West Highland Way · Overnight stop
Accommodation in Balmaha
On Loch Lomond, between Drymen and Rowardennan, immediately after the Conic Hill descent.
Off the standard stage schedule · Off-schedule stop
A boatyard village on the loch shore at the point where the Highland Boundary Fault crosses the water — the geology you have just walked over on Conic Hill is visible in the line of islands offshore. Small, pretty and completely full in summer.
Not a stage end on the 7-day schedule. It is the standard second night on 8-day and 9-day itineraries, which is why beds here are contested by two different sets of walkers.
What is actually in Balmaha
B&Bs, a hotel and camping nearby at Milarrochy Bay. The supply is genuinely small relative to the number of people who want it.
How far ahead to book
Six months for high season, and treat that as a floor rather than a target. Balmaha is squeezed from both directions: 8-day walkers stopping on schedule, and 7-day walkers who found Rowardennan full.
When it is full
Rowardennan is 12km further along the shore, and the walking between them is easy. If both are gone, the honest answer is to change your itinerary rather than your booking — a night back in Drymen and a bus in is less painful than a 35km day.
Getting there, and getting out
Buses to Balloch and Drymen. There is a passenger ferry across the loch in season, which is a genuinely useful escape route and not one most walkers know about.
Camping
Inside the Loch Lomond Camping Management Zones. From 1 March to 30 September a permit is required, and permits for this stretch go early. Milarrochy Bay campsite is the booked alternative.
Permit price: £4.50 per tent/motorhome/campervan per night. Full detail of which stretches are covered and how to book is in the Loch Lomond camping management zones guide.
Food and resupply
A shop and pubs. Adequate rather than generous — do not plan a full resupply here.
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