Encompassing some of the finest walking on the island, the West Island Way crosses a variety of landscapes including coastal areas, moorland and forest,and skirts many of our most famous landmarks plus a few lesser-known beauties too.
A great way to immerse yourself in our varied wildlife - no promises of course, but walkers often come across seals and otters, sharks, porpoise, deer, hares and abundant birdlife from oystercatchers to golden eagles and everything inbetween.
Most folks tackling the whole walk will do so over two days, staying mid-way in or near Rothesay.
West Island Way is NOT wheelchair accessible. Please consider this before planning a visit if this is a concern.
With amazing views across the Firth of Clyde, this section of the Way takes in the landmarks such as Hawk's Neb, the Rubh' an Eun lighthouse, Glencallum Bay and the beautifully atmospheric St Blane's Chapel ruins.
Mixed coastal and inland terrains on this longer walk North towards Rothesay and then on to Port Bannatyne
A lovely walk over hills and through glens and forest to the Kyles of Bute and the northernmost point of the island
A coastal walk with a choice of difficulties - high moorland walks with outstanding panoramic views for the more adventurous, or a roadside verge walk for the more sedate
Throughout each section there are plenty of waymarkers, and detailed notes are available from the West Island Way website. It goes without saying that you should always go prepared - suitable clothing and footwear, maps, mobile phone, water and provisions
Colin pictures are © Stephen Doak and used under licence
You can buy prints and other Colin merchandise from Picture Bute
... or for less than the price of a coffee you can become a Colin Patron
Operation Starfish WWII decoy bunker
Lovely mile-long walk through ancient woodland with stunning bay views
Community forest with lots of woodland activities for visitors
Yoga class meeting at Mill Cottage Hall on Monday evenings
Bute's own walking group, part of the Ramblers' Association
Walks and feeds with alpacas and Pygmy goats on Bute!
Municipal leisure centre with 25m swimming pool, gym, sauna and steam room
Unmanned lighthouse on the edge of stunning isolated Glancallum Bay
Ancient woodlands on a steep hill climb overlooking Rothesay Bay
Group and 1-to-1 therapeutic yoga classes
Personal trainer, fitness instructor and gym
A 2 mile coast-to-coast walk following the old tramway
Professional PT & Remedial Massage Therapy Services based on Bute
Yoga for Wellbeing-Private/ Group and Workshops.
The information presented here is collected from the public domain or has been provided by previous customers, users of or visitors to West Island Way. It is presented in good faith but is not warranted to be complete or free from errors. E&OE.
IMAGE CREDIT
The large image depicting West Island Way used at the top of this page is a derivative work based on an original image by OpenStreetMap Contributors published under CC-BY-SA 2.0 The original image was cropped. The derivative work may therefore be reused under CC-BY-SA 2.0.
