West Highland Way · Overnight stop
Accommodation in Milngavie
The start. The obelisk marking the official beginning of the Way is about 50m from the railway station.
0km from Milngavie · Stage stop
A prosperous Glasgow commuter suburb rather than a Highland village, which is exactly what makes it a useful first night: it has ordinary shops, ordinary prices and a frequent train service. Walkers who travel up on the morning of day one and start walking the same afternoon almost always wish they had not.
A night here is a choice, not a stage — but it is the right choice if you are travelling any distance to the start.
What is actually in Milngavie
Hotels and B&Bs aimed at business travel and the airport as much as at walkers, so the supply is deeper and steadier than anywhere else on the route until Fort William.
How far ahead to book
The least urgent booking on the whole Way. Weeks rather than months, even in July — this is the one stop where demand is not driven by the trail.
When it is full
Glasgow city centre is 25 minutes back down the line and has effectively unlimited beds. Staying in Glasgow and taking the first train out is a completely reasonable plan, and cheaper.
Getting there, and getting out
Trains from Glasgow Queen Street (low level) and Glasgow Central via Partick, roughly every 30 minutes, about 25 minutes. Glasgow International Airport is around 30 minutes by taxi.
Camping
No. This is a suburb — wild camping here is neither legal in practice nor sensible. The first realistic pitch is well beyond Drymen.
Food and resupply
Your last full-size supermarket until Fort William. Buy gas here: it is the easiest place on the route to find the canister your stove actually takes.
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