/).

My intention was to walk the route again, believing that the best way to assess a guidebook is on the ground, any armchair is but a pale, if comfortable palimpsest of the gritty realism of the trail, sadly, the twin tyrannies of time and circumstance prevailed against me.

I long to do the WHW with this Trailblazer guide. Its incredibly detailed with facilities fully described, phone No’s websites opening hours the lot. I am very impressed by the mapping; the drawings at 3 inches to the mile illustrate everything you need to know as you cover the ground. The maps show times and distances plus junction warnings, facilities and items of interest they are all there on the map as you use it.

There is no separate “route description” it’s on the map! Say goodbye to fumbling twixt text on one page and the map on another. For years I have experimented with paper clips and elastic bands trying to overcome this problem. Trailblazer has solved it. I’ll be using their guides to the South West Costal Path next year, but anyone intending to walk the WHW can order this guide with confidence and I hope you do so for to walk the WHW is to enter the seventh circle of happiness! ( )