Fort William - a little taste of the Highlands

I thought I’d the opportunity to share with you the lovely area I live in. Fort William recently has, like most town centres, gone down hill, with lots of local business’s closing there doors due to high rates and low customer numbers, this, could be due to any number of reasons, none of which I’m here to talk about today. Today I’d like to share with you some of the more positive things about our area.

Fort William is the home of Ben Nevis, Britain’s largest mountain. Anoch Mhor is Ben Nevis’s neighbour and also where you’d head to if you fancy an “easy” trip up the mountains. Take the scenic gondola 2150ft up Anoch Mhor where you can ski, snowboard or just relax at the restaurant and enjoy the view. At the summit they have a fantastic Boardwise Terrain Park for the snowboarders, there is also a Ski school, and very excellent Ski patrol staff to look out for you.

The Scottish Six days trials has been running since 1909, although not based in Fort William as it now is. This is a famous motorbike trials event. Entrants travel from all corners of the world to take part in this endurance trial of rider and machine over six days of gruelling terrain. More recently Fort William has hosted the World Mountain Bike World Cup, and hosting the UCI Mountain bike championships, again they can be found at Anoch Mhor, where you can follow the paths and support the riders.

We have had hundreds of famous guest staying in our luxurious Inverlochy Castle. Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Mel Gibson, Jerry Hall, Elton John, Barbara Streisand, Naomi Campbell, as well as HRH King Hussein of Jordan and HRH Queen Noor - regular visitors who describe Inverlochy as their Scottish Home.

The Hollywood blockbuster Braveheart was filmed in Glen Nevis, at the foot of Ben Nevis. Mel Gibson, was often spotted in the Town Centre when not filming. Wizard fans will also know that a lot of Harry Potter has been filmed around here too, with the famous the Hogworts Express, on our West Highland line from Fort William to Mallaig. Dozens of excited school children got to be part of the first film, although I think it wasn’t what they were expecting, with lots of hanging around and chugging back and forth on the same piece of railway line for hours!!

This is just a little taste of what goes on in my area – I hope you enjoy it.