Halfway through Drew’s Journey for Wildness

We spoke with Drew McNaughton, who began a four-week trek across Scotland in the footsteps of his ancestors earlier this month.

Ranger Drew has been tracing the journey his ancestors took from Kenmore (east end of Loch Tay) to Li and Coire Dhorrcail in Knoydart as part of the Trust’s Journey for Wildness. While the route up until now has been familiar to him, the final stretches of his journey to from Fort William to Lì and Coire Dhorrcail will have areas he’s never explored before.

So far, Drew has been both wild camping and using campsites but has found restocking on food difficult outside of Kinlochleven and Fort William, finding only small shops along his way. Despite this, he told us that been enjoying getting to know the more remote areas that he is unfamiliar with.

Drew has been lucky enough to have mostly avoided bad weather and has had company for parts of his journey, camping with different groups from countries such as Holland, England and Germany, amongst others. Most recently, a group of fellow hikers joined him along the last stretch of the West Highland Way to Fort William. Sharing sections of the walk and hearing stories from other adventurers has been a highlight of his journey so far.

A story Drew shared with us took place when he was camping in Glenlyon (Aberfeldy), where he encountered a local farmer who offered to drive him to Moar after learning of his connection to the area. They were able to visit the old farm which was most likely the exact site that Drew's family one lived, a tangible link to his ancestors and a representation of his Journey for Wildness.

Drew will be continuing his walk up the Great Glen towards Knoydart where he will finish his journey, and encourages anyone who may want to join him for sections of the route to reach out.

• Donate to Drew’s Journey for Wildness through his JustGiving page where he will post updates on his progress and people he meets along the way.
• If you’d like to walk sections of the route with Drew, you can get in touch with him via us at fundraising@johnmuirtrust.org.