Associate Consultant Chris Rose spent 7 days in October walking one of the World’s great long distance trails – the West Highland Way. Essentially an old route linking the Lowlands and the Highlands from Milngavie (Just north of Glasgow) to Fort William in Scotland. Chris hiked the trail over 7 days with his sons and remarked on how well the trail was integrated with local businesses. Bag carrying services, B and B’s and pubs all worked together to create a terrific experience. Chris also noted how well the trail was marked and as a consequence, the trail was attracting many single walkers and groups of older women because it was so well organised and a safe but challenging experience. Trail works along the track were ongoing with SNH and the Forestry Commission working together to keep the trail maintained given it gets about 15,000 walkers a year – mostly between May and October.
The model where businesses work together to further enhance and package opportunities around trails certainly helps the experience and accordingly the yield.
