Long-distance footpaths in Scotland
# Long-distance footpaths in Scotland

This page lists long-distance footpaths in Scotland. Scottish Natural Heritage have defined such paths as meaning a route that is at least 32 kilometres (20 mi) long and primarily off-road, or on quieter roads and tracks. This definition is consistent with that of the British Long Distance Walkers Association.

## Classification

Under Scots law the public has a right to responsible access to most land in Scotland, in accordance with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, and access rights for new routes do not generally require to be negotiated. Many named walks have therefore been developed by local authorities, tourist organisations and guidebook authors. There is thus no single register or list of such paths, however some classifications have been developed by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH):

* Scotland's Great Trails: these are routes judged as meeting standards defined by Scottish Natural Heritage. There are 29 such routes, offering over 3,000 kilometres (2,000 mi) of trails in total. Each of the routes is clearly waymarked with a dedicated symbol, and run largely off-road. They range in length from 24 to 210 miles (40 to 340 km), and are intended to be tackled over several days, either as a combination of day trips or as an end-to-end expedition. They are primarily intended for walkers, but may have sections suitable for cyclists and horse-riders. One of the trails, the Great Glen Canoe Trail, is designed for canoeists and kayakers.
* Heritage paths are routes that have historically been used for a specific purpose, such as Roman roads, drove roads, pilgrimage routes and miners’ paths.
* Themed routes are routes based on a specific topic, such as the social history or literary associations of the area through which the route passes.
* Virtual routes are routes which have do not have any official recognition or waymarking, but which have been promoted via media outlets such as websites, guidebooks or television programmes. A subcategory of these routes are "epic routes", defined as being routes that provide challenging travel over often rough ground in more remote ‘wild country’, being suitable for more experienced walkers with good navigation skills. These routes are not waymarked, so as to protect the ‘wild country’ qualities and to retain the element of challenge.
* Finally, the 6 miles (9.7 km) of the Pennine Way terminating at Kirk Yetholm are in Scottish Borders, Scotland, but are designated as one of the National Trails of England and Wales.

## List of Trails

| Trail | Distance (km) | Start/Finish points | Description | Classification |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Affric Kintail Way | 71 | Drumnadrochit & Morvich | Follows Glen Urquhart and Glen Affric between Loch Ness and the west coast. | Waymarked route |
| Annandale Way | 90 (or 85) | Moffat & Newbie Barns | Follows the valley of the River Annan from its source in the Moffat Hills to the sea in the Solway Firth. | SGT |
| Arran Coastal Way | 107 | Circular route | Around the coastline of the Isle of Arran. | SGT |
| Ayrshire Coastal Path | 161 | Glenapp, Ballantrae & Skelmorlie | Along the length of the coastline of Ayrshire. | SGT |
| Berwickshire Coastal Path | 48 | Cockburnspath & Berwick-upon-Tweed | Along the length of the coastline of Berwickshire. | SGT |
| Borders Abbeys Way | 109 | Circular route: Kelso – Jedburgh – Hawick – Selkirk – Melrose | A circular route in the Borders passing the ruins of many abbeys. | SGT |
| Ca na Catanach | 35 | Dorrery Lodge & Achentoul | A medieval drovers' road in Caithness and Sutherland. | Heritage path |
| Cateran Trail | 103 | Circular route: Blairgowrie – Kirkmichael – Spittal of Glenshee – Alyth | A route following old drovers' roads, minor paved roads and farm tracks in Perth and Kinross and Angus. | SGT |
| Cape Wrath Trail | 330 | Fort William & Cape Wrath | Across the Northwest Highlands. | Virtual route |
| Clyde Coastal Path | 176 | Weymss Bay & Milngavie | Following the River Clyde until it reaches and crosses the Erskine Bridge. The path then goes inland across to Milngavie to the start of the West Highland Way. There are also two spurs to Paisley and Partick. | Waymarked route |
| Clyde Walkway | 65 | Glasgow & New Lanark | Along the course of the River Clyde. | SGT |
| Cross Borders Drove Road | 82 | Little Vantage (near Livingston) & Hawick | A route across the Borders region of Scotland, following tracks formerly used to drive cattle southwards for sale in England. | SGT |
| Dava Way | 38 | Grantown-on-Spey & Forres | Follow the trackbed of a closed section of the Highland Railway. | SGT |
| Deeside Way | 66 | Aberdeen & Ballater | Largely follows the trackbed of the former Deeside Railway. | Themed route |
| East Highland Way | 132 | Fort William & Aviemore | Links the West Highland Way and the Speyside Way. | Virtual route |
| Edinburgh the Walk | 69 | Edinburgh | Follows paths, roads and cycleways through Edinburgh's green spaces. | Virtual route |
| Formartine and Buchan Way | 66 (or 68) | Dyce & Fraserburgh / Peterhead | Follows the track of the former railway line the Formartine and Buchan Railway which closed in 1970. The path branches into two sections at Maud. | SGT |
| Forth-Clyde/Union Canal Towpath | 106 | Bowling, West Dunbartonshire & Fountainbridge, Edinburgh | Follows the towpaths of the Forth and Clyde and Union canals between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. | SGT |
| Great Glen Canoe Trail | 96 | Fort William & Clachnaharry | Follows the canals and lochs of the Great Glen. | SGT |
| Great Glen Way | 125 | Fort William & Inverness | Runs generally to the west of the canals and lochs of the Great Glen. | SGT |
| Great Trossachs Path | 45 | Callander & Inversnaid | A route through the forested hillsides of the Trossachs. | SGT |
| John Muir Way | 215 | Helensburgh & Dunbar | Named in honour of the Scottish conservationist John Muir, who was born in Dunbar in 1838 and became a founder of the United States National Park Service. | SGT |
| John o' Groats Trail | 235 | Inverness & John o' Groats | A largely coastal route in the North Highlands. | Waymarked route |
| Kintyre Way | 161 | Tarbert, Argyll & Machrihanish | A route across the Kintyre peninsula. | SGT |
| Loch Lomond and Cowal Way | 92 | Portavadie & Inveruglas | Across the Cowal peninsula. | SGT |
| Moray Coast Trail | 72 | Forres & Cullen | Along the coastline of Moray. | SGT |
| Mull of Galloway Trail | 59 | Mull of Galloway & Glenapp, Ballantrae | Links the Ayrshire Coastal Path to the Mull of Galloway. | SGT |
| North Highland Way | 241 | Cape Wrath & Duncansby Head | Along the north coast of Scotland. | Virtual route |
| Pennine Way | 429 | Edale & Kirk Yetholm | The northernmost 10 km are in Scotland. | National Trail (England and Wales) |
| River Ayr Way | 66 | Glenbuck & Ayr | Follows the course of the River Ayr. | SGT |
| Rob Roy Way | 127 (or 154) | Drymen & Pitlochry | Links sites connected with the folk hero and outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor. | SGT |
| Romans and Reivers Route | 84 | Ae & Hawick | Much of the route follows former Roman roads in the Borders. | SGT |
| Roman Heritage Way | 241 | Wallsend & Melrose | Heads north from Hadrian's Wall into the Scottish Borders. | Virtual route |
| Scottish Coastal Way | - | N/A | A proposed route around the coastline of Scotland. | Proposed virtual route |
| Scottish National Trail | 864 | Kirk Yetholm & Cape Wrath | Devised by writer and broadcaster Cameron McNeish. | Virtual route |
| Sir Walter Scott Way | 148 or 151 | Moffat & Cockburnspath | Links places connected with Walter Scott. | Virtual route/themed route |
| Skye Trail | 128 | Rubha Hùinis & Broadford | A trail across the Isle of Skye. | Virtual route |
| Southern Upland Way | 338 | Portpatrick & Cockburnspath | A coast-to-coast walk across the Southern Uplands. | SGT |
| Speyside Way | 107 | Buckie & Aviemore (spur to Tomintoul) | Follows the course of the River Spey form near its source down to the sea. | SGT |
| St Cuthbert's Way | 100 | Melrose & Lindisfarne | A route linking sites associated with Cuthbert of Lindisfarne in both England and Scotland. | SGT |
| Sutherland Trail | 111 | Lochinver & Tongue | A trail across Sutherland, devised by writer and broadcaster Cameron McNeish. | Virtual route |
| Three Lochs Way | 55 | Balloch & Inveruglas | Links Loch Lomond, Gare Loch and Loch Long at the southern edge of the Highlands. | SGT |
| West Highland Way | 154 | Milngavie & Fort William | Scotland's first and most popular long-distance walking route. | SGT |
| West Island Way | 48 (or 52) | Kilchattan Bay & Port Bannatyne | Located on the Isle of Bute, this was the first waymarked long-distance route on a Scottish island. | SGT |
