Scotland · Long-distance path

Scottish National Trail

A long-distance path in Scotland: 862 km (536 mi) with 23,763 m of ascent, about 35 days on foot.

Distance
862 km (536 mi)
Ascent
23,763 m
Days
35
High point
783 m
Send on WhatsApp
Follow it in the app

OpenStreetMap does not map this route as a whole. Where it follows St Cuthbert's Way, Southern Upland Way, Union Canal and Forth and Clyde Canal, West Highland Way, Rob Roy Way, Great Glen Way and Cape Wrath Trail the line is OpenStreetMap's mapping of those trails; the rest (392 km) is drawn by our router along mapped paths, tracks and lanes through the places the route's own site names (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL). Heights are from a 30 m terrain model. It shows the way the route goes, not every turn of it: check the route's own site, take a map and check for diversions before a long trip. See the source.

0 km100 km200 km300 km400 km500 km600 km700 km800 km783 m0 m
Move along the height chart to see each point on the map.
Scottish National Trail
Peter Moore  · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The trail

Cameron McNeish's route from Kirk Yetholm on the Border to Cape Wrath, 864 km on the trail's own site, which suggests around five weeks. For parts of the way it follows St Cuthbert's Way, the Southern Upland Way, the West Highland Way, the Rob Roy Way, the Great Glen Way and the Cape Wrath Trail; between them it crosses the Tweed valley, the Pentlands, the canals of the Central Belt, Perthshire, Glen Tilt and Glen Feshie, and the Corrieyairack Pass. It gets harder going north, and the Cape Wrath Trail at the end has pathless ground and river crossings.

Map sections

About 35 days at about 25 km (15 mi) a day, an estimate from the length. Too many to list day by day, so here the line is in 30 sections, each ending at a town or village it passes, to help you find your way along it. They are not daily stages, and they vary from 14.4 km to 45 km: plan your days and nights from the trail's own guide.

  1. Section 1 Kirk Yetholm to Harestanes 29 km · 29 km from the start
  2. Section 2 Harestanes to Melrose 24 km · 53 km from the start
  3. Section 3 Melrose to Innerleithen 32 km · 85 km from the start
  4. Section 4 Innerleithen to West Linton 33 km · 118 km from the start
  5. Section 5 West Linton to Balerno 19.7 km · 137 km from the start
  6. Section 6 Balerno to Ratho 25 km · 163 km from the start
  7. Section 7 Ratho to Linlithgow 21 km · 184 km from the start
  8. Section 8 Linlithgow to Bonnybridge 21 km · 205 km from the start
  9. Section 9 Bonnybridge to Kirkintilloch 19.7 km · 224 km from the start
  10. Section 10 Kirkintilloch to Drymen 33 km · 257 km from the start
  11. Section 11 Drymen to Callander 33 km · 290 km from the start
  12. Section 12 Callander to Balmenoch 32 km · 322 km from the start
  13. Section 13 Balmenoch to Little Ballinluig 45 km · 366 km from the start
  14. Section 14 Little Ballinluig to Blair Atholl 21 km · 387 km from the start
  15. Section 15 Blair Atholl to The Red House 29 km · 416 km from the start
  16. Section 16 The Red House to Carnachuin 22 km · 438 km from the start
  17. Section 17 Carnachuin to Kingussie 26 km · 464 km from the start
  18. Section 18 Kingussie to Laggan 23 km · 487 km from the start
  19. Section 19 Laggan to Fort Augustus 39 km · 526 km from the start
  20. Section 20 Fort Augustus to Faichem 14.4 km · 540 km from the start
  21. Section 21 Faichem to open country (no village near) 28 km · 569 km from the start
  22. Section 22 Open country to Innis a' Chrotha 28 km · 597 km from the start
  23. Section 23 Innis a' Chrotha to Strathcarron 40 km · 637 km from the start
  24. Section 24 Strathcarron to Kinlochewe 29 km · 666 km from the start
  25. Section 25 Kinlochewe to Auchlunachan 43 km · 709 km from the start
  26. Section 26 Auchlunachan to Gob na Foide 36 km · 745 km from the start
  27. Section 27 Gob na Foide to Inchnadamph 31 km · 776 km from the start
  28. Section 28 Inchnadamph to Kylestrome 27 km · 803 km from the start
  29. Section 29 Kylestrome to Achriesgill 31 km · 834 km from the start
  30. Section 30 Achriesgill to Cape Wrath 28 km · 862 km from the start

Summits on the way

  • Brown Knowe 523 m · 76 km from the start
  • Hare Law 510 m · 77 km from the start
  • Auchnafree Hill 787 m · 333 km from the start
  • Ruigh Caochan Dubh 554 m · 410 km from the start
  • Cnapan Loch Tilt 553 m · 411 km from the start
  • Ben Dreavie 503 m · 813 km from the start

Tops within 300 m of the line. Lists from the Database of British and Irish Hills; other summits from OpenStreetMap.

Start and finish

Start: near Kirk Yetholm, Scottish Borders. 55.54714, -2.27548

Finish: near Cape Wrath, Highland. 58.62544, -4.99930

Directions to the start

Google Maps Apple Maps

To the finish: Google Maps · Apple Maps

Places to stay

Rooms in the towns and villages along the way:

Affiliate links: if you book, Global Adventurer earns a small commission at no cost to you.

Paths change, and the weather decides the day. The line comes from the source named under the map and the heights from a terrain model, so treat the figures as a guide. Check for diversions before you go, take a map, check the forecast, and turn back if it isn't right.

More trails in Scotland

Great TrailWest Island WayScotland · 45 km · 2 daysGreat TrailWest Highland WayScotland · 152 km · 8 daysLong-distance pathEast Highland WayScotland · 124 km · 7 days

All trails in Scotland →