Getting to the start
Fort William has no dedicated airport; walkers reach it either by the West Highland Line from Glasgow Queen Street (ScotRail, about 3 trains a day, roughly 3 hours 45 minutes), or by the Caledonian Sleeper direct overnight from London Euston (six nights a week, not Saturdays, now calling at Birmingham International). By road, the A82/A830 corridor reaches the town directly.
Leaving the finish
Inverness is a proper mainline hub — the Highland Main Line to Edinburgh/Glasgow, a line north to Thurso/Wick, and the Caledonian Sleeper direct to London Euston. Inverness Airport (a genuine regional airport, IATA/IATA-shared code INV) is reachable by the Stagecoach 11 bus (every 30 min, ~40 min, ~£5, much reduced on Sundays) or taxi.
The one-way journey
Unusually favourable for a linear trail: the A82 road and the 19/919 bus both run the entire length of the Great Glen, several times a day, year-round. Most walkers simply take public transport to Fort William and from Inverness without needing a car at all. Drivers who do bring a car get real value at the Fort William end from Highland Council's Lochaber Local Parking Season Ticket (£11/month, covering all four main town car parks) — genuinely cheaper than most short-stay coastal car parks elsewhere in this dataset — then bus or train back to collect it.
If you need to leave the trail early
This is one of the easiest trails in the dataset to bail out of. Unlike a remote hill trail, the Great Glen Way mostly follows the Caledonian Canal towpath, forest tracks and roads, running close to the A82 for virtually its whole length, and the joint Stagecoach 19/Citylink 919 bus (plus Citylink 917/918) shadows that road multiple times a day, year-round, calling at every significant village — Gairlochy, Invergarry, Fort Augustus, Invermoriston and Drumnadrochit. There is no stretch here comparable to Rannoch Moor or the road-free east shore of Loch Lomond on the West Highland Way; a road and a bus stop are rarely far from the path.
Useful access hubs
RailFort William railway station
The trail start (near the Old Fort/town centre, with the official waymarked route beginning at Neptune's Staircase, Banavie, a short walk/bus away) is close to the station. ScotRail runs the West Highland Line — about 3 sprinter trains a day to/from Glasgow Queen Street (roughly 3 hours 45 minutes), per a checked route summary (seat61.com). The Caledonian Sleeper also terminates here, with a direct overnight service from London Euston six nights a week (not Saturdays), now calling at Birmingham International en route, per ScotRail's own sleeper page.
Year-round.RailInverness railway station
A short walk from the trail's finish near the city centre/Muirtown. Mainline hub for the Highland Main Line (Inverness-Edinburgh/Glasgow) and the line north to Thurso/Wick; the Caledonian Sleeper also runs direct to/from London Euston, six nights a week.
Year-round.AirportInverness Airport
Stagecoach route 11/11A/11B runs every 30 minutes between the airport and Inverness bus station, taking about 40 minutes and costing around £5.00 one-way, per a checked route/fare summary — note the Sunday service is much less frequent. A taxi covers the same run faster.
Bus runs year-round; frequency drops sharply on Sundays (see bus network).CoachFort Augustus (A82 corridor, Citylink/Stagecoach stop)
Roughly the halfway point of the trail. The joint Stagecoach 19/Citylink 919 service between Fort William and Inverness calls here (lay-by outside the Tourist Information Centre on the A82), making it the single most useful mid-route access point on the whole way — see bus network.
Year-round (see bus network). Sources and research notes · 28 sources
- tickettoridehighlands.co.ukluggage transfer coverage, price tiers, weight limit, season/hours, contactChecked 29 Jul 2026
- piggybackbaggagetransfers.comluggage transfer coverage, weight limit, season, contactChecked 29 Jul 2026
- piggybackbaggagetransfers.comluggage transfer £60/bag price (via search of operator's own site)Checked 29 Jul 2026
- sherpavan.comluggage transfer price, weight/bag limits, season, delivery window, partial-route policyChecked 29 Jul 2026
- lochnesstravel.comattempted verification of luggage transfer — blocked 403Checked 29 Jul 2026
- lochnesstravel.comluggage transfer coverage/price band (via search, direct fetch blocked 403)Checked 29 Jul 2026
- highland.gov.ukparking West End car park pay-and-display tariff, capacity, restrictionsChecked 29 Jul 2026
- highland.gov.ukparking confirmation that season tickets are offered in Lochaber (among others), and that Inverness is not one of the season-ticket areasChecked 29 Jul 2026
- myringgo.comparking Lochaber Local Parking Season Ticket price (£11/month, £132/year) and covered car parks (via search)Checked 29 Jul 2026
- justpark.comparking Inverness station-area private parking day/month price bandChecked 29 Jul 2026
- airparks.co.ukparking Inverness Airport Long Stay week price and security (via search)Checked 29 Jul 2026
- justpark.comparking Fort William station car park day price (via search)Checked 29 Jul 2026
- gbbusroutes.blogspot.combus network route/stops detail (secondary source, cross-checked against operator search results)Checked 29 Jul 2026
- citylink.co.ukbus network year-round winter operation, frequency (via search, direct fetch blocked 403)Checked 29 Jul 2026
- greatglenway.comtrail overview, confirmation of Citylink 917/918/919 all serving the route, A82 corridorChecked 29 Jul 2026
- greatglenway.comconfirmation of official 'Getting there: airport, bus and train info' section existing (detail not extractable from this page)Checked 29 Jul 2026
- bhs.org.ukaccessibility multi-use gate/bridge width standard (via search)Checked 29 Jul 2026
- highland.gov.ukaccessibility Banavie-Laggan Locks fully accessible stretch (via search)Checked 29 Jul 2026
- seat61.comaccess hubs West Highland Line frequency Fort William-Glasgow (via search)Checked 29 Jul 2026
- scotrail.co.ukaccess hubs/ Caledonian Sleeper direct London-Fort William/Inverness service (via search)Checked 29 Jul 2026