Scotland's Great Trails

Map of 14 locations in Scotland

NatureScot recognises a family of long-distance routes across the country, waymarked with a thistle inside a hexagon and maintained by the local authorities whose ground they cross. They run coast to coast, up river valleys, along peninsulas and down old railway lines, and one of them finishes over the border in England. Set out here in the order each was opened, from the first official route of 1980 onward. The set follows the list of Scotland's Great Trails on English Wikipedia, transcribed by hand; the lines are OpenStreetMap's and the dates and lengths are the cited pages'.

Places in this collection

  • Great Trossachs Path — The route runs between Callander in the east and Inversnaid on Loch Lomond in the west, passing through Brig o' Turk, the Loch Katrine area…
  • John Muir Way — A continuous coast-to-coast route across Scotland's central belt, from Helensburgh on the Firth of Clyde in Argyll and Bute to Dunbar on th…
  • Kintyre Way — The route runs the length of the Kintyre peninsula in Argyll, from Tarbert in the north to Machrihanish in the south, passing fishing villa…
  • River Ayr Way — Scotland's first source to sea path follows the River Ayr from Glenbuck down to the sea at Ayr, through Ayrshire. The ground it crosses ran…
  • Dava Way — Running between Forres and Grantown-on-Spey in north east Scotland, the trail follows the course of the old railway that linked the two tow…
  • Clyde Walkway — The path follows the River Clyde upstream from the city of Glasgow to the Falls of Clyde, just above the UNESCO World Heritage village of N…
  • Rob Roy Way — From Drymen to Pitlochry in Perth and Stirlingshire, the route crosses the Highland Boundary Fault and visits places associated with the ou…
  • Great Glen Way — The route runs along the Great Glen from Fort William to Inverness, linking the west and east coasts of the Highlands. It opened as Scotlan…
  • Fife Coastal Path — The walking trail follows the full length of the Fife coast from Kincardine Bridge in the south to Newburgh in the north, keeping mainly to…
  • Loch Lomond and Cowal Way — Formerly known as the Cowal Way, this Argyll footpath runs the length of the Cowal Peninsula from Portavadie in the south to Inveruglas on…
  • St Cuthbert's Way — A long-distance footpath and pilgrimage route from Melrose in the Scottish Borders to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, off the Northumberlan…
  • Southern Upland Way — Scotland's coast-to-coast walk and the longest of the Great Trails, running from the old harbour at Portpatrick in the southwest to Cockbur…
  • Speyside Way — The route follows the River Spey inland from Buckie, where the river enters the Moray Firth, to Aviemore on the edge of the Cairngorm mount…
  • West Highland Way — Scotland's first official long-distance route links Milngavie, on the outskirts of Glasgow, to Fort William. It runs from the gentle paths…

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