Fort William
Fort William is a town in the Scottish Highlands located on the east shore of Loch Linne, one of Scotland’s biggest sea lochs. Known as the Outdoor Capital of the UK, it is also just to the west of Ben Nevis. As a result, it is a major tourist hotspot for hill-climbers, hikers and downhill mountain bikers. The town has a population of around 5,600
History
Originating as an unnamed wooden fort in 1654, Fort William was used as a base to control the Scottish clans after the Wars of the Three Kingdoms during the 1600's. In 1688, King James II of England was sent packing by William of Orange during the ‘Glorious Revolution’ !
Following this the fort was renamed Fort William. The settlement that grew around the fort was called Maryburgh after William’s wife Mary. This was renamed Gordonburgh, and then later Duncanburgh. However it was finally renamed Fort William after the Prince William of the time. The Scottish have discussed renaming the town ever since. Although, given the names used historically, they've never been confident of being able to think of a name that doesn’t end in ‘burgh’.
Ben Nevis
To the east of Fort William is Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the UK at 1,345m tall. Several other tall mountains in the region make Fort William the perfect base for hikers and hill-climbers. There is also a downhill mountain bike track nearby that attracts mountain bikers from around the world. The area hosts several annual sporting festivals and numerous international sporting events. These events are centred mainly around hiking and cycling/mountain biking. The Ben Nevis Race and the Three Peaks Race are both very popular examples of these.
Ben Nevis isn’t as tall as its Alpine cousins. However, due to its more Northerly position can similarly be subject to arctic-like weather conditions. Undoubtedly, this makes it a much more challenging climb as weather conditions can change in an instant. The mountain is generally not so friendly to inexperienced climbers. The origins of the name Nevis (Neibhiss in Gaelic) mean poisonous or terrible for obvious reasons.
The North Coast 500
The Rustbox Rallies North Coast 500 Route starts in Fort William and heads north past Loch Ness. Eventually, passing Inverness, the route heads anti clockwise onto the official North Coast 500.