Fort William

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.