Fort William

Following our restorative sojourn on the island of Skye The Girl and I progressed slowly down the west coast of Scotland to Fort William. One of the three forts built along the Great Glen (the others being Fort Augustus and Fort George) between 1690 and 1750 to facilitate the suppression of rebellious Jacobites throughout the highlands, Fort William has evolved into a major tourist centre whose inhabitants and visitors share with Canadians a love of the great outdoors.

Though not the most attractive of towns Fort William is set in the dramatically beautiful landscape of Lochaber. It is also one of the railway-connected centres that my (non car-owning) family made use of some fifty years and more ago as a base for visiting the surrounding attractions.

Such delights include – Ben Nevis, the Great Glen (complete with Loch Ness, Castle Urquhart and so forth), the Caledonian Canal, Glencoe and the West Coast railway to Mallaig.

Here are some photographic images:

This is Ben Nevis – the highest peak in the British Isles.

This is the entrance to the Caledonian Canal, the which was a literal stones-throw from our Airbnb…

…as was this pretty garden. We estimated that the season in Scotland was running approximately 3 – 4 weeks behind that of British Columbia – which meant that we got to see some new blooms for the second time this year.

These photos were taken at both the pass and the village of Glencoe. Difficult to avoid the sensation of the weight of history here.