Local Information

Fort William has plenty of places to go and things to do. These include a tour of the Distillery (at A830/A82 junction), Treasures of the Earth (Corpach), the Gondola at the Nevis Range ski centre and boat trips and ferries from the Town pier. In summer there is usually a steam train, the Jacobite, to Mallaig.

Fort William has a Post Office, Morrisons, Tescos, Boots, Argos, Woolworths, and several off licenses and 'Woollen Mill' type shops.  There are also several other interesting shops of various kinds including (of course) specialist outdoor equipment retailers.  Other shops are found at Corpach (Co-op and Spar mini-markets), Caol and Spean Bridge.

The Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland all have branches on the High Street and provide a selection of cash dispensers.  Also, Morrisons and Tescos will give 'Cash Back'.

There is a Leisure Centre at Fort William which has a swimming pool, sauna, squash courts, climbing wall and so on.  Marco's at An Aird (near Safeways) has many other attractions, and there is a also Cinema - program details can be found at the TIC.

The nearest place to eat out is 'An Crann' (turn left at the top of the drive), which has seasonal opening hours.  Other places range from cafes up to very smart restaurants, and include Nevisport, the Glen Nevis, and Crannog which is a very popular fish restaurant.  Many of the local hotels also have restaurants and/or serve Bar Meals, including the Nevis Bank, the Alexandra, the Moorings (at Banavie) and the Factor's House (which is very up market).  Ethnic food is provided by the Indian Garden and the Highland Star Chinese.  Further afield are the Little Chef at Spean Bridge, the Ballachulish Hotel and the Pier House at Port Appin.  New places are always opening, so these are plenty of other choices.

Lochaber is both a wonderful adventure playground with walking, climbing, mountain & trail biking and skiing being the most obvious sports. A drive of up to 1½ hours drive takes you within reach of some 80 of the 277 munros which offer routes varying from straightforward (if sometimes lengthy) walks to serious mountain climbs.  The Forestry Commission has laid out trails for both walkers and bikers in many of the local plantations, and in winter there is skiing at Nevis Range, Glencoe and (a little further) Aviemore.  Other activities in the area include fishing, riding, golf and canoeing.

This is a very clean and unspoilt area with a wide range of flora and fauna in habitats ranging from fertile fields in the valley bottoms to bleak moorlands and nearly Arctic Tundra conditions on the high tops.  There are many birds both common and rare in the area including Peregrines, Golden Eagles, Buzzards, Grouse and Ptarmigan, Plovers, Lapwings, Oyster Catchers and other waders, tits and lots of 'little brown jobs'.  Large mammals include Fox, Mink and Otters, and several types of deer, which have very little traffic sense.

In Autumn the red deer rut is in full swing.  This is an astonishing sight - TV wildlife programs cannot convey the power of the stag's roaring.  However, they are very dangerous at this time of year as they seem to loose much of their fear of man, and treat anything as a potential rival for their hind.  This is also the height of the wild fruits and mushroom season.  If you know what you are picking, there are lots of excellent edible fungi to be had - Chantarelle and Ceps to name the best and best known.

Winter brings snow on the mountains (and valleys, sometimes!) and with the snow comes the skier and winter climber. From 'Nevis View' you have a splendid view of the ski area, and it takes about 15 minutes to drive there.