Fort William Things to Do

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We were told about this by our B&B owner and were glad we went. This lighthouse is at the western most point of the British mainland and is the only Egyptian style lighthouse built in Scotland. Incidentally, we were told that all the lighthouses in Scotland were built by members of the writer Robert Louis Stevenson's family. This was built in 1849 and is still operational although now automated.

You can go up in the lighthouse, which is a pretty steep climb, in 30 minute intervals. Reserve a time at the ticket booth. There's a small gift store and a snack bar at the ticket booth and an interesting exhibition on your walk to the lighthouse. At the top, there is someone there not so much to do a presentation but to answer any questions.

The drive out there is quite an adventure--about 3 hours from Fort William with much of it on one lane roads where you have to get over when a car is coming from the other direction. And you have to wait on the sheep a few times. It is a worthwhile drive, though, for the incredible scenery. Just concentrate and keep your speed down and you'll be fine.

Neptune's Staircase is the longest of the three staircase flights on the Caledonian Canal, the coast-to-coast Highland waterway.

We spent a lovely afternoon watch the boats go up and down on the eight locks.

There are a few pubs and cafes alongside the canal for your to enjoy the ups and downs of the boats that pass through.

If yo decide that you are not going to climb up Britain's highest mountain, then the next best thing I would suggest is to get along to the Nevis Range Ski Station.

Take the 1 1/2 mile gondola ride up to the 655m high station. At the station you get spectacular views in the summer of Aonach Mor and Ben Nevis.

Reurn Trip Costs%
Adult £7.75
Child (5-17 yrs) £4.75
Under 5's Free

There is the Snowgoose restaurant and bar at the top of the gondolas, and there are great views from the outside balconys.

The gondola also takes you to the start of the downhill mountain bike track, and we saw some crazy people hurtling down and then getting their bikes on the next gondola and doing it all again.

I just heard that the Skye bridge is now free! An alternative route to Skye is to go to Mallaig and take the ferry. It is a lovely ride and we actually got to see some whales on the trip over. Also, if you are taking the train to Mallaig, this will get you onto Skye quite efficiently.
Car costs about 14 pounds, person about 2.50 pounds

About 20 miles south of Fort William is Glen Coe, a striking glen with steep walls and a wonderful, but tragic story. Glencoe has some wonderful mountains and has been used by some to train for climbing Everest.
There is a visitors center in Glencoe that will give an overview of the surrounding geology (ancient volcanic) and of the story of the Campbells and MacDonalds. The brief version: The loyal (sold out to the English) Campbell clan snuck up on the Sleeping MacDonald clan (not too friendly to the English) and slaughtered them in their sleep. There is still a touch of contempt between the clans today.
I married a MacDonald, My brother dated a Campbell :-)

Many are left disapointed after travelling to Fort William only to find the steam train is booked up. You cannot buy tickets at the station, the only way is on the website or by phone. It is almost always full.

Taking a trip to Mallaig by train means travelling through a wonderful scenery. It has even more charm if you travel with the old steam train, that operates only in summer.
This steam train has become even more popular after the first movie of the Harry Potter series, but I assure you that it was already popular enough before.
As it is a special train, rail passes are not valid for a trip on it. The difference of price between a single ticket and a return one is very small, so most people obviously travel back with the same steam train. However, this means having a very short time in Mallaig, just enough for a quick lunch. So if you wish to take advantage of your short stay in Mallaig to take some pictures it is advisable to bring along a sandwich lunch and eat it on the train.

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When you get to the end of the Glen Nevis road, continue on the footpath, through Steale Gorge and you will come out into a beautiful Glen with a lovely waterfall. See the next tip for a discussion of the rope (wire) bridge.
The waterfall is the one used in one of the Harry Potter movies.