West Highland Way Packing List — What I Actually Carried with a Toddler on My Back

The West Highland Way is 96 miles of Scottish highland trail from Milngavie to Fort William. I walked it with Freddy — carried in a hiking carrier for the harder sections — over multiple days of wild camping, campsites and pub stops when civilisation presented itself. This is the exact kit I carried, what worked, what I wish I had done differently, and everything you need to pack for the WHW whether you're going solo, with a partner, or with a small human on your back.

One important caveat before the list: I walked it in summer and it was genuinely hot for Scotland — warm enough that I ditched my waterproofs after day one when a reliable forecast came through. Pack yours anyway. Scotland weather is not to be trusted on a seven-day forecast. I got lucky. You might not.

Choosing Your Pack

I carried the Osprey Renn 50L — a women's specific pack with a well-designed hip belt and back system that distributes weight properly over a multi-day route. 50 litres is enough for a week of camping with careful packing, and I wouldn't go smaller for the WHW, particularly if you're carrying kit for a child. The key with any multi-day hiking pack is fit over capacity — a poorly fitted 40L pack is significantly worse than a well-fitted 60L pack. Get it professionally fitted if you can before you go. The WHW is long enough that a bad fit becomes a serious problem by day three.

• Osprey Renn 50L → — women's specific fit with a supportive hip belt, my pack for the entire trail

The Carrier System

Carrying a toddler on a multi-day hike requires the right carrier — not just any baby carrier, but one designed for extended load-bearing over uneven terrain. I used two depending on the section. The Trail Magik was the main carrier for the big mileage days and the harder terrain — designed specifically for hiking with a child, with a proper frame, hip belt and load transfer system. If you're doing the WHW with a toddler this is the category of carrier you need; the difference between a proper hiking carrier and a soft structured carrier on a long day is enormous. For shorter sections, town walking and when Freddy wanted to be close rather than up high, I used the Ergobaby 360 instead. It isn't a hiking carrier in the technical sense, but for manageable distances it works well and packs down far more compactly than the Trail Magik.

• Trail Magik hiking carrier → — proper frame, hip belt and load transfer for the big mileage days
• Ergobaby Omni 360 → — compact, comfortable for shorter distances and town sections

Sleep System

Sleeping with a toddler on a multi-day trail requires a different approach from solo camping. You cannot each have your own sleeping bag and pad without the weight and bulk becoming unmanageable, so the solution is a shared system. The Klymit Double V is a double inflatable pad that packs down small and provides a shared sleeping surface for two — Freddy and I slept on this together throughout the trip, and the double width means you aren't fighting for space with a sprawling toddler. The Thermarest Questar is a quality three-season bag that handled Scottish summer nights comfortably, shared between us with Freddy tucked in. Down insulation, good packability, and the kind of bag worth investing in for regular camping beyond a single trip.

• Klymit Double V sleeping pad → — double-width, packs small, a shared surface for two rather than two separate pads
• Thermarest Questar sleeping bag → — quality three-season bag, comfortable for Scottish summer nights shared with a toddler

Footwear

Footwear is the most important kit decision on any long distance trail. Get this wrong and the WHW becomes genuinely miserable; get it right and your feet will carry you all the way to Fort William without drama. My Regatta hiking boots were waterproof, supportive and comfortable across 96 miles of varied terrain — the WHW goes from well-maintained paths to rough moorland, rocky sections and boggy ground, and you need a boot with ankle support and waterproofing, not trail runners. Crucially, break them in properly before you go; new boots on day one of the WHW is a mistake that will cost you in blisters. For the sections where Freddy walked rather than rode, he wore Merrell kids hiking shoes — genuinely good children's trail shoes, grippy, supportive and robust enough for proper terrain, worth the investment over standard trainers for any hiking trip.

• Waterproof hiking boots → — ankle support and waterproofing across varied WHW terrain, non-negotiable
• Merrell kids hiking shoes → — grippy, supportive children's trail shoes for the sections Freddy walked himself
• Compeed blister plasters → — pack more than you think you need, and apply at the first sign of a hot spot, not after the blister has formed
• Camp sandals or lightweight shoes — something to change into at the end of the day, both for comfort and to keep the inside of your tent clean

Clothing — Mine and Freddy's

I walked in a t-shirt and leggings for most of the route — it was genuinely warm when I went and the leggings handled both the movement and the midges better than shorts would have. In hindsight I desperately wished I had packed cut-off hiking pants; the heat on some days made full leggings uncomfortable and the cut-offs would have been perfect. Learn from this. Merino wool is worth the price for multi-day hiking — it manages odour far better than synthetic and stays comfortable across multiple days between washes, which matters enormously when laundry access is limited to the handful of villages along the route.

• Merino wool t-shirts → — 2-3, moisture-wicking and quick-dry, worth the price for multi-day wear
• Under Armour Cold Gear Leggings → — what I wore daily; I'd add cut-off hiking pants next time for the hottest days
• Waterproof jacket → — pack it, always pack it, regardless of the forecast Scotland shows you
• Fleece or mid layer — for evenings at camp and early morning starts, when even summer highlands cool down significantly after dark
• Warm hat and gloves — lightweight, packable and essential for the exposed sections and cold mornings
• Merino wool base layer — for sleeping and cold days, since merino regulates temperature in both directions
• Merino wool hiking socks → — 2-3 pairs, Darn Tough or Smartwool are worth every penny; blisters are a socks problem as much as a boots problem

For Freddy: two long sleeve base layers gave quick-dry sun and midge protection, plus a warm layer for evenings since children feel the cold faster than adults once they stop moving. A sun hat was essential for days in the carrier when his face was fully exposed to a Scottish sun that's stronger than it looks combined with altitude and water reflection. I kept his waterproof layer on regardless of what I ditched for myself — toddlers can't regulate temperature as effectively as adults, and getting a small child wet and cold on a remote trail section isn't a situation you want.

Food and Water on the Trail

The WHW passes through enough villages and settlements with pubs and shops that you don't need to carry food for the entire route, but for wild camping sections between resupply points you need to be self-sufficient for several days at a time. I made my own dehydrated meals rather than buying commercial options — butter chicken, cheesy chicken pasta and chilli. Home dehydrating gives you significantly better food than the commercial trail meal options, costs less, and means you control exactly what goes in; the meals rehydrate with boiling water in the bag, meaning minimal washing up and genuinely satisfying food after a long day on trail.

The Scottish highlands have abundant clean water sources — rivers, streams and burns throughout the route. I carried a 3L hydration pack and filtered directly from water sources using a Sawyer Squeeze, which eliminates the need to carry large quantities of water and keeps the pack weight manageable. It's lightweight, reliable and pays for itself immediately versus buying bottled water.

• Sawyer Squeeze water filter → — filters directly from Scottish rivers and burns, no batteries needed
• 3L Hydration Bladder → — keeps water accessible without stopping to dig a bottle out of the pack
• Snacks for the trail — trail mix, energy bars, crackers, nut butter sachets; familiar snacks travel better than introducing new foods on a long hiking day
• Lightweight canister stove — for boiling water for dehydrated meals and morning coffee, reliable and compact

First Aid and Safety

A basic first aid kit is non-negotiable on any multi-day trail, particularly with a child, and it needs to be accessible rather than buried at the bottom of the pack. Children's paracetamol handles a surprising range of trail emergencies — fever, teething, general unhappiness at altitude — and should always be in the kit. Compeed blister plasters are the most-used item in the first aid kit on any long distance trail, so pack at least six. Beyond that, plasters in various sizes (children find things to cut themselves on regardless of terrain), antiseptic wipes and cream, and ibuprofen for the days your knees and shoulders remind you that you're carrying a child up a mountain.

Scotland has ticks, and the WHW passes through exactly the kind of vegetation they favour — check yourself and your child every evening, and use a proper tick removal tool rather than tweezers. The Scottish midge is real, relentless and most active in summer; Smidge is the most effective repellent available in the UK, and it's worth applying every morning and evening without fail.

• Children's paracetamol → — handles fever, teething and general trail unhappiness, always in the kit
• Compeed blister plasters → — the most-used item in any long distance first aid kit, pack at least six
• Smidge midge repellent → — the most effective repellent in the UK, apply morning and evening without fail

Toddler-Specific Kit

Everything a toddler needs on a multi-day trail is actually minimal — they're small, they sleep well after big days and they're genuinely adaptable to outdoor living in a way that surprises most people. The main additions to a standard kit list are the carrier, their sleep setup and something to keep them occupied at camp. A small metal toy digger weighs almost nothing and provided hours of entertainment in the dirt at every campsite, rest stop and pub garden on the entire route — don't overthink toddler trail entertainment, they have the whole Scottish landscape to explore and a digger for the mud, which is genuinely enough. Whatever comfort item your toddler can't sleep without matters more than usual on a trail where everything else is unfamiliar — keep it accessible in the top of the pack, not buried at the bottom.

• A small metal toy digger — the single most-used entertainment item of the whole trip
• Familiar comfort item — kept in the top of the pack, never buried
• SPF 50 kids sunscreen → — toddlers in carriers have no shade, apply every morning before you start moving
• Nappy/pull-up supplies plus biodegradable waste bags — pack more than you think, wilderness changes require preparation
• Spare clothes — at least two complete sets beyond what they're wearing; Scotland is muddy and toddlers are magnetically attracted to it

Navigation and Tech

The WHW is well-waymarked but signal isn't reliable across the whole route, so download offline maps before you leave — the OS Maps app works well, and the Harvey WHW map is worth having as a physical backup. Scottish summer days are long but they do end, and a good headtorch matters for camp, early morning starts and navigating to the toilet block at 3am. Your phone is your navigation, camera and communication all in one, so a decent power bank keeps everything charged across multiple days between plug access, and a waterproof phone case or dry bag is essential given how wet Scotland gets.

• Headtorch → — for camp, early starts and 3am toilet trips when Scottish nights do eventually arrive
• Powerbank → — keeps your phone charged across multiple days between plug access
• Waterproof phone case or dry bag — Scotland is wet, your phone should not be

What I Would Do Differently

I would pack the cut-off hiking pants. It was so hot on the days we walked that full leggings became uncomfortable, and zip-off trousers would have been perfect — I left mine at home and regretted it for every summer hiking trip since. I'd keep the waterproofs regardless of forecast; I got lucky and Scotland weather is not to be trusted, especially given the waterproof jacket weighs almost nothing in a stuff sack. And I'd bring twice as much Smidge — the midges in summer on the WHW are genuinely significant, and applying it morning and evening without fail is the only thing that actually works.

Quick Reference

Best time to walk: May-September. June and July for longest days and best weather; late May avoids peak midge season; September for autumn colour and fewer people.

Duration: 7-9 days typical. With a toddler, build in extra time — shorter daily mileage and more flexibility makes for a better experience.

Pack weight: Aim for under 12kg for your own gear. With a toddler in a carrier your total carried weight is significantly higher, so keep the pack itself as light as possible.

The midges: Smidge, and bring plenty. Most active June to August, particularly dawn and dusk near water and vegetation.

Wild camping: Legal under Scotland's Land Reform Act. Leave no trace, use a trowel for waste, keep away from water sources.

Resupply: Drymen, Tyndrum, Bridge of Orchy and Kinlochleven all have food options — plan wild camping sections around them.

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