Fort William is a small town in the
Highlands of Scotland, 108 miles
northwest of Glasgow, 65 miles southwest
of Inverness.
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See also a large Click On
Map for the area Top Attractions.
Fort William is a popular town for walking,
hiking, climbing, skiing, boat
trips, steam train
trip through mountains to Glenfinnian
and Mallaig, and amazing scenery, with
four mountains over 4,000ft, including the
highest mountain in Scotland, Ben Nevis at
4,411ft.
The town has a good selection of hotels,
B&Bs, self catering, holiday parks, and
lodge parks.
The image top is of the West End Hotel at
the southwest side of Fort William High Street.
There is a huge car/coach park across the road
from the hotel.
The image second top is of a bronze statue
sitting on a bench in Gordon Square on the High
Street. The statue is of a walker massaging his
foot, as this is the end of the West Highland Way
walking route from Glasgow to Fort William, 96
miles.
The Great Glen Way
walking route starts from here following the
Caledonian Canal north to Inverness, 73
miles. These are two of the top walks in
Scotland.
The image third top is of the High Street
that runs northeast to the train station with a
good selection of shops, restaurants and bar
diners. Large
Image.
Cameron Square is in the middle of the High
Street with the West Highland Museum.
The museum covers the history of the area,
including the Jacobite's, and commandos that
were trained in the area during WWII. The top
attraction is a painting that can only be
viewed at certain angles.
Saint Andrew's Church from 1880 is on the
High Street, the top church in the area to
explore.
The Parade is a scenic square at the end of
the High Street with a war memorial and statue
of Donald Cameron Of Locheil 24th Chief
(1835-1905) a prominent MP.
The Cameron's were
the largest Clan in the Fort William Area with
Donald Cameron Of
Locheil (1700 - 1748) leading the Cameron
Clan at the Battle of Culloden
Moor by Inverness in 1746. Cameron himself
was wounded at Culloden, and half his clansmen
killed.
The Fort William Train
Station is next to The Parade. The station
opened in 1894 with regular trains running
between Fort William - Glasgow, Edinburgh and
London with a sleeper carriage.
The line also runs from Fort William to the
sea fishing village of Mallaig on the
coast, 41 miles west passing some incredible
scenery, and over the huge Glenfinnan
Viaduct.
The Jacobite
steam train is operated on the Fort William /
Mallaig route in summer. This is the route
shown in the Harry Potter films as the Hogwarts
Express, probably the top rail trip in the
UK.
The Old Fort at Fort William is situated by
the train station next to Loch Linnhe. The fort
was originally a wooden stockade built by
Oliver Cromwell’s forces in 1654, to control
local Clans such as the Cameron's. This fort
was known as the Garrison of Inverlochy, with
about 250 troops.
The fort was rebuilt in stone in 1690 known
as Fort William, after William of Orange. The
fort here with around 600 government troops,
withstood a two week long siege by the
Jacobite's in 1746. Little of the fort remains,
now used as a leisure area and kids play.
Fort William Boat
Tours of Loch Linnhe depart from the pier
at the Crannog Restaurant by the centre of
town. The tour is popular for wildlife and
scenery.
Large
Image.
The Caledonian
Canal runs from the northwest side of Fort
William to Inverness. Neptune's
Staircase is a series of 8 locks on the
canal at Fort William. The Moorings Hotel with
cafe/diner overlooks the locks, a top spot to
relax.
Some of the best views of Ben Nevis are from
Neptune's Staircase.
The Ben Nevis Distillery
is also situated on the north side of Fort
William with a visitor centre, restaurant and
shop. Ben Nevis mountain can be seen behind the
distillery.
The start of the trail to Ben Nevis mountain
is situated at the Glen Nevis Visitor
Centre 2 miles southeast of Fort William.
The visitor centre gives information on Ben
Nevis routes, and more level walks in the
area.
The main Mountain Track
was designed for ponies taking equipment to the
observatory at the top, so zig zags up the
mountain at a steady incline.
There are other more testing routes,
described on the website, and climbing the
2,000ft north face cliffs, some of the highest
in the UK. Climbing
Routes.
The Nevis Range
mountain resort is on the 4,006ft Aonach Mor
mountain, 6 miles northeast of Fort William.
The resorts top visitor attraction is the Snow
Goose Restaurant at 2,150ft, reached by a
gondola for incredible views. There are also a
vast range of activities at the resort
including, walking, hiking, biking, skiing,
snow boarding, high wire, and paragliding.
Be careful hiking to the top of these
mountains as cloud can make navigation
difficult. There are a number of companies
based at Fort William that offer interesting
navigation and survival courses. See the
Attractions page at the top.
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