Walk through Steale Gorge and other Fort William, United Kingdom Things to Do Tips

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.

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If you drive or walk to the end of Glen Nevis, you can walk through Steale Gorge about a half mile past great views of the Nevis River as it rushes through the gorge on your right. Eventually you will get to a fantastic wide glen with a great waterfall (Marestail Falls). To get over the river to the wterfall, you will need to cross a rope (cable) bridge. It is quite a lot of fun to do this.

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Glen Nevis, at the foot of Ben Nevis has a small winding road (or parallel path) that winds its way up the glen about 5 miles until you reach Steale Gorge.
On the way there you will go past several beautiful waterfalls as well as the path up Ben Nevis. There are also a couple of interesting graveyards to explore.
The falls pictured here are the Upper Falls, about 2/3 of the way up the road. I used to jump off of the rock here into the pool below.
At this point the road becomes a single track road, but it is well worth continuing to the end (and beyond) On right past the upper falls you will see a stand of Scotch Pine.. Very old ones with their distinctive shapes.
At the end of the road, there is a parking lot where you can enjoy the great waterfalls rushing down from Ben Nevis or continue on through Steale Gorge, to an even nicer view.

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Address: North end of Ft William and turn east
Directions: From the town center, go to the rotary at the north end of Ft William and turn right (east). It is well marked.

When I was about 10, visited my aunt & uncle who lived in Fort William. Within about 15 minutes the kids were invited to go outside and play. My cousins took me right over to scramble around the local ancient castle. At the time, it seemed like it had more of a structure than it does today. As seen in the picture, I went back with my nephew and invited him to scramble around.
The castle itself is very interesting.
It was built around 1200 and was the primary fort in this area. Of course as is true with most castles, the one you see now, stands on top of an older one.
While you are down by the castle you will be right next to a few other things to note, including the Lochy River, the water effluent from the Aluminum factory and the tracks that the Jacobite train (of Harry Potter fame) passes by.

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Address: This is not the 5 star Inverlochy Castle Hotel
Directions: Drive north of Fort William past the mini-roundabout and you will see a sign pointing you toward it on your right. I think it is across from a petrol station these days.
Website: http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/fortwilliam/inverlochy/

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 :-)

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Address: 20-25 miles south of Fort WIlliam
Directions: Follow the A82 south
Website: http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/glencoe/glencoevillage/info.html

When you drive on the A82 on the way up to Fort William try to notice the solitary tree on the moors. It sits by itself on top of a rock, protected from the sheep and deer.
This tree is a landmark on my many trips back and forth from Glasgow to Ft William.
When I got to the tree, it was literally downhill from there to Ft William, or from there to Glasgow.
My grandmother used to love to stop at the tree to marvel at it. I remember as a kid that the tree was very very small. Now, a few years later :) it is bigger.. but not much!
On one lovely evening I remember seeing a very large stag posing just below the tree and rock. That was the one time I didn't have my camera of course!

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Directions: Going North on the A82 just after you climb the big hill past the Bridge of Orchy you will see it on your left.

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

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Phone: 08705 650000
Website: http://www.calmac.co.uk/skye

You can get to Mallaig from Fort William by a relatively short car drive or by train. The destination is a nice town, with enough amenities including restaurants, stores and mini-museums to occupy a few hours, but the great value of this trip is in the trip itself. On the way from Fort William to Mallaig you will go through some of the loveliest scenery in the highlands.
Mallaig is still a fishing town with an active port. You should easily be able to sea seals swimming around in the harbor and get a great fish supper in town.

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