This summer, I set off on one of the most exciting adventures I’ve had yet: I hiked all 96 miles of the West Highland Way in Scotland! This was a stunning trek, through unbelievable scenery in the Scottish Highlands. I kept track of all of my expenses, to be able to give a realistic budget for doing this hike. Here’s my budget guide for the West Highland Way – how much it all actually cost!
My Trip Hiking the West Highland Way
I chose to hike the West Highland Way over 8 days – 7 days of hiking, and 1 rest day. I spent 1 extra day in Fort William, where I did the Jacobite Steam Train. As this wasn’t part of the hike, I haven’t included this, any other costs on that day, or that night’s accommodation in this budget breakdown. Excluding that extra excursion, my West Highland Way trip was therefore 10 days, including the days either end getting to the starting point and my return back home.
I therefore had 9 nights’ accommodation in total. I stayed in hostels and bunkhouses throughout the trip. This was mainly in shared accommodation, although I had one night in a camping cabin and one night in a glamping pod where I was technically on my own. If you wanted to stay in B&Bs/hotels, or if you were planning on camping (or wild camping), this would significantly change the cost. If you’re wondering what to bring with you, check out my West Highland Way packing guide!
I did bring some food with me, mainly snacks for the trail and two meals of pot noodles (which only need boiling water). For the rest of my meals, I bought food on the road. This was either from a shop, or at a café/pub/restaurant on the way. I treated myself to big meals and well-deserved pints when I wanted, and didn’t feel bad about it! If you were bringing a camping stove and cooking the majority of your own meals, you could certainly do this hike on a lower budget. I only paid for breakfast at one of the places I stayed. I didn’t feel that the extra costs (up to £10 per person) were worth it for breakfast. However, this certainly would have been more convenient, and hopefully the breakfasts would have been big enough to fill up for most of the morning.
Besides my trip on the Jacobite Steam Train, which I’m not counting in this budget breakdown, I spent no money whatsoever on sightseeing. There aren’t really paid attractions along the trail – the trail and the scenery itself is the attraction. This was a big difference to my experience hiking Hadrian’s Wall, where there were many attractions to visit along the actual trail.
I chose to take the train from York to the starting point (Milngavie, near Glasgow) and from Fort William back to York at the end of the hike. While I usually drive to Scotland so I can roadtrip, I knew that I wouldn’t have enough time off work on this trip to see or do anything else in the area. So with the extortionate gas prices in the UK, it definitely made sense to take the train there and back.
For some reason, a one-way from Fort William to York was very expensive: £105.90, the same cost as a return ticket. I split my tickets and booked Fort William to Glasgow, and Glasgow to York, as separate journeys. This saved me an incredible amount of money! As separate tickets, this cost just £37.25 altogether. Just keep in mind that if you do this, and you’re delayed on the first leg of your journey, the train companies aren’t liable to get you home. If you miss your connection, you’d need to buy your own train ticket. It’s a risk. I also have a 26-30 Railcard, so I saved 33% off my train fares. Prices are very reasonable for a one-year railcard, and if you take more than 3-4 decent-length train journeys, you’ll make your money back easily.
I absolutely recommend taking the West Highland Line from Fort William to Glasgow if you’re hiking the West Highland Way. The scenery is spectacular, and goes through some of the most remote areas of the UK. Places like Rannoch, where there are no roads, only the train line passing through, are so unique. You also get to see quite a bit of the trail that you’ve just completed, which was so fun for me!
Category Breakdown
Accommodation: £300
Food/Drink: £141.90
Miscellaneous: £4
Transportation: £70.60
Sightseeing: £0
Daily Costs
Wondering what my daily costs were for the trip?
27 August: £20.25
28 August: £3.50
29 August: 22.90
30 August: £13.10
31 August: £21.75
1 September: £27.90
2 September: £19.85
3 September: £27.35
4 September: N/A
5 September: £8.90
In total, I spent £165.50 on my daily costs. The vast majority of this was on food and drinks!
How much did my West Highland Way hike cost?!
GRAND TOTAL: £516.50
The Takeaway
I’m really proud of my budget for hiking the West Highland Way. I was happy staying in hostels and bunkhouses, which kept my accommodation costs pretty low. I also had fairly minimal food/drink costs, as I brought some of my own snacks and bought food from shops where I could, so that I wasn’t eating out for every meal of the day. But I still ate out whenever I wanted, and enjoyed many pints. I have no regrets about this!
My transportation costs were also very low. Taking the train instead of driving saved so much money. If I’d have driven, I’d have easily spent double my transportation budget on gas driving up to Scotland on my own. I also booked my train tickets well in advance, to get the cheapest fares possible. Considering travel insurance for your trip? World Nomads offers coverage for more than 150 adventure activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and more.
I planned to do this hike on a budget, and overall I definitely feel like I achieved this. You can certainly do the West Highland Way on a budget, even if you don’t want to camp. I hope this helps in planning and budgeting your trip on the West Highland Way!
Have you hiked the West Highland Way? What was your budget like?
You might also like my posts:
A 7-Day Itinerary for Hiking the West Highland Way
West Highland Way Packing List: What to Pack for Hiking the West Highland Way
How Much Does it Cost to Hike Hadrian’s Wall?
How Much Does it Cost to Do the North Coast 500 in Scotland?
A Travel Guide for Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, Scotland
How Much Does it Cost to Visit Orkney on a Budget?
All my Scotland posts and budgeting posts!
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