The Start, The Middle, The Future!
How did one West Highland Way group become the largest in the world, helping people and businesses for over 4 years, totally for free, with thousands of hours of admin done.
It all started with one person.
Then later many locals, friends and acquaintances.
It all began from a sad story of a girl who lost her mother, after giving up her life to nurse her, abandoned by family and set out to make the world a better place, travel the world volunteering, teaching kids English and came back to Scotland to help people regain their life and health.
The full story we will share later this year. For now we are incredibly grateful to have been entrusted and gifted the amazing Facebook group West Highland Way Tips and Tricks.
It is already helping create jobs and opportunities for some of us living along the West Highland Way, where work can sometimes be scarce in remote areas of the Highlands. It allows us to build a future here in our home of Scotland, while also contributing a percentage of every booking each year to charities and trusts we have already been working with on the West Highland Way, including the little ones and others such as Strathfillan Community Development Trust, who in the past have struggled with funding to employ rangers. They have previously received support from Loch Lomond & The Trossachs Countryside Trust and NatureScot.
To be gifted such an opportunity like this is amazing.
This website is being built over several months, so please bear with us. It is impossible to get round to meet everybody face to face, but we will certainly get to talk with you all.
Meet Gavin Macnab
Gavin Macnab has lived and worked along the West Highland Way for over three decades. Born in Glasgow and raised on the south side, Gavin built his early career in technology, eventually running his own IT business. Throughout his working life, he has always believed in learning, improving systems and using knowledge to make life easier and safer for others.
In 1994, he moved to the Highlands - a decision that shaped the rest of his life.
Since then, Gavin has been quietly involved in the local community, regularly helping to maintain sections of the West Highland Way, supporting environmental efforts and contributing wherever he could. His connection to the route is not a recent project; it has been part of his daily life for many years.
He later became a Ranger for Strathfillan Community Development Trust, where he spent his time educating visitors about the history of the area, offering guidance to walkers from around the world and helping protect one of Scotland’s most iconic landscapes.
Gavin understands the West Highland Way not only as a visitor attraction, but as a living network of local businesses, communities and people who depend on its long-term sustainability.
His involvement with West Highland Way Tips and Tricks is rooted in that same belief - that the route should be supported, strengthened and respected. The platform is being built to help walkers plan responsibly, support established local businesses and contribute back to the long-term future of the Way.
Through this project, Gavin is working to promote responsible use of the route, raise awareness of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code among walkers and campers, and help generate support for both the West Highland Way Trust and the work of the Strathfillan Community Development Trust.
For Gavin, it has always been simple:
Look after people.
Look after community.
Look after the places we call home.
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How Travel Bookings Work
When travellers plan a trip there are several ways they can complete their booking. The travel industry normally operates across the following booking channels.
1 Direct with the supplier
Travellers can book directly with airlines, hotels or accommodation providers through their own website.
2 Travel agents and tour operators
Some travellers prefer to book through a travel agent or walking company that organises accommodation and services as part of a trip.
3 Online travel agencies
Global booking platforms that allow travellers to search and reserve accommodation and flights in one place.
Examples include Booking.com, Expedia and Hotels.com.
4 Travel comparison platforms
Comparison websites allow travellers to review availability and prices across multiple travel providers before choosing where to book.
5 Affiliate travel partners
Specialist travel websites guide travellers to trusted booking partners and receive a referral commission when a reservation is completed.
Our platform will provide access to all of these options so travellers can choose the booking method that suits them best. Walkers can discover accommodation, flights, transport, car rental, taxis, attractions and outdoor gear required for the West Highland Way while planning their journey stage by stage.
This approach ensures visitors have complete visibility of the available travel options while supporting the businesses that make the West Highland Way one of Scotland’s most important walking destinations.
Existing Partnerships and Direct Enquiries
We already have partnerships with some of the world largest travel booking platforms which list accommodation and provide availability to travellers planning their trip to the West Highland Way.
Our long term goal is to build direct relationships with as many accommodation providers as possible as we are aware this is less commission for them to lose, so that we can initially send direct enquiries to the business. Until those direct connections are in place, we guide walkers through the other booking options so that they always have several ways to complete their reservation.
Do you need to speak with us?
If you already have your calendar connected to systems such as Free To Book, Little Hotelier, etc or you already work with global distribution systems such as Hotelbeds, etc, then at this stage you probably do not need to do anything. Our platform will be able to access worldwide availability across several booking networks so that walkers can see the available options.
For accommodation providers who do not currently use these systems, we are speaking with many businesses directly and working on a simple trust basis at the moment. Some providers work with a flat 10% commission, while others provide a net price that can be accessed through a booking system.
Right now our main focus is to spread the business across as many accommodation providers as possible along the route while also helping agencies by sending direct leads. We also offer our partners the opportunity to share last-minute availability or cancellations with us. These offers can then be promoted across our social channels to our large community of walkers actively planning their journeys, helping to generate immediate interest and maximise the chances of filling those spaces. Our goal is to ensure our West Highland Way partners remain as fully booked as possible throughout the season.
If Gavin has not already visited you or arranged a call, please feel free to reach out to him. If not, do not worry. We will eventually make contact as we continue working our way along the route and building the network in 2026.
Your property on Google Maps and a little bit more info.
We are currently building an interactive planning layer on top of Google Maps within this website. As most accommodation and services along the West Highland Way already appear on Google Maps, businesses are effectively already part of the system and do not need to do anything.
Through the West Highland Way Tips and Tricks community, which reaches over 22 million people each year planning the walk, the aim is simply to help guide travellers toward accommodation providers and Scottish walking agencies while they plan their journey.
Where bookings are made through the platform, the goal is to help bring those reservations closer to the accommodation providers themselves or through Scottish travel partners, helping keep more of the travel economy within Scotland. A percentage of bookings will also contribute toward charities connected to the West Highland Way.
Gavin previously worked as a ranger with Strathfillan Community Development Trust and has seen first hand how funding often limits how many rangers can be employed to help protect and care for the route.
Having now been entrusted and gifted stewardship of this community platform, we see a rare opportunity to build a system that supports the businesses along the Way while also helping create new funding streams for the long term care of the route.
The West Highland Way has always depended on the people who look after it. We simply hope this project can play a small part in supporting that future.