📌 Town in Highland
★★
Like Oban to the south, Fort William (originally An Gearasdan, or “garrison”) is a bustling coastal resort with an impressive range of tourist attractions, shops, restaurants and accommodation. Both towns make great bases for exploring large parts of the West Highlands. Unlike Oban however, Fort William isn’t easy on the eye. An ugly shopping arcade blights the northeast end of the High Street, while a noisy dual carriageway with an irritating lack of crossing points makes access to the underutilised esplanade and Old Fort awkward. Instead, the town attracts visitors for other reasons. Spectacular hills, glens, lochs and burns make the ultimate playground for lovers of outdoor pursuits: within a 20 mile radius you can walk, ski, bike, rock or ice climb (indoors and outdoors), take a boat trip, tackle ropes courses or a via ferrata, try canyoning… and we’re probably only scratching the surface. Hordes of visitors pour into the town each summer, but most are aiming for just one of two famous attractions: the Jacobite Steam Train to Mallaig via Glenfinnan Viaduct; or the long grind up nearby Ben Nevis, the UK’s highest hill. That leaves the rest for those in the know (you lucky reader). There’s a slight snag: Fort William receives nearly 1,700 millimetres of rain annually, making this one of the wettest populated spots in the country. We chuckled at a well-known automated weather website which specifies a “rainy season” of January, February, March, July, August, September, October, November and December. Isn’t that about three rainy seasons? If you prefer to stay dry, you’ll be relieved to find out that even the outdoor capital of the UK boasts a respectable list of indoor attractions by Highlands standards. You can find a list of some of our (indoor and outdoor) picks below (within 3 miles – see the map for places further afield); we’ll keep adding to the list as we get to know this exciting region better.
High Street, Fort William 
Fort William & Loch Linnhe from Cow Hill 
Cameron Square 
Sculpture of the Model T Ford driven up Ben Nevis in 1911 
Lochaber Geopark visitor centre 
Nevisport – with a nod to the local ski area 
Fort William specialises in hearty walker’s fare 
Duncansburgh Macintosh Parish Church 
Old Fort 
St Andrew’s Church 
One of the Jacobite steam trains leaving Fort William 
Cow Hill walk 
West Highland Museum 
Old Inverlochy Castle 
Ben Nevis seen from our Stob Bàn walk 
Ben Nevis Distillery 
Corpach Sea Lock & viewpoint 
Neptune’s Staircase 
Treasures of the Earth
🌍 Location
📌 Highland
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NN 103740
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 56.818401,-5.110313
🚶 The town centre is compact, but several key sights require a short bus ride or drive. The start of the main route up Ben Nevis can be reached by off-road paths.
🚢🚆🚌 Fort William is a key West Highland transport hub. Trains run on the Glasgow to Mallaig line, connecting with the ferry to Skye. There are coaches and buses to most Scottish cities and other West Highland towns, and a seasonal passenger ferry across the loch to Camusnagaul.
🚗 Central car parks charge a fee, with free street parking further away if you’re happy to walk in.
Explore nearby
<1 mi away
>> St Andrew’s Church (Fort William) ★★
>> The Jacobite Steam Train (not yet featured)
>> Walk: Fort Bill’s local hill ★★★
>> West Highland Museum ★★
<3 mi away
>> Inverlochy Castle ★ (1 mi →)
>> Walk: Ben Nevis (1 mi →) (not yet featured)
>> Ben Nevis Distillery (2 mi →) (not yet featured)
>> Corpach Sea Lock & viewpoint ★★★ (2 mi ↑)
>> Neptune’s Staircase ★★ (2 mi ↑)
>> Treasures of the Earth (2 mi ↑) (not yet featured)
