Editing West Highland Way (section)

== History ==
There were no trails of this kind in Scotland until the Way was opened. After the [[Second World War]] ex-RAF man Tom Hunter from [[Glasgow]] conceived of the idea of an official footpath, partly to protect the eastern shore of Loch Lomond from development. The route, with some challenging terrain, had to be worked out, and landowners negotiated with.<ref name=mckenzie>{{Cite web |title=The long journey of the West Highland Way |author=Steven McKenzie |website=BBC News |date=10 October 2020 |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-54435217}}</ref> Significant in the development of the Way was geographer Fiona Rose who surveyed the route over a year in the early 1970s, covering some 1,000 miles on foot.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/13124797.The_West_Highland_Way|title=The West Highland Way|access-date=15 June 2018|date=28 September 2018}}</ref>

The trail was approved for development in 1974, and after completion was opened on 6 October 1980 by [[William Murray, 8th Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield|Lord Mansfield]] so becoming the first officially designated long-distance footpath in Scotland.<ref name="marsh">{{cite book |title=The West Highland Way: Milngavie to Fort William Scottish Long Distance Route |first=Terry |last=Marsh |date=2003 |isbn=978-1-85284-369-4 |publisher=Cicerone Press}}</ref>

In June 2010, the West Highland Way was co-designated as part of the [[International Appalachian Trail]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=128148071|title=Hiking The Appalachian Trail – To Morocco|publisher=[[NPR]] |access-date=26 July 2010|date=27 June 2010}}</ref>

In 2020 plans to celebrate the Way's 40th birthday were interrupted by the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland|COVID-19 pandemic]]. A virtual exhibition was set up to showcase the history, memories and highlights of the first 40 years. A special video welcome was recorded by [[Jimmie Macgregor]], whose radio and TV programmes helped popularise the Way in the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westhighlandway40.org/|title=40th Anniversary Virtual Exhibition|publisher=West Highland Way Management Group|access-date=13 October 2020}}</ref>