Andy and Jo Birkett set out on Scotland’s West Highland Way—a 96-mile trek from Milngavie to Fort William—not just for the adventure, but to raise funds for tiny hearts. What followed was a week of wild weather, stunning landscapes, and moving encounters with strangers inspired to donate along the way.
At the end of April, we found ourselves at the starting line of Scotland’s famous long-distance trail, the West Highland Way. It’s a 96-mile trek from Milngavie, just north of Glasgow, through some of Scotland’s most incredible scenery, all the way to Fort William, and we’d given ourselves seven days to complete it. Having walked it twice before, we knew what we were letting ourselves in for – but somehow didn’t back out!
Whilst much of the UK was experiencing a heatwave, we set off from Milngavie on a showery, chilly morning, raincoats on from the beginning. It wasn’t the day to grab an ice lolly from our favourite “honesty box” along the way, sadly. Twelve miles after setting off, we arrived, a little damp, into Drymen, a charming village a few miles from Loch Lomond for our first overnight stop.
The second day of walking featured marginally better weather, for the first major climb, up to the 1,000-foot summit of Conic Hill, before we made our way along the first seven miles of the eastern bank of Loch Lomond, towards our overnight stop at the beautiful Rowardennan Youth Hostel. Despite the damage to my toes, which weren’t adapting very well to a different type of walking boot, we completed the remaining 14 miles of Loch Lomond on day 3, a notoriously tricky walk involving scrambling over rocks and huge tree roots, picking out a treacherous path along the loch-side.
Day four would see us leave Loch Lomond and its serene but stunning views behind, and head into the valleys of Glen Falloch and Strathfillan, winding our way alongside the railway and river, passing the halfway point of our walk. From the small town of Tyndrum, day five took us all the way to the remote Kingshouse Hotel at the end of Glencoe, a mammoth 19-mile walk, skirting the wilderness of Rannoch Moor. It’s a magical place, with no sound at all apart from the wind and occasional stream, with civilisation miles and miles away.
The penultimate day involved a zigzagging climb up the Devil’s Staircase, reaching the highest point of the walk, 1,800 feet up, where the views are as spectacular as you’d imagine. From there, we had a knee-punishing long descent into the town of Kinlochleven with its impressive hydro-electric power system. Accommodation was sparse due to a big classic motorbike rally taking place, so we spent the night in a wooden camping pod, enjoying the Scottish take on sausage and chips from the chippy, which involves three jumbo sausages – each!
We started our final 15-mile day as we’d started day one – in the rain. It was torrential as we traversed the remote high pass of Lairigmor, before brightening up a little for the final stages in the shadow of Ben Nevis and on into Fort William for a welcome beer, and a catch-up with other walkers as they crossed the finish line.
Impressive though the scenery is, what really blew us away was how other walkers, complete strangers, would see the Tiny Tickers logo and QR code for our JustGiving page on the back of our rucksack, and ask us about the charity, before making donations on their phones as they walked on. It was great to be able to talk to so many people about the work Tiny Tickers does, and about congenital heart problems in general, and to see them so impressed by what they heard that they immediately wanted to donate.
Back at work, one of Andy’s colleagues shared the story of how well he and his family had been supported by Tiny Tickers after the sad death of his new-born son in 2023. He said “our son Veer was diagnosed with a heart condition, and unfortunately passed shortly after birth – the work Tiny Tickers do in supporting early detection of these conditions is invaluable, as is the support they give to parents throughout the whole process.”
Andy’s employer, HSBC, offers a generous charity matching scheme which doubles the first £500 raised, so the final total making its way to Tiny Tickers’ coffers because of our crazy walk is just over £1,100.
Oh and no – we’re never doing it again! (Although we’ve said that twice before…)
Inspired by Jo and Andy? Why not take on your own hike for tiny hearts? Find out more here.
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