Awesome Kraig! Been waiting for you to come to Scotland for ages! You’ve been a true inspiration to me to make my bikepacking films around Scotland over the last few years. Keep it up mate 👏 🏴
I absolutely FELL for Scotland when i first visited a few years ago. This video perfectly captures the raw beauty of this place. It's the one true place I can come to and relax. Want to move there one day... 💙
I did the West Highland Way during a study abroad in Scotland not terribly long ago. This video spurred so many memories, thanks for the great work Kraig!
Great to see you hike here Kraig. May and September are generally the best times to hike in the UK. Quieter, milder weather and less insects (June to August is notorius for midgies in Scotland). If you're looking to do another long distance trail here, I'd highly recommend the Coast to Coast walk. It has a fascinating back story of how it came to be and spans across 3 very different national parks.
My home .... I've climbed most of the Munros alongside the West Highland Way. This video is therefore very special to me. I was in Glencoe only yesterday. Thank you for coming to Scotland.
Have to say that I'm totally obssesed with the highlands right now, I recently spent a week on the Isle Of Skye and drove through the highlands on the way there and back, had to stop so many times just to sit and admire the views. But the best part of this was hearing how you pronounced Glasgow, FYI we say it as Glaaz-Go.
Also just realised we were both up there at the same time, and yes, the scottish Midge is the most aggressive wee bug ever! I was covered in bites and I was well prepared for them.
I stay in Glasgow too and it's so easy to live in Scotland and take all the for granted and just not go and see it because it'll always be there next weekend or next month. I'm moving away soon so I've been trying to get out as much as I can and I've never been more amazed by our incredible country 🏴
@@MainzerKaiser May is definitely less buggy, July & August are high bug season. I did the NC500 and Glencoe in mid may this year and there was hardly any about.
Made it out to Scotland this past February. It was my first time out of the states and I think I chose the most amazing place to travel to for my first time of country. Isle of Skye was so incredible and I wish I had more than just a day to explore. We went to the Quiraing which was the picture you showed and wow was it beautiful. Cold and crazy windy, but beautiful. And I will say I didn’t see a single midge the entire week we were there
Your videos make me feel that there is wonderful community of walkers and riders on RU-vid and I won't have to feel lonely when I am on your channel. Thank you. : )
It's been a long-awaited dream to explore the beautiful landscapes of Scotland through hiking. Your dedication to capturing the essence of these journeys in your films is truly inspiring. Keep up the amazing work and continue sharing the wonders of Scotland's hiking trails with the world! 👏🏴
I don't think that Kraig can express how beautiful and peaceful that place is. And I'm glad you only got the midges and not the klegs. Those are rough in a different kind of way.
I had the privilege of completing this trek along with the Great Glen Way, which connects at the end of the WHW, last spring. Scotland is incredible. Great video Kraig
It's just incredible what beauty, what atmosphere you were able to create. This is truly a meditative experience watching you, this video is simply art! Cinematography at its finest! 👏
Hi Kraig, been watching your videos since the start :) Somehow really strange seeing you hike a route I've done myself as well! Very nice to see you camped at the exact same spot by Loch Lomond (yes it was LONG). Nice to recognize all the spots (not the ones on your face, I went in April), I loved you featured the Buachaille Etive Mòr quite a bit, I think that was my favorite mountain. Hope you're doing well, keep making these wonderful videos :)
Pretty sure I have watched every hiking video you've ever done and I haven't gotten tired of them yet, so you must be doing something right. 😉 Beautiful work, as always, thanks for sharing your adventures.
Amazing to see you on my home turf. I have lived in Milngavie (the start of the walk) all my life and walked the West Highland Way myself a few years ago. Your cinematography brings a new level of beauty to the local areas I have become so accustom to. Now I am fortunate enough to work in Forestry and experience so many of these incredible places every day 🤙 Glad you enjoyed your trip and you're welcome back to Scotland any time 🏴🍻
Enjoyed this video immensely, thank you. My wife and I did the WHW about ten years ago and it’s been my favorite ever since. We had a lot more rain than you did but didn’t have issues with the midges as it was early April. What an amazingly beautiful country with great people. Heading back next month and can’t wait!
I'm Scottish and a long time viewer of your videos. It's so cool to see so many places that I visit all the time in your videos. It really makes me appreciate them more, viewing them from an outsider's perspective through this video.
I miss Scotland a lot. This video brought me good memories from that time . I remember done so nice great hikes over there at Cairngorm park , Ben Nevis and Liathach.
Another masterpiece, there's no doubt about it. This video will undoubtedly captivate everyone, leaving them with a calm and peaceful mindset. As you mentioned, your commitment to showcasing purely minimalized content is truly commendable. I've been a loyal fan since your very first video, the one shot in Iceland. It was a mesmerizing experience that left me yearning for more. Your attention to detail, from the serene landscapes to the thoughtfully curated shots, is what sets you apart. Each frame tells a story, evoking emotions and stirring a deep appreciation for the beauty of our world. Your videos have become a source of inspiration for me to embrace simplicity and find solace in nature's embrace. Thank you for continuously delivering content that not only entertains but also nourishes the soul. I eagerly await your future creations, knowing that each one will be a delightful journey into the wonders of minimalism and the mesmerizing allure of our green and abundant countrysides. Keep up the fantastic work!👏
You're my inspiration and what is the most exciting for me is that I was there 5 days before you in the exact same place and exact same room number 8 in West Highland Lodge in Kinlochleven! Cheers from Czech republic 🫡 ...midges eat me alive
Thank you for sharing a new video! This was just the peace and serenity I need it today to remind me of the beauty of walking. Working and finding nothing but politics in my RU-vid feed, this was a welcome moment of paradise.
Just came back home to Sweden after my trip to Scotland where I walked the West Highland Way and summited Ben Nevis. Was my first long distance hike in a couple of years and it was amazing. Thank you for making this video so I can look back on the hike! Great video as always!
Great to see you in Scotland. You got great weather...for Scotland!! It can be very wet and the midges would have been even worse. Love your trail hikes, so this was one at least that I also knew well.Thanks for sharing
Cool to see you hiking here in the UK Kraig! Word of advice for if you chose to come back to the Scottish Highlands, get yourself some Smidge insect repellent! It's the only repellent which seems to work on Scottish midges. Smidge also do quality head nets too!
You happened to come to Scotland on one of the worst periods for midges for several years. They hatch a few times over the summer but this particularly early summer made them hatch all at once. The best time for 'summer' hiking in Scotland is May. The first midges come at the end of the month usually (and not as bad as you had). In early May the grasses are still nice oranges and browns but if you want the best colours then the end of October is best (when autumnal weather systems sweep in from the atlantic and you might not see the mountains at all!)
Thanks for trip down memory lane, I did this walk back in 1996 while backpacking through Europe and the UK. It was during autumn so the vegetation was brown instead of green and the facilities seemed to be less developed. The first day I started out walking alone but later during that day I met 2 Scottish guys. I walked the remainder of the walk with them, had a great time.
I am literally starting a RU-vid channel called Hike n’ Sid(I will change my profile name) because of you Kraig. Your videos truly inspired me to go on trail walking and tackling harder ones as time goes on. I take my family too at the ones I think they can do and make videos of our time in the hike. I’m definitely going to places you’ve been. Please keep bringing us more of these when you can. Truly inspiring ❤
Possibly the best video on whw I've seen. Great you got the best of the weather. Hope you enjoyed the journey. I live 20 mins from Loch Lomond, hope to run the way again at end of the summer.
Old Scottish lady told me once to visit Scotland only in spring and she knew what she was talking about. Been there 3 times in March, amazing wheather, no midges. Went once in Aug - never again in summer. In December is is magical there, only downside is that the ground gets so much saturated with water that hiking is very difficult. Been adviced to bring spike crampons with you - have not tried that yet. If you want to have good pub food it would be a soup. Love the video as always!!
One of the best videos that showcases the WHW, this is the first of your films I have watched, I love how you keep the commentary to the end and that you assume your audience knows nothing about Midges.. Scotland can be evil during the summer, best avoided from mid-May to early September. The CMD Arête is not for the regular tourist, sadly it has claimed a fair few lives but it is more enjoyable than the “tourist” path. I’ll be going back through the rest of your content to enjoy more.
Hey Kraig, since you asked for feedback in the podcast episodes, just wanted to say that I’ve been listening to your podcast updates after you publish the hiking videos (so please continue them!).
Great to have you in the UK Kraig. Been watching you for a few years now. Love your videos. Damn those midges. We don't really get them 200 miles south of there. Certainly not in those quantities.
I bagged a couple of peaks along the way (as they say in Scotland) and it made the trail much more fun and exciting. There's a really cool alternative route towards the end before you reach Fort William. You go for the Devil's Ridge - as you summit the peak before it, an amazing view of Ben Nevis opens up.
Thank you so much for taking us on your journeys. They are wonderful to watch and you do so well with cinematography. Scotland is my heritage. I would love to go sometime.
Great Content as always Kraig! Be it these atmospheric hiking videos or the handheld Ones with trip nuances, always fun to watch. Hope you’re enjoying coming back to this video format. Cheers!
Waited so long to watch this video, because I was planning to do the WHW myself. Finished it a week ago, under totally different circumstances (a little bit more wet, and no midges). But now it's very nice to recognise the same places I stopped at. Ben Nevis I didn't do, because there were warnings of strong wind. But maybe some other time! Very beautiful video, as always!
With you on the pub food man, bleak stuff I felt bad for you poking that fish with your fork! Watching your vids to inspire myself into more adventures, had a big one recently and it's kicked me too hard to do another for a while. Brilliant video thanks for sharing!
Nice, brought back memories! I did it in four days and added Ben Nevis too! If anyone is thinking of when to attempt it, I did it in late May 2022 and didn’t have any issues with midges. However my weather was a bit more mixed with sun, wind and some rain which may have helped keep them at bay. YMMV! It was still pretty busy (WHW is always busy!) but another tip is to start Monday or Tuesday to avoid the weekend crowds on the first stage
Nicely filmed Kraig , I live in Scotland and I’ve got to agree with you about midges .. there’s nothing worse 😂.. You mentioned Skye at the end , it’s a beautiful island and there is plenty of good hiking.. cheers Stevie
Awesome to see you do a trail I hiked just last year; so many memories! You kept up an impressive pace, almost double my daily distance. That hard-packed Old Military Road (leading up to Kingshouse) absolutely killed my feet. I'm glad I met a few younger Czech hikers along the way to keep my morale up and push me to go a little farther than I might have otherwise (Cheers to Dave, Adam & Lucie). My original plan was, like yours, to climb Ben Nevis after having finished the trail but after the Devils' Staircase and the climb out of Kinlochleven, my glutes said, "no". Keep on trekkin!
I walked this like 10 years ago. Was incredible amazing. Lobing the country since I was a kid ans wwnt to Scotland already like 12 times. This year with my wife and a camper (3rd time in 4 years :D)
Being able to walk for such long distances, daily, is a dream *.* Scotland is beautiful, hoping to do this in autum/fall with the all the reds, browns and oranges
Knowing the WHW as I do I'm impressed that you did such long days and also in your craft that you knew where to get the drone up for those great shots. I'd be losing patience (and probably my drone) trying to get a good shot before being eaten by the midges. It's a particularly bad year for midges. Just got to keeep moving faster than they do.
You made that look incredibly easy! We took about twice as long as you! It is a beautiful trail, but sorry about the midges. They are atrocious. We went in April and didn't see any. We had a couple of chilly mornings, but it was worth it to avoid the bugs. Your photography is beautiful. I especially enjoy your drone shots. Thanks for sharing!
Literally did Ben Nevis a few weeks after you were there Kraig, super cool to see this video! the weather you got was stunning, very very different for my trip!hahah.
Kraig what a great video! This has motivated me to do some trails in the Great smoky mountains, NC. Would love to see you post something along the blue ridge mountains
Great to see you doing a hike on my doorstep. I live in the Highlands. I’ve not done the West Highland Way but am familiar with all the places you went to as I’ve climbed all the Munros. Good to see you doing Ben Nevis via the CMD Arête. Much better than going up the tourist route. We climb the Ben in Winter via the North Face which you will have seen across from you when on CMD.
Great Video. At our first try at west highland-way i get ate by the midges. But the weather was so bad then in the following days anyway - so we abandon our trip. At the second try we book hotels along the way. As we stept out of our hotel we saw the peoples in front of their tents - and i thought " good that we have left the tent at home - i chill in my hotel room - have fun with the midges outside!"
Yeah but keep in mind his elevation change is really low, for a 38 mile day he only gained 4000 feet. Thats practically flat. Also you don't know what his "day" is pace +total time, walk 2mph for 14 hours that's 28 miles.
It is pretty fast but I do t know why a person would want to go so quick. For me it’s all about the views. You have to stop and take a good look around.
Kraig, give The Isle of Mull a consideration. I was there about 5 years ago and found it interesting. Of course, my Granddad was from the area. And I got to tour the castle and envons. Interesting history also. Have fun, be safe.
Nice tae see ye over in oor brilliant wee country Kraig. 🏴🥃 You captured the WHW perfectly. 👌 We've had the hottest June on record over here in the UK so it's led to an unusually high midge population. Wee shites eh. 😁